Protection of Intellectual Property - Research Proposal Example

Intellectual Property [Student’s Name] [Professor’s Name] [Institution] [Course Title] [Date] Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 1.0.Problem identification 3 2.0.Research question 4 2.1.Back ground of problem 4 3.0.Methodology design 6 4.0.Data Analysis 8 5.0.Expected results 8 1.0. Problem identification Protection of intellectual property is a vital aspect for any organization especially those that are up-coming. It is advisable for entrepreneurs to have a prior knowledge of the different kinds of intellectual properties before they venture into any business undertaking. This also implies that they must have adequate knowledge concerning the areas of law that can be used to protect such properties. There are four main components of the law used in protecting intellectual property and they are patent law, copyright law, trademark law and trade secret law. The purpose of the essay is to critically discuss and examine how effective copyrights are in protection of intellectual properties. With an ever growing global economy there is a rising need to establish stronger terms of international copyright laws. International copyright is a term that means a collection of multilateral and bilateral agreements among many nations to protect their intellectual properties such as the artistic and literacy work found in films, music or books. When coming up with international copyright laws, the individual copyright laws of the countries involved have to be put into consideration (Hansen 2001). Greenstein and Feinman (2000) assert that a copyright is a protection device granted to the original author of a piece of artistic work. It gives him exclusive right to distribute the work, reproduce the work, display it publicly and to prepare derivatives of the work. It is worth noting that copyrights are available in form of physical medium such as floppy discs, CD ROMs, electronic tapes among others. Emergence of more effective information and communication technologies has and especially the internet has enhanced production of costless and unlimited copies of protected work in addition to provision of an almost mode of distribution throughout the world. However, this presents a challenge to the copyright laws. Infringement of intellectual properties has been on the rise in the United States and in other nations as well. 2.0. Research question “Is the copyrights really effective way to protect the intellectual property for the author especially with the significant development in the field of Internet?” 2.1. Back ground of problem The history of international copyright law is dated back in the fifteenth century when the world was experiencing tremendous growth of presses. At this point, governments of various countries including the United States and England sought to protect authors and provided them with a near monopoly for their published work. For instance in 1662, a licensing act in England was developed which provided a register of all the licensed books adequately censored by authorized publishers. Several years down the line the Statute of Anne was enacted to cover issues to deal with plight of sellers and printers of English books. Although the statute provided a copyright to authors, it was insufficient since it required them to be authorized booksellers or printers. The statute has however been revised over the years in order to cover a wider scope of copyright and to embrace advances in technology (Story 2002). Issues related to copyrights are particularly relevant and vital to developing nations as they become established in the information age and get introduced to the knowledge of global economy. Speedy advances in communication and information technologies have been major contributing factor to the strengthening of both international and national copyright laws. Changes in technology was what led to many developed nations to lobby for WIPO and TRIP copyright treaties forms of database protection formed by the EU in 1996. Developing countries are faced to the challenge of obtaining the correct balance between copyright protections and acquiring adequate knowledge-based products (Eugene 2007). The concept of copyright has not only been used as protection tool for authors and printers of artistic works but also led to emergence of other knowledge-based products such as films and computer programs. Research has indicated that among all other means of protecting intellectual properties, copyrights are the most effective instruments of regulating flow of ideas and knowledge-based products among all nations in the world. In the recent years, losses from internet piracy of copyrights have been on the increase. The report availed by Business Software Alliance revealed that in 1999 alone, piracy of personal software amounted to third of the all computer software’s. It also estimated that software piracy might lead to loss of about 175,000 jobs in the U.S. worth $4.5 billion in salaries and tax revenue of about $1 billion. It is however extremely challenging to fully account for the economic losses experienced in the copyright industries. As a measure to solve the problem of intellectual property from pirates and competitors, business persons have had to explore technical innovations into their products to serve as both technological and physical barriers (Matthew, 2006). 