Running Head: INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Intellectual property
BUSI 561
Name
Liberty University Online
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INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Abstract
This paper will discuss intellectual property and the means to protect it. Contents also include
the Samsung and Apple rival and define patent and trademarks. The paper also shows the
answers for three questions: 1) How should a for-profit corporation balance its business needs
with the needs of its customers 2) Lives depend on products created by some companies. Do
these companies have a greater responsibility to work towards benefitting the consumer more
than themselves and 3) Look at the issue from a Biblical worldview. How would you respond if
you were running such a company?
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INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Intellectual Property
Intellectual Property (IP) is an individual’s idea that can be protected with trademark or
patent (Kubasek, Browne, Herron, Dhooge, & Barkacs, 2016). Just like other property,
intellectual property is fenced from being copied by a different company. Patent includes
protection of inventions, innovations, and designs. Trademark includes the name, logos,
symbols, and even pictures that make a unique product identifiable. Any copyright of products
protected by patent and trademarks can be a violation that can lead to a lawsuit.
A good example of the lawsuit is the rival between Samsung and Apple. In 2011, Apple
manufacturer sued Samsung for the infringement of Apple’s intellectual property. In August
2012, the court unanimously favored Apple for infringement and won $1,049,343,540 (Bishop,
2012). However, Samsung went back to the court where that company was given reprieve in the
patent case. According to Liptal and Goel (2016), “The Supreme Court’s opinion, while not
decisively resolving the case, found that liability in design patent cases is not necessarily an all-
or-nothing proposition”
How should a for-profit corporation balance its business needs with the needs of its
customers?
Business balancing is about making profit from the money consumed by the
customers and distributing dividends to shareholders. Dividends are gained from having
customer satisfaction and positive experience that leads to brand loyalty and a high return of
investment (ROI). Brand loyalty spreads a positive word of mouth for seekers. In word of
mouth communication, the brand markets itself that involves promoting the corporation and
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INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
products as subjects of recommendation (Uslu, Durmus, & Tasdemir, 2013). Word of mouth
results to more customers, which creates a balance of having more profit from satisfied
consumers and fulfilling business needs.
Innovation fills the customer thirst for a better product. Listening to customers’
expectations helps to improve customer satisfaction (Oluseye, Tairat, & Emmanuel, 2014).
Through listening to comments, suggestions, and also complaints, companies can innovate from
one product to another that can result to higher satisfaction rate and strong customer relationship.
For-profit corporation earns revenue through the operations. In order to achieve the search and
outcome for innovation, a part of the revenue needs to be distributed properly to shareholders
and research teams. Reinvesting the retained earnings to innovate products gives balance
between producing more dividends for shareholders and better experience for customers.
Lives depend on products created by some companies. Do these companies have a greater
responsibility to work towards benefitting the consumer more than themselves?
On March 2017 my 2-year-old sister had an allergic reaction from condiments where she
immediately turned red and obtained swollen ears. Luckily, the hospital is nearby and she
became stable within a couple of hours. Our family found out that she is allergic to a lot of food
apart from having eczema. Our family is not certain on what else she is allergic to. For this
reason, my mom keeps an EpiPen with her at all times. My sister receives two free Epi Pen
every month from a military base hospital that my stepfather is working for.
EpiPen cost $165 in 2011 and had a 32% increased in 2012. The increase is maybe
because of the expired patent of the product that the manufacturer spent more money in raw
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materials to meet the high demand due to one-year product shelf life of EpiPen (Kozarich, 2016).
In 2013, Mylan’s competitor entered the Market but did a product recall. With no competitors in
the market, Mylan increased EpiPen cost for additional $300 within two years, which resulted
into value of higher returns for shareholders, market cap of $3 billion, and a stock tank of over
12% in 5 days” (Kozarich, 2016). The manufacturer took advantage of the consumers’ needs of
the anti-allergy device. Our family is lucky enough to afford EpiPen, but some consumers
struggle to spend a big amount of money for the life saving product.
Look at the issue from a Biblical worldview. How would you respond if you were running
such a company?
Having a sister and a nephew who consistently need an EpiPen wherever they go, I feel
the need to run the company differently. With or without market competition, I will put the
consumers first. I will make sure to that the idea of my company is protected with patent and
trademark, while maintaining the price in the range where people can afford my product.
“Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to
make them stumble (1 John 2:10 New International Version). If shareholders would disagree
with me for maintaining a low price, I will gladly tell them that they can sell their share back to
the company at any time. For the continuation of the company, I will work hard and trust in God
to lead me to investors who know the struggle of having allergy attacks and would want to invest
in a company that practice corporate social responsibility.
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References
Bishop, B. (2012). Jury: Samsung copied Apple, should pay at least $1.049 billion in damages.
The verge. Retrieve from https://www.theverge.com/2012/8/24/3254422/apple-samsung-
trial-verdict
Kozarich, D. (2016). Mylan’s EpiPen pricing crossed ethical bounderies. Fortune.
Kubasek, N., Browne, M. N., Herron, D. J., Dhooge, L. J., & Barkacs, L. (2016). Biblical
worldview edition of dynamic business law: The essentials (3rd ed.). N.J. Kippenhan
(Ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill Education.
Liptak, A., Goel, V. (2016). Supreme Court gives Samsung a reprieve in Apple patent case. The
New York Times. Retrieve December 01, 20017 from
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/06/technology/samsung-apple-smartphone-patent-
supreme-court.html?_r=2
Oluseye, O. O., Tairat, B. T., Emmanuel, J. O. (2014). Customer relationship management
approach and student satisfaction in higher education marketing. Journal of
competitiveness 6(3), 49-62. doi:10.7441/joc.2014.03.04
Uslu, A., Durmus, B., & Tasdemir, S. (2013). Word of mouth, brand Loyalty, acculturation and
the Turkish ethnic minority group in Germany. Procedia - social and behavioral
sciences 99, 455-464. doi: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.10.514
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