2.3.3Practice: Analyzing Intellectual Property Laws.

1. Define and provide two examples of intellectual property.

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2. Describe the four different types of intellectual property protections in the chart below.

Copyright

Trademark

Patent

Trade Secret

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3. Explain the difference between a trademark and a patent.

4. Describe the similarities and differences between a copyright and a patent.

5. Explain why a company may rely on a trade secret instead of a patent.

Analyze.

Analyze intellectual property infringement scenarios to recommend a course of action. Read the scenarios below and identify the type of infringement. Then, explain remedies available to resolve the infringement issue.

1. Burnett Chocolate's rain forest caramel crunch chocolate bar has been the number one selling chocolate bar in Michigan for over 50 years. The company cooks caramel in a hazelnut pot so that the sugar takes on a nutty taste without having to add hazelnuts to each bar. The company only allows certain employees into the caramel room so that its cooking method is not spread to the general public. Each employee must sign a confidentiality statement before working in the caramel room. A new chocolate company in Michigan is marketing a hazelnut flavored caramel bar that is similar to Burnett Chocolate's rain forest caramel crunch bar. Upon investigation, the company discovers that the new chocolate company is also boiling the caramel in hazelnut pots. The CEO of Burnett Chocolate then finds out that the company's former caramel cook is on the board of directors of the new company.

2. Blythe Veekor writes a book series about werewolves called Wolf Seekers and has sold over 500,000 books this year. At a fan convention, she is asked about the development of the character Shadow, who follows the series' main characters Solo and Wyeth on adventures. Blythe has not written a character named Shadow, and when she asks the reader where they found the information, she is directed to a website wolfseekers.com. On the website are pictures of the book covers in the Wolf Seekers series and "bonus chapters." Blythe finds out that a fan has written the extra chapters and put the website together.

3. Wildlife Actions has developed a squirrel-proof bird feeder that uses a long wire coil to block squirrels from climbing the pole to the top of the feeder. It has patented the design and is manufacturing the bird feeder for distribution in the United States. One hardware chain has declined to stock Wildlife Actions' birdfeeder because it recently signed a contract to carry a similar product called Squirrel Zipper. Wildlife Actions discovers that the Squirrel Zipper's design is identical to its feeder.

Synthesize.

Give an example of a plan for non-compliance with computer and intellectual property laws and regulations. Read the two-part scenarios below and answer the questions that follow.

1. Two sisters named Brooke and Laura Mallow opened a bakery together called Marshmallow. They sell cookies, breads, and cakes using their grandmother's recipes. Their best selling dessert is the S'more cupcake, and their second best seller is chocolate chip bread. Laura is the head baker, and Brooke is responsible for advertising and sales. The company operates in a neighborhood setting, but also offers online purchases for customers across the country. Brooke designed the company logo, and had the saying "Sink into family flavor" printed on all the bakery boxes. The logo and motto are also the main header for their website.

a. Explain what type of intellectual property is in this scenario.

b. Describe the protections available for this type of intellectual property.

c. make and detail the plan for registering the intellectual property.

2. After two years, Marshmallow has expanded across the city, and Laura and Brooke now run three bakery locations. Internet sales are steady, and Marshmallow does daily shipments to customers. A bakery called "Famiglia" opens in a suburb of the city and uses the motto "Sink into family flavor" on its webpage and advertisements. The motto is the same as the Mallow sisters' bakery!

a. What should the Mallow sisters do to address the use of their motto at the other bakery?

b. Explain how the Mallow sisters can verify that Famiglia complies with intellectual property law?

3. Netring Entertainment developed an algorithm to build an app that identifies movies through keyword searches and provides a suggested watch list for each user based on the search terms. The algorithm used also continues to build the database based on user searches, so the system is amplified with each interaction. Netring Entertainment hopes to be able to connect to streaming services to direct web traffic to its site in the future.

a. Explain what type of intellectual property is in this scenario.

b. Describe the protections available for this type of intellectual property.

c. come up with and detail the plan for registering the intellectual property.

4. Netring Entertainment has discovered that an Internet company offers movie pairing to users based on their search history. In looking at the company, Netring found that the other company used its algorithm in building their search engine without obtaining a license.

a. What should Netring Entertainment do to address the use of its algorithm in a different company's search engine?

b. Explain how Netring Entertainment can verify that the other company complies with intellectual property law?

5. In both scenarios, the infringements occurred online. Do you think the development of the Internet has expanded intellectual property infringement? Why or why not?