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© 2008 West Legal Studies in Business A Division of Thomson Learning 1 BUSINESS LAW TODAY Essentials 8 th Ed. Roger LeRoy Miller - Institute for University Studies, Arlington, Texas Gaylord A. Jentz - University of Texas at Austin, Emeritus Chapter 5 Intellectual Property and Internet Law
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© 2008 West Legal Studies in Business A Division of Thomson Learning 2 Learning Objectives What is intellectual property? Why are trademarks and patents protected by law? What laws protects authors’ rights in works they produce? What are trade secrets, and what laws offer protection for this form of intellectual property? What steps have been taken to protect intellectual property rights in the digital age?
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© 2008 West Legal Studies in Business A Division of Thomson Learning 3 Introduction Intellectual Property (I.P.) is any property that is the product of an individual’s mind, e.g, books, software, movies, music. U.S. Constitution protects I.P. in Article I Section 8. Congress shall: “promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive right to their respective Writings and Discoveries.” Ownership of I.P. is strategically important in the global economy.
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© 2008 West Legal Studies in Business A Division of Thomson Learning 4 Trademarks & Related Property Trademark. Distinctive motto, mark or emblem. Stamped or affixed to a product. So that it can be identified in the market. CASE 5.1 The Coca-Cola Co. v. Koke Co. of America (1920). Statutory Protection for Trademarks. Federal Lanham Act of 1946. Federal Trademark Dilution Act of 1995.
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© 2008 West Legal Studies in Business A Division of Thomson Learning 5 Trademarks & Related Property Trademark Registration. U.S. Patent and Trademark Office www.uspto.gov gives notice to 3 rd parties. www.uspto.gov A mark can be registered if in use or mark will be used within 6 months. Trademark Infringement. Unintentional or intentional substantial copying of mark. Strong marks vs. generic terms. CASE 5.2 Menashe v. V Secret Catalogue, Inc. (2006).
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© 2008 West Legal Studies in Business A Division of Thomson Learning 6 Trademarks & Related Property Service Mark. Similar to trademark but used for services. Includes characters in TV and radio. Trade Names. Applies to a business (not a product). Trade Dress. Image and appearance of a product or shop (Example: Starbucks coffee stores).
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© 2008 West Legal Studies in Business A Division of Thomson Learning 7 Cyber Marks Trademarks in Cyberspace. Domain Names. Trademarks in Cyberspace (example: Nike.com). Conflicts—ICANN. Anticybersquatting Legislation. Occurs when 3d party registers a domain name that is the same or similar to another company’s own trade name. 1999 Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act.
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© 2008 West Legal Studies in Business A Division of Thomson Learning 8 Cyber Marks Meta Tags Keywords in web pages used by internet search engines. Playboy Enterprises, Inc. v. Welles (2002). Dilution in the Online World. Trademarks can be diluted on the web. Hasbro v. IEG (over candyland.com).
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© 2008 West Legal Studies in Business A Division of Thomson Learning 9 Licensing Technology and IP licensing is a huge business. Most of the recent wealth created is based on IP licensing. Think Microsoft Windows. Think McDonald’s.
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© 2008 West Legal Studies in Business A Division of Thomson Learning 10 Patents Patent. A Government monopoly that gives inventor the exclusive right to make, use or sell and invention for 20 years. What is Patentable? State Street Bank & Trust, Co. v. Signature Financial Group, Inc. (1998). Invention. Design. Process (software patent).
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© 2008 West Legal Studies in Business A Division of Thomson Learning 11 Patents Patent Infringement. Manufacture, use or sale of another’s product or design without permission (license). Remedies for Patent Infringement. Injunction. Damages for royalties. Reimbursement for attorney’s fees and costs.
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© 2008 West Legal Studies in Business A Division of Thomson Learning 12 Copyrights Copyright: Intangible property right granted by federal statute to the author for life plus 70 years. Automatic protection. Work must be original and “fixed in a durable medium.” Ideas are not protected, but the expression of an idea is.
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© 2008 West Legal Studies in Business A Division of Thomson Learning 13 Copyrights Copyright Infringement. Form or expression is copied (does not have to be in its entirety). Penalties, damages and criminal action are possible. Exception: “Fair Use”. Certain persons or organization can copy materials without penalty (e.g., education, news, research). Copyright Protection for Software.
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© 2008 West Legal Studies in Business A Division of Thomson Learning 14 Copyrights in Digital Information Digital media can easily be copied. Copyright Act of 1976: Copy of a program into RAM is infringement. Revision or re-sale of freelance authors works can be infringement. MP3 and File-Sharing. Napster case. P2P sharing, distributed network. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, Inc. v. Grokster, Ltd. (2005). CASE 5.3 Sony BMG Music Entertainment v. Villarreal (2007).
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© 2008 West Legal Studies in Business A Division of Thomson Learning 15 Trade Secrets Trade secrets are confidential, not filed with the government. Can be customer lists, formulas, pricing, etc. Theft of trade secrets is now a federal crime under the Economic Espionage Act of 1996. Cyberspace: employees can easily email information to competitors.
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© 2008 West Legal Studies in Business A Division of Thomson Learning 16 International Protection Berne Convention (1886). TRIPS Agreement (1994). Each member must include domestic laws protecting intellectual property of other nation- members. World Intellectual Property Organization. (WIPO) (1996). Provides for Dispute resolution.
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