3.0. Methodology design In order to identify the effectiveness of the copyright in the protection of the author’s rights in the development of the internet, the study will limit itself to seven areas. To begin with, the study will aim at identifying the copyright protection scope in the digital environment as well as the identification of the conscientiousness of the online as well as internet service providers. This will involve the rights of the software developers in ensuring the copyright act is adhered to. In addition, the study will seek to identify the role of peer to peer system of sharing of files as well as the protection levels and modes of available databases. Last but not least, the study will seek the effect of linking of copyright information online in addition to deep linking and framing (Coffey, 1996). Moreover, the study will seek to identify the responsibility of the WCT and the WPPT in the provision of the basic norms that seek to put a clear basis and reason for the copyright protection that are related to the digital environment. This is vital as the 2 entities serve as a model land a guide for the national and international legislation in the protection of the rights of authors and other intellectual property. The entities have the right and technology in the identification of new emerging technologies that pose a threat in the implementation of the copyright legislation (Coffey, 1996). The study will rely heavily on secondary data that will have been collected by agencies and individuals which may or may not be for the purposes of our study mainly from the internet. This information will be collected from peer reviewed journals and other related articles that have been uploaded on the internet. The collection of the data should bear in mind the question at hand as this will be able to give a clear view in the evaluation of secondary data sources in basing on their accuracy and validity. This will follow a process of describing the internal and external sources of data that were utilized in the collection of data. This methodology is highly advantageous as the secondary data is cheaper to collect compared to primary data. In addition, the secondary data on the question at hand is highly accessible on the internet and thus less time and effort will be required. This implies that the collection of the required data will be accurate and less biased. Thirdly, secondary data plays a crucial role in the exploratory phase in the research process as the research process requires the definition of the problem and generation of the hypothesis. The data that will be analyzed will go a long way in the invariably improving our understanding of the problem at hand. Lastly, the research methodology will be useful as it will aid in the defining of the population and obtaining a relevant sample that will be useful in the process (Creswell, 1998). However, the secondary methodology of data collection has limitations as the researcher has to collect data extensively and be careful in the process of using the collected data. the estimation of data has to be done with great care thus a high level of accuracy is paramount. Moreover, the investigator must be familiar with the research methodology. The research findings will be submitted for review before commencing with the collection of data. This is vital as the information gathered has to be evaluated and assessed to verify its usefulness to the larger population and thus being useful in the identification and development of relevant tools to be able to evaluate the effectiveness of the use of copyright to protect the intellectual property for the author especially with the significant development in the field of Internet (Merriam, 2002). 4.0. Data Analysis To identify if the copyrights are really effective way to protect the intellectual property for the author especially with the significant development in the field of Internet, the computation of new variables will be done by the summing up of all the items in the groups. To extract the principal components, the reduction of data through the analyzing of data will be carried out. The study is to utilize the varimax to identify the rotated component data (Creswell, 2000). 5.0. Expected results The study is expected to realize the prospects and limitations of the copyright as well as the identification of modes to be utilized in the online protection of the author’s rights. In addition, the study will point out the possible areas and roles of the open source of software movement in the adoption of strategies that are proprietary and are protect by the copyright. The study will also have to identify the liability of the internet service providers in the observation of the copyright’s act and the licensing rights and lengths as well as the collective management of the rights. This will incorporate the management of the licensing rights and the trends as well as the identification of trademarks and other rights that go along with the distinctive signs. Lastly, the study will identify the territorial principles and the online trademark use and mouse trapping (Greenstein, 2000). References Coffey, A., & Atkinson, P,1996, Making sense of qualitative data: Complementary research strategies. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Creswell, J, 1998, Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five traditions. Thousand Oaks, CA:Sage. Creswell, J. W., & Miller, D, 2000, Determining validity in qualitative inquiry. Theory Into Practice, 39, 3. Eugene, C. 2007. ‘YOUTUBE: TESTING THE SAFE HARBORS OF DIGITAL COPYRIGHT LAW’. 17 Southern California Interdisciplinary Law Journal 139 Greenstein, M. and Feinman, T. 2000. Electronic Commerce: Security, Risk Management and Control. New York: McGraw Hill. Hansen, E. 2001. “Ban on DVD-cracking code upheld,” CNET News.com. . Retrieved on 17th August 2011 fromhttp://www.news.com . Matthew, H. 2006. Secondary Liability for Copyright Infringement: BitTorrent as a Vehicle for Establishing a New Copyright Definition for Staple Articles of Commerce. Columbia Journal of Law & Social Problems ,40(1)1. Merriam, S, 2002, Qualitative research in practice: Examples for discussion and analysis. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Story, A. 2002. “Copyright, Software and the Internet”. Commission on Intellectual Property Rights Background Paper 5. London: Commission on Intellectual Property Rights. Read More