Submitted by: Submitted by 47winugar
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Words: 3351
Pages: 14
Category: Business and Industry
Date Submitted: 10/20/2015 12:23 PM
Legal and Ethical Considerations in Marketing, Product Safety, and Intellectual Property
Introduction
Marketing functions include persuasion and influencing consumer behavior. Over the years, some aspects of marketing activities and practices have been considered deceptive marketing and in many cases have become illegal (Geangu & Dumitru, 2013, p. 904). We read about the marketing of junk food to children in the light of rising obesity rates and about the tobacco industry, where advertising and public relations techniques have successfully reconfigured consumer perceptions of risk (Halbert, 2012, p.243). The most fundamental ethical issues that businesses face are integrity and trust. A relationship of trust between the business and its customers may be a key determinate to that business’s success. The present article will critically examine ethical restraints on marketing and advertising. We will analyze laws and regulations relative to product safety and liability. We will than explore intellectual property rights and use of laws to protect those rights in the light of the PharmaCARE scenario.
Basic information about Intellectual Property and safety regulations according to OSHA
Intellectual Property (IP) is the work product of the human mind (Legal, n.d.). While often expensive and time consuming to generate, IP can be quickly and easily copied. There are four areas covered under (IP): Patents, Copyrights, Trademarks, and Trade Secrets. IP rights are a means of protecting and rewarding innovation (Legal, n.d.).
Patents - Patent types include utility patent, design patents and plant patents. The patent once acquired, gives the inventor a complete monopoly for 20 years, during which no one else may use or profit from the invention without permission. The U.S. Code Title 35 protects patents.
Copyrights - Copyrights are ideas that are “fixed in a tangible medium of expression” and their authors generally gain rights lasting 70 years beyond the author’s...