Chapter 6 – Intellectual Property

VIGNETTE “RIAA Fights Music Piracy”

1. Is the RIAA’s strong stand on copyright infringement helping or hurting the music recording industry?

It will help the music industry to prevent producing of illegal and pirated Copies of CD's and DVD's. The role of RIAA is helpful to among artist to protect the rights they have via intellectual property and First Amendment rights of both artist and music industry.

2. Could an ISP’s implementation and enforcement of the RIAA’s multitier strategy have a negative impact on the ISP?

Action regards to Internet industry were musician and artist are effected, RIAA says that the music industry has fully embraced the Internet as a major channel for distribution to consumers. The group has called on the Federal Communications Commission actions thou eliminate illegal downloads of copyrighted works and any illegal activities through internet.

Case Study 1 - Intellectual Property and the War over Software Maintenance

1.  According to Oracle, how was TomorrowNow violating intellectual property law?

TomorrowNow purportedly downloaded copyrighted material containing software updates, patches, bug fixes, and instructions for PeopleSoft and JD Edwards products. Downloaded an extensive collection of Oracle’s copyrighted software and support materials onto SAP computers. “Non-production” copies of People-Soft software to develop support solutions. Using expired and soon-to-be-expiring passwords were retrieving information and code from every library on the Web site with much greater frequency than usual. Downloading thousands of documents from Oracle’s Customer Connection Web site in late 2006 and early 2007.

2. Why do you think Oracle sued SAP?

Oracle includes SAP to the list of the violators and Oracle think that SAP already knew of these improprieties when it purchased TomorrowNow.

3. What do you think should be done, if anything, to open the maintenance contact market to third-party contactors?

I rather be open with this type of issues happen but as an goal oriented business owner, I better do good legal services offer and much reliable to the customer to avoid unnecessary thing might happened like the issue above.

  

Case Study 2 - Google Book Search Library Project  

1.Do you think that Google should have taken a different approach that would have allowed it to avoid litigation and a lengthy delay in implementing its Books Search Library Project?

Yes, to avoid litigation Google must need to provide a way of appreciation to the author of the books. By not just adapting the so-called book whose author cannot be found but also respecting their intellectual rights and provided then a fair proper benefits.

2.  As a potential user, are you in favor of or do you oppose the Book Search Library Project? Please explain your answer.

Yes, it is a privilege for me if I’m the author of the book to let people read my book/s but they (Google) must first sure to respect my rights as an author of the book according to the business I offer I wanted. It is also an easy way to me as a potential user to read and expand my knowledge in things I wanted to learn to the book search library project.

3.Do you think that the proposed settlement gives Google an unfair advantage to profit from creating online services that allows people to access and search millions of books?

Yes, in part that authors cannot be found or so-called orphan books they will never get to market their published book/s, because potential user could easily access the books they wanted thru the Google and maybe writers/authors might not published a book.  

Case Study 3 - Lotus v. Borland

1. Go to your school’s computer lab or a PC software store and experiment with current version of any two of the Quattro, Excel, or Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet programs. Write a brief paragraph summarizing the similarities and differences in the “look and feel” of these two programs.

As what as I observe there’s a lot of similarities including the functionality are the same. The interface of Excel and Lotus are almost the same the function of the input type in keyboard and mouse are the same. But on the insert bar of lotus are different compare to excel which is intact and lot of functions found on Menu bar to be use. But overall most of them have similarities.

2. The courts took several years to reverse their initial decision and rule in favor of Borland. What impact did this delay have on the software industry? How might things have been different if Borland had received and initial favorable ruling?

In times of suing in court Borland products has affect its sales due to unnecessary things that happened. This kind of issues have a bigger impact to software industry, producer, supplier, consumer are all affected in this part. As a result of these issues it is more challenged to the side of the developers and the supplier to patent process to protect their product in term of copyright protection. Due to lawsuit happened between Borland and Lotus. Borland quit in producing spreadsheet and do other business programming software.

3.Assume that you are the manager of Borland’s software development. With the benefit of hindsight, what different decisions would you have made about Quattro?

Before I will produce the Quattro ill just make sure it is unique and much reliable to use compare to the existing one. And if that suing happened to me, much better that I will sell my product to other company and find a better and innovative side to produce.