Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
While it is illegal to steal a trade secret, there are other ways in which the confiden-
tiality may be broken. “Reverse engineering” is one way in which a competing firm can
legally gain access to information contained in a trade secret. If another company can
purchase a can of Coca-Cola and figure out the formula, it is free to manufacture a soft
drink that looks and tastes just like Coke.
Another way in which a competing firm can gain access to information contained
in another company's trade secret is by hiring its employees. While a firm can require
its employees to sign confidentiality agreements, it cannot erase the memories of an em-
ployee who starts working for a competing firm. Hence some “leakage” of confidential
information may be inevitable when employees move from one company to another.
A
trademark
is a word, symbol, picture, sound, or color used by a business to identify
goods. A
service mark
is a mark identifying a service [19]. By granting a trademark or
service mark, a government gives a company the right to use it and the right to prevent
other companies from using it. Through the use of a trademark, a company can establish
a “brand name.” Society benefits from branding because branding allows consumers to
have more confidence in the quality of the products they purchase.
When a company is the first to market a distinctive product, it runs the risk that its
brand name will become a common noun used to describe any similar product. When
this happens, the company may lose its right to exclusive use of the brand name. Some
trademarks that have become generic are “yo yo,” “aspirin,” “escalator,” “thermos,” and
“brassiere.”
Companies strive to ensure their marks are used as adjectives rather than nouns
or verbs. One way they do this is through advertising (Figure 4.4). Kimberly-Clark's
advertisements refer to “Kleenex
brand
facial tissue.” Remember Johnson & Johnson's
jingle, “I am stuck on Band-Aid
brand
'cause Band-Aid's stuck on me”?
Another way companies protect their trademarks is by contacting those who are
misusing them. For example, Adobe has responded to Web posts about “photoshopping
images” by posting this follow-up message: “The Photoshop trademark must never be
used as a common verb or as a noun. The Photoshop trademark should always be
capitalized and should never be used in possessive form, or as a slang term” [20].
A
patent
is a way the US government provides an inventor with an exclusive right to a
piece of intellectual property. A patent is quite different from a trade secret because a
patent is a public document that provides a detailed description of the invention. The
owner of the patent can prevent others from making, using, or selling the invention for
the lifetime of the patent, which is currently 20 years. After the patent expires, anyone
has the right to make use of its ideas.
