EL7007+Defining+Intellectual+Property


 * ** EL7007-8 ** ||  ||
 * ** Ethical and Legal Issues in an Online Course ** || ** 1 Defining Intellectual Property ** ||
 * Hi Stephen, **
 * Impressive work! Outstanding presentation and APA formatting. Your writing skills are definitely superior! I made a comment below about the use of repetitive citations. Always keep that in mind. **
 * Impressive work! Outstanding presentation and APA formatting. Your writing skills are definitely superior! I made a comment below about the use of repetitive citations. Always keep that in mind. **

=Defining Intellectual Property = Intellectual property is comprised of intangible or intellectual assets that derive their value “ from the novel implementation of ideas ” ( Burgunder, 2011, p. 2 ). Intellectual property is a legal concept that “ provides a personal property interest in works of the mind ” ( Sun & Baez, 2009, p. 1 ). Intellectual property law seeks to provide legal protections for works that are not tangible, but represent a significant investment in time, effort, research, and development to produce through “ intellectual or mental labor ” ( Waxer & Baum, 2006, p. 5 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">).* Intellectual property law was created because of two underlying assumptions. The first assumption is that creativity, invention, and the sharing of knowledge is beneficial to society as a whole, and should be encouraged. The second competing assumption is that the effort to create, invent, or discover new ideas always takes much more effort than does the copying of those ideas. To encourage individuals to share their ideas, creativity, and inventions with society, laws has been developed to protect those individuals and their creations from unlawful copying, and in some cases, to exclusively produce and market their creation for a specific period of time. In the United States, four categories of intellectual property are recognized; patents, copyrights, trade secrets, and trademarks. To some extent, each of these categories of intellectual property affect teaching and learning in classroom settings and will be addressed below. <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">[Outstanding intro!]

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Patents
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Patents are property rights granted to an inventor for an invention, ornamental design, or new and unique living plant for a specific period of time. A patent precludes others from “ <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">making, using, offering for sale, or selling <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">” ( <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 90%;">Patentability, 35 U.S.C. § 154.1.a, 1952 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">) the invention in the United States during the period the patent is in effect. For useful inventions or the invention or discovery of a new variety of plant that can be asexually reproduced, the period of time a patent is granted is 20 years, beginning with the date the application was filed, while decorative patents have a term of 14 years from the effective date.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Patent Issues in Education
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Starkey, Corbett, Bondy and Davidson (2010) found that great confusion exists within all levels of higher education regarding the definition and application of intellectual property concepts. In their study, only 22% of the sampled teachers and 1% of the students could give a correct definition of a patent as there was a good amount of confusion between patents and copyrights, and regarding the extent of patent protection. It is important for students and faculty who are researching, “ <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">inventing, and developing products that could have potential market value <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">” ( <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 90%;">p. 337 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">) to understand what a patent is, and how intellectual property laws affect their participation. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">One issue with patent ownership and rights is that the filer is assumed to be the inventor. With regard to higher education, contract law often supersedes ownership of a patent by the inventor due to provisions in faculty or student employment contracts that grant ownership of an invention to a university. <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;"> [Outstanding point and very true!] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;"> Generally, universities require through intellectual property policies and employment contracts that “ <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">any inventions created with any university resources belong to the university <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">” ( <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 90%;">Sun & Baez, 2009, p. 60 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">).

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Copyrights
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Copyright is a protected right under the U.S. Constitution afforded an author of written or creator of other works “ <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">fixed in a tangible medium of expression <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">” ( <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 90%;">Waxer & Baum, 2006, p. 23; Wilson, 2005, p. 3 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">). A work is protected by copyright as long as three conditions are met: (a) it is original, (b) it represents an expression, and (c) is perceivable in a set form ( <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 90%;">Waxer & Baum, 2006; Wilson, 2005 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">). Generally, copyright protection is not available for titles, terms, lists, short phrases, ideas, methods, systems, or functional aspects of a work. Infringing a copyright occurs when three conditions exist; the infringer (a) had access to, (b) copied portions of protected expression from, and (c) the infringing work is “ <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">substantially similar <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">” to the infringed work ( <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 90%;">Wilson, 2005, p. 22 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">). Copyright protects the creations of authors for a limited period of time so that they can directly benefit from their work; then have those creations enter the public domain. Current copyright law in the U.S., for the most part, protects works for 70 years following the death of the author. <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">[Outstanding content]

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Copyright Issues in Education
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">One of the assumptions of copyright is that “ <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">creators of literary, musical, dramatic, choreographic, pictorial, graphic, sculptural, and audiovisual works and sound recordings <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">” ( <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 90%;">Wilson, 2005, p. 4 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">), or in the educational realm, “ <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">books, periodicals, manuscripts, phonorecords, film, tapes, disks, or cards, in which [literary works] are embodied <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">” ( <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 90%;">Definitions, 17 U.S.C. § 101, 2008 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">) should be able to reap rewards from their creative work, and have exclusive rights to it for a specific period of time. The U.S. Supreme Court and U.S. Congress have consistently extended and strengthened copyright protections while “ <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">strain[ing] free speech and innovation <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">” ( <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 90%;">Anand, 2012, p. 67 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">). As originally composed, copyrights were constrained in what they covered and in their duration. With the expansion granted in the Sonny Bono Term Extension Act of 1998 many more creative works are covered by copyright, and for some works the term is effectively indefinite. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">A major issue in higher education is that a work created by a faculty member within the purview of his or her job does not generally belong to him or her, but to the university through the doctrine of work for hire. Work for hire consists of creative works developed by employees or contractors “ <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">within the scope of their employment <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">” ( <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 90%;">Wilson, 2005, p. 40 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">) and is the “ <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">only category of work in which the copyrights do not initially vest in the creator <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">” ( <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 90%;">p. 40 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">) of the work, unless otherwise agreed. Students, however, have an immediate copyright on their own productions, as long as they do not join with their institutions faculty, or act in the capacity of an instructor or teaching assistant; in which case copyright ownership is nebulous.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Trade Secrets
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Trade secrets are intellectual property rights that protect “ <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">formulas, patterns, devices, techniques, processes, or compilations <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">” ( <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 90%;">Sun & Baez, 2009, p. 97 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">) that are not known publicly, afford a competitive advantage over competitors, and the holder employs measures to keep it that way. Trade secret laws can vary by state, but many states have adopted the Uniform Trade Secrets Act to provide more uniformity in protecting this form of intellectual property. A trade secret can consist of “ <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">almost any kind of information that has been kept secret <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">” ( <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 90%;">Burgunder, 2011, p. 174 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">) and must be heavily protected from divulgence. Inappropriate disclosure of a trade secret is called misappropriation and consists of various ways of acquiring a trade secret through improper means. <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">[Can you say law suit!]

