Intellectual Property - Assignment Example

Intellectual Property Companies that produce work that are the result of creative efforts of individuals or the products that are unique in their own way should have intellectual property protection. For such organizations it’s very crucial for their success to protect their intellectual property as the do business. Examples of industries that may require intellectual property protection include: Writers, film making, artists, musicians, pharmaceutical, computer software designing, web developers, telecommunications and so on.

A company may sue another company working in a similar industry for marketing a product that has the same design or name as that of the product invented by the accusing company.2. Intellectual property may include inventions, creative efforts of individuals, original works by authors or trade secrets etc. that will provide future economic benefits to the business. How we protect intellectual property depends on the type of property we deal with and the industry we’re operating in. This usually involves obtaining patents, trademarks and copyrights for the intellectual property we own.

The holder of a patent can protect his product by preventing other companies to use, or take advantage, in any way, of their invention up to certain future date depending on the type of invention. The key question that arises here is does the business own the inventions or does the creative work is the result of efforts of the individuals hired by the company? Similarly copyright offers the authors and creators the protection of their original intellectual work (such as literature, art, music, photographs, video recordings, software etc.). The copyright symbol informs others that the author is intending to exercise control over the production and redistribution of the work.

Likewise a “trademark” offers businesses the opportunity to sell their product to the consumers under their unique name. As such it avoids confusion and deceiving.3. Non-Compete AgreementsIn such employment agreements, the employer restricts the employee from quitting the company and joining another competitive firm or setting up his/her own competitive business. Such employment agreements are usually enforceable only if they apply restrictions within a specific area and for a definite future time period.

In some states non-compete agreements are enforceable only if they are supported by the adequate consideration for the employee otherwise they are considered as agreements in restraint on trade and hence void. The advantage of non-competitive clause is obvious that it allows the employers to restrict the employees to engage in other similar and competitive businesses. It also allows the business to benefit from the personnel’s expertise for a foreseeable future. However it cannot guarantee that the employees will not leak the valuable information that might provide competitive advantage to the employers.

Non-Disclosure AgreementsSuch an agreement is made for confidentiality purposes, restraining the party to the agreement from leaking the secret information, inventions, trade secrets, or other relevant information that has advantage to its owner. The advantage of non-disclosure agreement is that it makes obligatory on employees not to leak business and trade secrets to outsiders unlike non-compete agreements.4. There are various security measures and privacy issues involved in conducting business online despite its several benefits.

Secure payment pages for customer payments need to be setup for conducting online transactions to protect both customer privacy and enhance online security, but the system may still be susceptible to a committed hacker who may breach security controls and violate customer privacy and steal their confidential information. This can be used to steal customer identities and even empty their bank accounts. Individuals who are adept at online security issues are required to deal with these issues. Furthermore due to internet’s nature it is comparatively difficult to protect copyrights online and prevent individuals from replicating your own business model.

ReferencesSlater, D. (2012, 6 4). Intellectual property protection: The basics. Retrieved from http://www.csoonline.com/article/204600/intellectual-property-protection-the-basics