Memorandum on Protecting eHarbour Intellectual Property
This competency assessment assesses the following Outcome(s):
LS311M1: Examine how law affects business.
GEL 1.02: Demonstrate college-level communication through the composition of original materials in Standard English
In your role working as a paralegal or legal assistant for eHarbour, draft a memorandum to Daniel Hudson, the eHarbour general counsel, on how best to protect eHarbour’s intellectual property. Specifically, discuss the steps and benefits of safeguarding eHarbour’s intellectual property through: (1) registration of proprietary software developed by eHarbour with the U.S. Copyright Office; (2) applying for a registered trademark for the eHarbour name with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office; and (3) protecting trade secrets with password protection and software encryption.
LS311 Business Law
Unit 2 Assignment
Student Name: Joe Doe
Date: 05/22/2022
MEMORANDUM
Date: 19.05.2022
To: Daniel Hudson
From: Jane Doe
Re: Protecting eHarbour Intellectual Property
Introduction
Firms can enhance their core management and R&D operations protection via intellectual property rights and registrations. Besides, having a better bargaining position for cross-licensing and counterclaims contributes significantly to this protection. Similarly, through intellectual property rights and registrations, firms can obstruct competing goods, hinder new entrants, and provide opportunities for the future market through technological developments. In the case of an eHarbour industry, intellectual property comes in a wide range of forms, as discussed in this paper.
Copyrights
“A copyright is an intangible property right granted by federal statute to the author or originator of certain literary or artistic productions” (Miller, 2016). Copyrights are intellectual property that guarantees protection for original artistic expressions or authorship works. Copyrights can be licensed to protect text, artwork, drawings, or a combination of these objects as the eHarbour firm may have produced them. All design drawings, research papers, and any form of art performed by the firm are offered protection through copyright protection licensing. This implies that no other third party may use or claim legal ownership of the above-mentioned items without the copyright. For a company to establish a copyright, three conditions have to be satisfied: that which is to be protected must be a work of authorship; it must be original; and it must be fixed in a tangible medium of expression. To register a copyright, you need to visit the U.S. Copyright Office website, create an account ,use a new application form specifically designed for the group option chosen , and then submit he application and required digital deposit copies through the electronic Copyright Office (eCO) registration portal.
Trademarks
These are considered brand names, symbols, or logos used to differentiate a firm's products and services from others. A trade name can either be a name, signature, text, painting, emblem, photograph, figure, inscription, or an adverti...