Case Scenario: Bug, Inc.

Essay by billygUniversity, Bachelor'sA+, October 2005

download word file, 9 pages 5.0

The following is a case scenario provided by the University of Phoenix titled Bug, Inc., prepared by Susan Brown Cooper.

Scenario: BUG, Inc., a company based in Any State, U.S.A., designs, manufactures, and sells electronic recording devices. These devices are used by law enforcement agencies (police, FBI, etc.) to intercept and record sounds and voices. The equipment taps into telephone wires, cell phone transmissions, and picks up sounds and voices through the walls of a house or in open-air locations through the use of a remote microphone. Part of the equipment is driven by software written by BUG employees. BUG has exclusive contracts with most state and federal law enforcement agencies throughout the United States. BUG is thinking about expanding its sales to international markets. Currently, half of its manufacturing plants are in foreign countries and half are in the U.S. The company's logo is a ladybug wearing a set of headphones.

As a team, we will be answering a series of questions based on this scenario and our reading of the text, Business Law, the Ethical, Global, and E-Commerce Environment. (Mallor, Barnes, Bowers, & Langvardt, 2002)

Case Scenario: Bug, Inc.

1. Define the different type(s) of legal protections BUG should have for its intellectual property. Explain why these protections are necessary.

Patent - Protects Bug, Inc from having other parties copy the design of their electronic devices for 20 years from the date they file a patent application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Copyright - Protects the object codes and source codes of the computer programs created by Bug, Inc., and their employees, that are used in conjunction with their surveillance equipment.

Trademark - Protects Bug, Inc's ladybug logo from being copied by competitors. Trademarks, like patents, must be registered with the United States Patent...