Intellectual Property in an Electronic World Essay -- essays research

Intellectual Property In an Electronic World Business Law & Ethics Introduction This paper provides a general overview of some major issues facing both producers, publishers and consumers of intellectual property. The emphasis, however, is on copyright. Today, of course, that copyright includes the all-pervasive electronic environment of the internet. There are many media in which intellectual property problems arise. History and Definitions â€Å"Intellectual property† is property resulting from another’s creative efforts. Trademarks, logos, patents, books, computer files, movies, music, painting, menus, choreographic works, pantomimes, product packaging, architectural designs and even sculpture may be considered to be intellectual property. In fact, even a student paper such as this may (perhaps too generously) be classified as intellectual property. The Miller – Jenz text makes the observation that â€Å". .. the value of the world’s intellectual property now exceeds the value of physical property . . . â€Å". Clearly, then, intellectual property has become a huge factor in business, social life, entertainment, and international trade. There is much government regulation in the field of intellectual property, as well. In the past, the most important aspects of law involving intellectual property were copyright and fair use, defamation, trademarks, trade secrets and patents. Prior to statutory copyright laws, a common law of copyright existed which protected an author’s work only until it was published. After being published, if there was not statutory protection, then the author’s work entered the public domain and became unprotected! One a work is in the public domain, it cannot be protected. Statutory copyright law in the United States originated with Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution: â€Å"To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries.† Congress enacted the first copyright law in 1790. It was decided early that the term â€Å"writings† includes many things which might not be considered â€Å"writings† in the normal use of the term. It is possible to sue under common law copyright infringement. In fact, such a suit can be brought in a state court. However, an action for statutory copyright infringement must be brought a federal d... ...nt the infringement of intellectual property rights. Internet publishers who are unable to afford the cost of registering every single page of a web site (cost is $20 per registration) may instead register multiple works as a collection. Since copyright registration requires the sending of materials, the internet publisher faces the choice of sending screen printouts, or code, or both. If the code is more important, Field recommends treating the content of a web site like software. Copyright Enforcement If the author believes he may have to sue to prevent infringement, he is well advised to register the copyright. This is also true of copyrighted material on the internet. Copyright notice prevents the defense of innocent infringement, and increases the chances for a big bucks recovery on willful infringement, where the statutory damages can be up to $100,000. An action for statutory copyright infringement, as noted earlier, must be filed in federal court. Of course, depending on the nature of the facts involved, there may also be other theories of recovery available. BIBLIOGRAPHY Miller, L.M., and Jentz, G.A., Business Law Today, 6th Edition. (2002). South-Western College.