Assignment Instructions/ Description
Week 4 Discussion/paragraph format1. Trade secrets, copyright, and invention are the keystones to business protection and creative protection. Consider how cyberpiracy is impacting these keystones and how we can better protect our inventions and businesses. There is considerable controversy these days over what exactly can be owned and controlled by a business when it comes to intellectual (intangible) property and how far ownership rights reach without interferring with the rights of others to use the property. Consider the social media sharing of material (pictures, writing, videos for example). Creativity and innovation in a technological sense require using or repurposing property, because property has to be used in order to be productive. Are restrictions on use too burdensome? Is it true that if content were completely "free" innovation would be benefited or harmed?2. Contracts are the basis for both business and most personal transactions. How do contracts impact your business and personal lives and the why are the elements necessary for contract formation in place?
3. Contracts are private agreements, usually to buy or sell a product or service and the basis of the economy in the broadest sense. People have been entering into agreements, buying and selling, since time immemoriam. However, until the last century and a half, most people could neither read nor write. Universal literacy is a modern invention, even though agreements and contracts are ancient. Even today, it could be argued that most transactions are not in writing and even where there is some indication of an agreement or transaction (like a receipt at the store), the "writing" is minimal.What is the purpose of putting something in writing in the first place? And how much writing is necessary for that purpose?
4. Should all contracts be required to be in writing to be enforceable? If so, how would that impact business? If not, how would that impact business?
5. It is important to have codified and easy to follow rules governing the sale of goods and leases. The Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) does this.Think about how the UCC helps keep business moving forward.
6. Think about the different ways interest in land is transferred and the role the government plays with your rights to use that land and any other use of real property.
7. What role does intellectual property play in your business and who owns that intellectual property?8. Is intellectual property in particular being hoarded or misused by its owners?
9. In terms of your recommendation to the Board of Directors, what in your opinion is more valuable long-term: intellectual or real property? What is more valuable in the short-term?
10. Watch the "TEDTalks: Ben Goldacre--What Doctors Don't Know About the Drugs They Prescribe" video. There are many laws regulating the pharmaceutical industry, which adds to the high cost of drugs in the United States. Is the industry overregulated? Should market forces and consumer choice (supply and demand) determine drug availability and cost?
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