BUG Inc. must protect its intellectual property with legal protection. There are three main forms of intellectual property legal protection (Business Link, 2009). The first form of protection is that patent. A patent will protect BUG, Inc. ‘s inventions for a set period of time (Business Link, 2009). The patent must be registered at the Intellectual Property Office and there must be no invention like it registered in the past (Business Link, 2009). The second form a protection is trademarks. According to Business Link (2009), ” a? rade mark is the distinctive way in which your business’ goods or services are represented – in the form of slogans, symbols, words, logos, brand names or shapes” (? 5). The last form of protection is a copyright. A copyright is the automatic protection the law affords original literary, artistic? or dramatic work and sound recordings? that? are the result of intellectual effort or creative skill (Business Link, 2009). Based on the analyst of the case between WIRETAP Inc, and its employee Steve and Bug a software company can face civil liability.
WIRETAP sent one of their employees Steve to Bug which is a software company to get the software coding for a new product line. The company Bug had no idea that Steve was in employee of its competitors and hired Steve. He was employed in to work in the research and development department in the United States. Steve forwarded all emails that were sent to him to WIRETAP as is very much illegal and unethical. There are international conflicts in law when dealing with this case such as copyrights and software copyrights.
This act establishes the requirements for obtaining a copyright and protects copyrighted work from infringement (Cheesman, 2007). A federal copyright law protects the works of authors and other creative persons from the unauthorized use of copyrighted material and provides a financial incentive for authors (Cheesman, 2007). The Computer Software Copyright Act allows computer programs on the list of tangible items protected by the copyright law (Cheesman, 2007). The inventor of a copyrightable software program is protected and obtains automatic copyright protection.
Bug can sue WIRETAP for damages they may have been obtained, profit they may have attained, and Bug may also be able to receive awards for damages up to $150, 000 for infringement and lieu of damages (Cheesman, 2007). BUG, Inc is pursuing international expansion and has expressed concerns regarding privacy, security and potential infringement. A domain name is available for purchase from a company that buys famous or company domain names, but for a high price. Also the company should be apprised of any international conflict of law.
The Electronic Communications Privacy Act1provides for protection against electronic communication interception from point of transmission, during transit or while the information is stored on a server or router. This Act criminalizes hacking stored and transmitted information but does not protect against government purview through the USA Patriot Act2. The company is responsible for protecting information as reasonably as possible. Several other U. S. copyright laws including the Computer Software Copyright Act3 protect against process or product duplication when properly registered in the U. S. see Patent ; Trademark Office4). One international treaty, the World Intellectual Property Organization Copyright Treaty5 lists computer programs as a protected literary works along with the arrangement and selection of material in databases. The names of domains are protected for famous brands under the Federal Dilution Act6 preventing trade marking from uses that dilute the original brand name.