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Trade Secret Issues in Education
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Institutions of higher learning rarely own or are concerned about trade secrets. If, however, an institution collaborates with an outside entity that has trade secrets, that entity may require that all who work on the project maintain secrecy and sign non-disclosure agreements in regard to the project. In these situations it is important that every participant be apprised of the importance of non-disclosure, and the potential punishment and cost of disclosure.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Trademarks
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">A distinctive mark that identifies businesses, products, or processes to the general public that can take the form of “ <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">words, names, symbols, or devices <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">” ( <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 90%;">Sun & Baez, 2009, p. 94 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">) constitutes a trademark. For the trademark to be efficacious it must be registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and is awarded to the first user of the mark. Unlike patents, copyrights, and trade secrets that are designed to encourage new invention, discovery, and creation, trademarks “ <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">increase distributional efficiency by making products easy for consumers to locate without confusion <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">” ( <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 90%;">Burgunder, 2011, p. 6 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">).

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Trademark Issues in Education
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Universities, colleges, and other institutions of higher education routinely have multiple trademarks, including logos, mascots, catch-phrases, and names. Non-dissolution of trademarks is important for the protection of consumers, future students, and institutions of higher learning to protect accredited and valid schools from the predations of false institutions or diploma-mills with similar names or logos. By having trademarks an entity can distinguish themselves easily to potential customers “ <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">from other organizations to avoid confusion, avoid reputational harm, and ensure revenues associated with the trademark <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">” ( <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 90%;">Sun & Baez, 2009, p. 97 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">).

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Professional Opinion
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Intellectual property laws are based on the philosophy that workers should bear the fruits of their labors, and that it is more difficult to innovate, discover, and create than it is to copy. To encourage creators to invent, discover, or create, intellectual property law grants this creation the status of property; something that can be owned, sold, delegated, or controlled. A secondary philosophy originally associated with intellectual property was the idea that the sharing of new inventions, discoveries, and creations nurture an environment of expansion and enlightenment that further fosters growth and development. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">While I subscribe to both foundational principles regarding intellectual property, I find that the current implementation of these philosophies evince an extension of greed and control, rather than enlightenment and growth. <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">[I agree!] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;"> Creators of works, whether they be written, audio, visual, or software, too often must sign over their greatest work to their employers in order to make a living. These employers, since they are not living flesh and blood can then protect these works from infringement for durations far exceeding that envisioned by the Founders. In the current intellectual property environment it is not the creators that benefit from their creations, but the employers. The limited addition of works to the public domain due to significant extensions of durations further stifles and stunts society’s enlightenment.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Conclusion
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Intellectual property law seeks to protect the creations of thought and works of the mind, by giving these creations the status of property. In granting property status to inventions, ornamental designs, or discoveries of new plants through patents, the inventor is given exclusive right to produce and sell these inventions, designs, or discoveries for a specific period. Further, original expressions that are set in a perceivable form can be copyrighted, precluding others from significantly copying an author’s work for their own benefit. Special formulas and processes that are secret and provide a competitive advantage can be protected as property by trade secret law, and impose steep penalties on those who misappropriate the secret. Finally, trademarks allow companies to distinguish their products from those of their competitors and protect consumers of quality products from confusion through misleading packaging or marking.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">[K1] This is very well presented. I want to mention that you are using three back to back direct citations. I would paraphrase whenever you can. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">[K2] Flawless!!!! Could not find anything wrong here.


 * = References* ||
 * * Anand, A. S. (2012). “Less is more”: New property paradigm in the information age? //Duke Law & Technology Review, 11//(65), 65-144. Retrieved from http://scholarship.law.duke.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1230&context=dltr
 * Burgunder, L. B. (2011). //Legal aspects of managing technology// (5th ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.
 * Definitions of copyright, 17 U.S.C. § 101 (2008).
 * Patentability of inventions and grant of patents, 35 U.S.C. § 154 (1952).
 * Starkey, L., Corbett, S., Bondy, A., & Davidson, S. (2010). Intellectual property: What do teachers and students know? //International Journal of Technology & Design Education, 20//, 333-344. doi:10.1007/s10798-009-9088-6
 * Sun, J. C., & Baez, B. (2009). //Intellectual property in the information age: Knowledge as commodity and its legal implications for higher education// San Francisco, CA: Wiley/Jossey-Bass.
 * Waxer, B. M., & Baum, M. L. (2006). //Internet surf and turf revealed: The essential guide to copyright, fair use, and finding media//. Boston, MA: Thomson Course Technology.
 * Wilson, L. (2005). //Fair use, free use and use by permission: How to handle copyrights in all media//. New York, NY: Allworth Press. ||