Information Technology Reference
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More recently, George Washington University law professor Robert Brauneis has
objected that “Happy Birthday to You” should not be used as an example of the “overly
generous protection of copyright law.” In a meticulously researched article, he concludes
that the song “is almost certainly no longer under copyright, due to a lack of evidence
about who wrote the words; defective copyright notice; and a failure to file a proper
renewal application” [17]. However, to this date no one has challenged Time Warner's
copyright in court.
4.3 Protecting Intellectual Property
While the US Constitution gives Congress the right to grant authors and inventors
exclusive rights to their creations, it does not elaborate on how these rights will be
protected. Today there are four different ways in which individuals and organizations
protect their intellectual property: trade secrets, trademarks/service marks, patents, and
copyrights.
4.3.1 Trade Secrets
A trade secret is a confidential piece of intellectual property that provides a company
with a competitive advantage. Examples of trade secrets include formulas, processes,
proprietary designs, strategic plans, customer lists, and other collections of information.
The right of a company to protect its trade secrets is widely recognized by governments
around the world. In order to maintain its rights to a trade secret, a company must
take active measures to keep it from being discovered. For example, companies typically
require employees with access to a trade secret to execute a confidentiality agreement.
A famous trade secret is the formula for Coca-Cola syrup. The formula, known
inside the company as “Merchandise 7X,” is locked in a bank vault in Atlanta, Georgia.
Only a few people within the company know the entire formula, and they have signed
nondisclosure agreements. The task of making the syrup is divided among different
groups of employees. Each group makes only one part of the final mixture, so that
nobody in these groups learns the complete recipe.
An advantage of trade secrets is that they do not expire. A company never has to
disclose a trade secret. Coca-Cola has kept its formula secret for more than 100 years.
The value of trade secrets is in their confidentiality. Hence trade secrets are not an
appropriate way to protect many forms of intellectual property. For example, it makes
no sense for a company to make a movie a trade secret, because a company can only
profit from a movie by allowing it to be viewed, which makes it no longer confidential.
On the other hand, it is appropriate for a company to make the idea for a movie a trade
secret. Art Buchwald pitched Paramount Pictures a story called King for a Day ,aboutan
African prince who visits the United States. After the studio produced the movie Coming
to America , starring Eddie Murphy, Buchwald successfully sued Paramount for breach of
contract, because he had made the studio sign a confidentiality agreement before he gave
them the plot [18].
 
 
 
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