Business Law

How many people have the recipe for Coca-Cola? Probably only a few high-level executives within the company. The recipe gives Coca-Cola a distinctive taste that is known the world over. If the recipe became public knowledge, Coca-Cola might lose its advantage; therefore, this recipe is one of the most closely guarded trade secrets in the US.  

Trade secrets are one type of intellectual property, property that is not tangible, but has an owner. Most forms of intellectual property are protected by the government. When a famous author publishes a book, you can’t go and copy the text and publish it under your name. The author and publisher have a copyright on the text of the book. If you did try to copy the book, you would be sued quickly. In this unit, we will look at the ways in which intellectual property is leveraged in business and study firms that rely solely on licensing their intellectual property for income.

Module Outcomes:

• Identify the requirements to hold a valid trademark, and determine what can and cannot be trademarked.

• Identify the requirements to hold a valid patent, and apply this knowledge to determine what can or cannot be patented.

• Define copyright, and determine when a copyright has been or has not been violated.

• Identify and describe the body of law that protects trade secrets, and apply this knowledge to determine situations in which trade secrets will or will not be protected.

• Analyze the impact of the digital era on intellectual property rights.