Current Issues in Intellectual Property Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Current Issues in Intellectual Property - Essay Example Most of the legal principles to encourage and establish the intellectual property rights have evolved over decades. The intellectual property laws were strongly established in the 19th century due to the different evolutions in the global business environment. Today the intellectual property laws and rights have become a commonplace concept in almost all countries accrues the globe. Intellectual properties are not only applicable to artistic creations but are also used to protect inventions and discoveries which have commercial value. Intellectual properties are protected by the law due to the usefulness of these properties in enabling the general people and society to earn financial and economic benefits and recognition from their discoveries, creations or inventions. It can be ascertained that striking a right balance between the interests of the public and those of the innovators is likely create an environment which will support the flourishing of creativity and innovation. Intellectual property laws can be used to protect a wide range of products and services. It includes all types of innovations and some discoveries made by individuals, teams or organizations. The intellectual property rights can be gained under copyrights, patents, trademarks, confidentiality or trade secrets. Patents can be obtained for a wide range of products including any method, substance, process or device which is inventive, new, authentic and useful to the society, technology or any other domain. Patents can be enforced legally and can be used to commercially protect and exploit inventions and creations. Some innovations like mathematical models, schemes, artistic creations, plans and processes which are completely dependent on mental processes are not eligible for getting patent rights. The copyrights are commonly used under the intellectual property laws to protect mental creations like literary works, music compositions and other forms of artistic,

Public Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Public Economics - Essay Example (a) According to Segura and Braun (2004, p.34), â€Å"a club good is a particular case of public good, which has the characteristics of excludability and non-rivalry (or partial non-rivalry, depending on the congestion).† It could never be a pure public good nor pure private good because it has the characteristic of least partly ‘rivalrousness’ and ‘excludability.’ Therefore, the usage of this good is exclusive for the club members (voluntary) and not for the good of the public, because if a good is already consumed by one of the members, the others will lose the opportunity, and the benefits are kept away from non-members (Murshed, 2010, p.153). The non-members are not allowed to assess, join and cooperate in the group because club members’ priority is to gain maximum utility over the certain goods. In other words, club goods are not public goods but they are a ‘quasi-public’ or partial public goods, for they are only made availab le to two or more individuals, and restricted or protected from the outsiders consumption or non-members that did not contribute to the club’s creation (Brummer, 2008). ... See for instance, a single individual will not have the capacity and the resources to build a club on its own, because it will shoulder the cost of the construction as well as the maintenance. Also, even if he did, the enjoyment will be more appreciated if it is shared to two or more people as long as the number of members did not detract the enjoyment of the other group members. A theory of club goods is â€Å"intrinsically bound up with issues of inclusion and exclusion, and hence, how members are selected and non-members excluded. This implies some notion of discrimination† (Crawford, 2006, p.121). â€Å"The important point here is that many government services are closer to the characteristics of club goods (or at least they are impure public goods) compared to pure public goods, particularly at the local level† (Murshed & Tadjoeddin, 2008, p.7). One of these services is higher education or universities which can be seen as a club good particularly the rising of the student tuition fees (Sandler & Tschirhart, 1997, p.336). Education itself is a club good because whose benefits are non-rival and non-excludable, thus it can be shared without detracting the availability of opportunity to other individuals. However, because of the rising student tuition fees poorer students would not be able to obtain the offered benefits of higher education, although it gives access to disadvantage students (Kershaw, 2010). This education that based on financial and not on academic ability is some kind of a restriction in the entry of poor bright students in an elite institutions or this can be considered discrimination. Withdrawal of the public funding would only make