Final Paper - Amazon Restricts Employee Unionization

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Week6Lecture.docx

Week 6 Lecture

This week deals with a variety of issues from banking, creditors, environmental laws to intellectual property laws. This week’s assignments include reading chapters 12-20 of the textbook, two (2) discussion board questions, and a final paper. As for the discussion boards, I expect you to post your initial posting by Thursday and respond to at least two (2) of your classmates posts.  I think that the material to be learned in this class with be useful to every day issues that can arise.  As for the discussion questions, you can use your textbook as a reference as well as other outside academic references.   The rubic for the discussion boards can be found in the class room.  Please email me with any questions. 

Intellectual property is a property right that can be protected under federal and state law, including copyrightable works, ideas, discoveries, and inventions. The term intellectual property relates to intangible property such as patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets.

A patent is the right to exclude others from making, using or selling the invention throughout the United States of America. In summary, others may not make, use or sell the patented invention without the authorization of the patent owner. A patent then, is a limited monopoly granted by the government for the term period of the patent. After the patent expires, anyone may make, use or sell the invention. The issuance of patents, trademarks, and copyrights is governed at the federal level by the standards and regulations of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.  You will see this often in the pharmaceutical industry.

Trademarks identify the goods of one manufacturer from the goods of others. Trademarks are important business assets because they allow companies to establish their products reputation without having to worry that an inferior product will diminish their reputation or profit by deceiving the consumer. Trademarks include words, names, symbols and logos. The intent of trademark law is to prevent consumer confusion about the origin of a product. In the United States trademarks may be protected by both Federal statute under the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1051 - 1127, and states' statutory and/or common laws. 

The U.S. Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. §§ 101 - 810, is federal legislation enacted by Congress under its Constitutional grant of authority to protect the writings of authors.  The Copyright Act now covers architectural design, software, the graphic arts, motion pictures, and sound recordings. Because federal legislation invalidates inconsistent state law, the copyright field is almost exclusively a Federal one.  A copyright gives the owner the exclusive right to reproduce, distribute, perform, display, or license his work. The owner also receives the exclusive right to produce or license derivatives of his or her work. However, there are limited exceptions.