Mrigank Sharma

I046

Tutorial 6: Intellectual Property Rights - II

Aim: To understand intellectual property rights.

Learning Outcomes:
After completion of this tutorial, student should be able to understand various intellectual
property issues

Procedure:

1. Read Chapter 6 of Ethics in Information Technology, 4th Ed. by George Reynolds.

2. Answer the review questions given below

Review questions:
1. Explain the following intellectual property issues:
a. Plagiarism
Plagiarism is defined as the practice of directly copying and then presenting an
existing production without accurate citing or referencing, and/or passing off the
product as one’s own, without permission from the original producer.Plagiarism
means “to steal and pass off as one’s own”.
To avoid plagiarism, ensure that all words or ideas that have been sourced from
elsewhere are accurately referenced and citied appropriately. If the reference or
citation is wrong, this can still classify as plagiarism. Secondly, it is important to
know that a sentence with more than two words with identical phrasing can be
considered as plagiarized content, and sentences where a few words have been
changed but structure and syntax is identical can also be flagged.

b. Reverse engineering
Reverse engineering is taking apart an object to see how it works in order to
duplicate or enhance the object. It is applied to computer hardware and software.
Ex. Software reverse engineering involves reversing a program's machine code back
into the source code that it was written in, using program language statements.

c. Open source code

It is the program source code made available for use or modification as users or other
developers see fit for their work. Open source software is usually developed as a
public collaboration and made freely available. Source code is the fundamental
component of a computer program that is created by a programmer. It can be read
and easily understood by a human being. Basic premise-
 Many programmers can help improve the software.
 Can be adapted to meet new ends.
 Bugs rapidly identified and fixed.
  High reliability.

d. Competitive intelligence
It refers to gathering legally obtainable information to help a company gain
advantage over rivals.
Competitive intelligence, sometimes referred to as corporate intelligence, refers to
the ability to gather, analyze, and use information collected on competitors,
customers, and other market factors that contribute to a business's competitive
advantage. Competitive intelligence is important because it helps businesses
understand their competitive environment and the opportunities and challenges it
presents. Businesses analyze the information to create effective and efficient business
practices.

e. Trademark infringement
Trademark is logo, package design, phrase, sound, or word that enables consumer to
differentiate one company’s product from another company.
Trademark infringement is defined as the unauthorized use of a trademark or
service mark. This use can be in connection with goods or services and may lead to
confusion, deception, or a misunderstanding about the actual company a product or
service came from. Trademark owners can take legal action if they believe their
marks are being infringed. If infringement of a trademark is proven, a court order can
prevent a defendant from using the mark, and the owner may be awarded monetary
relief.

f. Cybersquatting
Cybersquatting is registering, selling or using a domain name with the intent of
profiting from the goodwill of someone else's trademark. It generally refers to the
practice of buying up domain names that use the names of existing businesses with
the intent to sell the names for a profit to those businesses.

2. How can manager run an ethical competitive intelligence operation?

Competitive Intelligence refers to gathering legally obtainable information to help a
company gain advantage over rivals. It is also known as business intelligence. It
refers to the ability to gather, analyze, and use information collected on competitors,
customers, and other market factors that contribute to a business's competitive
advantage. Competitive intelligence is important because it helps businesses
understand their competitive environment and the opportunities and challenges it
presents. Businesses analyze the information to create effective and efficient business
practices.
Conducting a competitive analysis in this era has never been easier and more
important. Earlier, it was hard to gather information about a company’s rival and,
often times, it resulted to illegal acts. But today, open company data which is at
everyone’s disposal online, has broken down a lot of barriers.
3. Explain nominative use test with an example.
The nominative use test essentially states that one party may use or refer to the trademark of
another if:
 The product or service cannot be readily identified without using the trademark (e.g.
trademark is descriptive of a person, place, or product attribute).
 The user only uses as much of the mark as is necessary for the identification (e.g. the
words but not the font or symbol).
 The user does nothing to suggest sponsorship or endorsement by the trademark
holder. This applies even if the nominative use is commercial, and the same test
applies for metatags.
Example- A mechanic use the trademark of the Hero Company in order to identify that he
specialized in repair of Hero Company's vehicle.