LS311 Business Law
Unit 2 Assignment
MEMORANDUM
Re: Protecting iHiker Intellectual Property
Introduction
Intellectual property, according to the United States Patent and Trademark Office, are “creative
works or ideas embodied in a form that can be shared or can enable others to recreate, emulate,
or manufacture them” (n.d.). It is crucial for modern businesses to protect their intellectual
property. This memorandum will examine copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets, three
critical protections of which iHiker can take advantage to maintain a competitive edge in its
industry.
Copyrights
Copyright is a form of intellectual property law that protects the authors of original literary and
artistic works, such as poems, books, movies, television shows, songs, and architecture (United
States Copyright Office, n.d.). The Copyright Revision Act of 1976 in its current amended state
provides the framework for copyright law, which is governed federally with no state copyright
, laws (Cheeseman, 2021). The law prevents the unauthorized use of copyrighted works and
provides that copyrights may be sold or licensed to others for commercial use (Cheeseman,
2021).
A copyright is granted automatically when an original work becomes “fixed” in a permanent
medium; for example, words on a page, a photograph, or written or recorded music (Cheeseman,
2021). The Berne Convention passed in the United States in 1989 eliminated the need to denote
copyrighted works with things like the symbol “©” (Cheeseman, 2021). Additionally, authors
may register their original works with the U.S. Copyright Office, which entitles copyright
Unit 2 Assignment
MEMORANDUM
Re: Protecting iHiker Intellectual Property
Introduction
Intellectual property, according to the United States Patent and Trademark Office, are “creative
works or ideas embodied in a form that can be shared or can enable others to recreate, emulate,
or manufacture them” (n.d.). It is crucial for modern businesses to protect their intellectual
property. This memorandum will examine copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets, three
critical protections of which iHiker can take advantage to maintain a competitive edge in its
industry.
Copyrights
Copyright is a form of intellectual property law that protects the authors of original literary and
artistic works, such as poems, books, movies, television shows, songs, and architecture (United
States Copyright Office, n.d.). The Copyright Revision Act of 1976 in its current amended state
provides the framework for copyright law, which is governed federally with no state copyright
, laws (Cheeseman, 2021). The law prevents the unauthorized use of copyrighted works and
provides that copyrights may be sold or licensed to others for commercial use (Cheeseman,
2021).
A copyright is granted automatically when an original work becomes “fixed” in a permanent
medium; for example, words on a page, a photograph, or written or recorded music (Cheeseman,
2021). The Berne Convention passed in the United States in 1989 eliminated the need to denote
copyrighted works with things like the symbol “©” (Cheeseman, 2021). Additionally, authors
may register their original works with the U.S. Copyright Office, which entitles copyright
