Rule of law

Rule of law -- a concise summary of the main precedent established. Support with quotes form the book

So what would be the main precedent establish by the questions I asked my lawyer, well I think the simple answer is that which has been told to us in class all quarter. And that is the law is much more complicated than we think it is or should be so the sound advice that our teach has given to us and the same advice given to me by my lawyer is that when it comes to some things concerning intellectual property and its laws you should consult an attorney. “Intellectual property laws don’t prevent someone from stepping on the owner’s rights. But the laws do give an owner the ammunition to take the trespasser to court.” (Patent, Copyright & Trademark An Intellectual Property Desk Reference, 11th Edition, Page 5.) There are four types of laws concerning intellectual property which are Patent law, Copyright law, Trademark law, and Trade Secret law. “Sometimes, trade secret, copyright, patent, and trademark laws intersect with each other with respect to a particular product or service.” (Patent, Copyright & Trademark An Intellectual Property Desk Reference, 11th Edition, Page 6.) Each of these groups of intellectual property is given different rights according to the nature of the intellectual property. The first of these are Patent laws which are granted to a patent owner for a limited time for the use and development of an invention. The second it that of Copyright law which protect a variety of original expressions, some of which are photographs, drawings, painting, songs, website, etc. Copyrights differ than a patent because a copyright is given to the creator at the moment of creation, yet it can be enhanced by registering the Copyright. “Copyright lasts for the life of the work’s creator (its author) plus 70 years. In the cases where the creator is a business, the copyright lasts between 95 and 120 years.” (Patent, Copyright & Trademark An Intellectual Property Desk Reference, 11th Edition, Page 196.) The third is that of Trademark law which is are legal rules that businesses use to protect the names, logos, and other commercial signifiers used to identify their products and services, like that of Coke Cola. These rules are meant to do one thing and that is to prevent consumers from being confused in the marketplace, thinking they are getting one thing because of a name or logo and getting something different in return that could potentially hurting or ruining a company’s reputation. Lastly is that of Trade secret laws which are designed to try and protect any information that is secret and has commercial value. “Trade secrets often comprise customer lists, sensitive marketing information, unpatented inventions, software, formulas and recipes, techniques, processes, and other business information that provides a company with a business edge.” (Patent, Copyright & Trademark An Intellectual Property Desk Reference, 11th Edition, Page 528.) An example of this would be that of KFC’s special recipe for the herbs and spices used in their chicken. This is why it is important to contact an attorney if you have a question or other reason to pursue some sort of action in response to someone infringing on your rights when it comes to one of these different types of intellectual property items.