Question
Inspired by the boom in industries and companies like Uber and Grubhub, Philie came up with an idea on his own but lacked the engineering
Inspired by the boom in industries and companies like Uber and Grubhub, Philie came up with an idea on his own but lacked the engineering expertise to design or build it. At a bar they met Desi, who operated a manufacturing business. Philie and Desi never entered into any written contracts. While enjoying some beers together, Philie and Desi sketched out the schematics on bar napkins for a mobile, traveling dispensary. Using the designs, Desi manufactured a hybrid model and delivered it to Philie. In the interim, Philie developed a list of 50 event planners at various local businesses, with their names, phone numbers, email addresses and general preferences. Philie shared the list with Desi. Philie called the business "Movin' MJ" and developed a green-and-white color scheme for this traveling dispensary. Philie launched the business, contacted their list of prospective customers, did some local advertising and ran several public tours. They also developed plans to franchise the business in other metro areas like Portland, and perhaps the State of California, and hopefully throughout the rest of the country.
Initially, Desi wanted to help run the business. However, the parties had a falling out and Desi decided to use their design and create a second model on their own. They built a second traveling dispensary using the same designs as the one original version they designed, but they added some minor functionality, such as halogen headlights, a more ergonomic scale, stronger filtration system, and varying climate controls. This second color scheme is green-and-yellow.
Philie is thinking of suing Desi for infringement and trade secret misappropriation. Discuss the merits of their claims. Discuss Philie's ability to obtain protection from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office or/and the U.S. Copyright Office.
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