Homeland Security HLSS 311-Final assignment. Intellectual Property

Homeland Security Assignment
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Intellectual Property
Part A
Lemper (2012) defines Intellectual Property (IP) as creations of the mind with commercial and moral value. IP can be presented in the form of knowledge, information, or ideas. A person in possession of IP is protected by law from exploitation by non-authorized parties. However, there is a need to note that the monopoly right of exploitation, also referred to as IP rights, are limited in geographical extent, duration, and scope. The primary intention of protecting IP is to ensure the creator benefits from the advantages of exploiting the creation and as a result encouraging more creativity of mind through innovations.
According to Forzley (2003), counterfeiting and piracy have recently grown to become one of the world's largest underground businesses. The effect of the business is evident on a global economic scale. Counterfeit goods include products designed with similar features as the original products to trick consumers into purchasing. The United States is one of the most affected countries by the counterfeiting business. American industries report losses amounting to 200 billion dollars in terms of revenues every year due to the encroachment of counterfeits in the markets (Sowder, 2018). The growth of counterfeiting to a lucrative market has had a tremendous impact on the U.S. economy. There numerous indicators revealing the impact of counterfeit merchandise on America's economy. Besides negative reputations of industries and lost revenues, the merchandise contributes to the loss of about 750,000 jobs in the U.S, therefore, affecting the employment rates (Sowder, 2018). As counterfeiting business is projected to grow over the years, it means that unemployment rates will also be expected to surge in the country. Moreover, innovation has been grossly affected by the counterfeit business since goods are duplicated on a large scale without adherence to intellectual property rights. For a long time, innovation has been acknowledged as a critical driving factor of the U.S economic growth. Inadequate protection of trademarks, design rights, copyrights, and patents has seen a reduction in efforts to develop new products and ideas and the consequent discouragement of the innovation process.
Part B
Industry and media reports indicate that there are safety and health consequences associated with counterfeiting merchandise. Counterfeits goods such as personal care products, alcohol, medical drugs, and cigarettes have led to an unsuspected deterioration of public health and to a greater extent death. Most of these counterfeits products as contaminated with poisonous and injurious ingredients which pose risks of harm when consumed. Sowder (2018) reported that the U.S government seized fake pharmaceuticals worth 28.1 million dollars in 2008. Within the next year, it is projected that the sales of counterfeit drugs in the country will reach seventy-five billion dollars. The problem is made worse by the fact that consumers find it difficult to establish the efficacy, safety, and quality of most of the counterfeit drug products before consumption (Forzley, 2003).
Part C
Theft of intellectual property began to be considered a threat to the U.S national security a decade ago (Halbert, 2016). Some of the activities linked to IP theft treated as threats to national security include file sharing, trade secret theft, and hacking. Harris (2018) reports that the latest economic conflict between China and the United States provides reflects on the subject of IP theft as a national threat. China is alleged to use a multifaceted approach involving chemical formulas, software source codes, and technology to steal secrets from the U.S government. The data stolen is critical in developing weapons systems. Although China might be stealing IP for economic advancement, the United States perceives the practice as a threat to its national security. The hacker group based in Iran known as Rocket Kitten is reported to have made significant attempts to steal critical information about space programs and military technology from the U.S defense firms (Harris, 2018). Drawing from these case studies, there is no doubt that IP theft has advanced to become a national threat since some attackers aim at breaching the defense mechanism of the state for political-motivated reasons.
References
Forzley, M. (2003). Counterfeit goods and the public's health and safety. International Intellectual Property Institute Report.
Halbert, D. (2016). Intellectual property theft and national security: Agendas and assumptions. The Information Society, 32(4), 256-268.
Harris, S. (2018). Chinese theft continues in cyberspace as new threats emerge, U.S. intelligence officials warn. The Washington Post. Retrieved from /world/national-security/chinese-theft-continues-in-cyberspace-as-new-threats-emerge-us-intelligence-officials-warn/2018/07/26/7af698ae-90cc-11e8-9b0d-749fb254bc3d_story.html. Oct 24, 2019.
Lemper, T. A. (2012). The critical role of timing in managing intellectual property. Business Horizons, 55(4), 339-347.
Sowder, A. (2018). The harmful effects of counterfeit goods. Athens State University. Retrieved from /business-journal/spring-2013/asowder-couterfeit/. Oct 24, 2019.
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