Week 5 introduces us to the complex subjects of intellectual property. Intellectual Property is one of the greatest drivers of wealth creation in the United States (and, indeed, in the whole world) and its protection is a subject of great interest.

There are two discussion board topics this week. If your last name begins with the letters A-L, your initial post will be on Question 1, and if your last name begins with the letters M-Z your initial post will be on Question 2.

• Your initial post will be due no later than 11:59 pm on Wednesday. You will not be able to see anyone else's post until you have made your initial post.
• Your response post will be on the question you did not address in your initial post. It is due no later than 11:59 pm on Thursday.
• Your Reflection/Reconsideration post is due no later than 11:59 pm on Saturday.

As a general rule on the discussion board, we are looking for analysis. A student's personal opinion is just that - a personal opinion - and as such is entitled to little weight. You are free to express your opinion, but to obtain a good grade you need to tie your discussion to our course concepts analytically.

Question 1: Read the articles on "Louis Vuitton vs. Chewy Vuiton" and "The North Face vs. The South Butt". Do you think the creators of Chewy Vuiton or South Butt violated their opponent's trademark and/or trade name rights? Why or why not? Can you think of any other similar situations?

Question 2: Read the New York Times article "Imagining a Swap Meet for E-Books and Music". If you buy a physical book, it is yours to resell if you like. The same may not be true of e-books. What do you think the implications of this are for the future? Should e-books be treated more like regular books, with the copyright owner's rights to control sales be limited to the "first sale"? Or is the author's ability to restrict the full powers of other's ownership interests in the book a good thing for society? Discuss.