Ethical decision making for procter and gamble free essay sample

One example of how the company has used social media to reinforce its brand and then offer a short term income play. The creativity in marketing today can be amazing when one uses social networking in combination with brand awareness. And this type of quick thinking and awareness can set a company apart, contributing to sales. Procter and Gamble is a great example of this. PG has a purpose to keep current on events that happen through the day that could have an impact on its brands. It looks for things that could possibly have a direct attitude upon loyal customers. In one instance, for example, the Tide brand came to the rescue after a fiery explosion during the Dayton 500 covered the Speedway with 200 gallons of burning fuel. TV viewers watched track workers using Tide to clean the track during a two-hour delay in the Great American Race. Corporate Governance is the interaction of the management, shareholders and Board of Directors to help ensure that all investors—both shareholders and creditors—are protected against managers acting solely in their own best interest. We will write a custom essay sample on Ethical decision making for procter and gamble or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Corporate Governance consists of laws, policies, procedures and, most importantly, practices that ensure the well-being of the assets of the Company. Corporate Governance is at its highest levels when management acts as if they are long-term investors in the Company. The policies, procedures and practices spelled out in this section demonstrate that Procter Gamble takes Corporate Governance very seriously. Our management acts as long-term investors of the Company because they, like most Procter Gamble employees at all levels, are in fact long-term investors. Employees Are Long-Term Investors In 1887, before PG was even a publicly traded company, William Cooper Procter introduced a profit-sharing program for employees. At the time he said, â€Å"We should let the employees share in the firm’s earnings. That will give them an incentive to increase earnings. † He revised that program in 1903 to have the profit sharing be awarded in the form of actual PG stock. He reasoned that as employees became stockholders, their economic interests and those of the Company would be bound more closely together. That program still exists today with a large part of each U. S. employee’s retirement consisting of PG stock. Additionally, virtually all employees own PG stock or stock rights via various investment programs. Because of that fact, employees’ economic interests are aligned to those of the Company. Further, our Executive Share Ownership Program requires senior executives to own shares of Company stock and/or restricted stock units valued at eight times base salary for the Chief Executive Officer, and five times base salary for the other senior executives. Non-employee directors must own Company stock and/or restricted stock units worth six times their annual cash retainer. These compensation programs help to ensure the alignment of the interests of our senior executives and directors with shareholders. A Foundation of Integrity, Control and Stewardship PG has a strong history of operating with integrity throughout the Company—at all levels, in all countries, both internally and externally. Our actions and the actions of all our employees are governed by our Purpose, Values and Principles. The basis for every decision we make at PG can be found in our Purpose, Values and Principles—our PVPs. The clarity and constancy of the Company’s PVPs is the one factor above all others that has driven the Company’s growth over generations. Our commitment to operate responsibly is reflected in the steps we have in place to ensure rigorous financial discipline and Corporate Governance. We have an active, capable and diligent Board of Directors that meets the required standards of independence, with members who understand their role in providing strong Corporate Governance. Our Audit Committee is comprised exclusively of independent directors, with significant financial knowledge and experience. The Audit Committee also meets regularly in private session with the Company’s independent auditors, Deloitte Touche LLP. We maintain a strong internal control environment. Our rigorous business process controls include written policies and procedures, segregation of duties and the careful selection and development of employees. The system is designed to  provide reasonable assurance that transactions are executed as authorized and appropriately recorded, that assets are safeguarded and that accounting records are sufficiently reliable to permit the preparation of financial statements conforming in all material respects with accounting principles generally accepted in the U. S. We monitor these internal controls through an ongoing program of audit self-assessment and internal and external audits. We maintain disclosure controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed is recorded, processed, summarized and reported in a timely and accurate manner. Our Disclosure Committee is comprised of senior-level executives responsible for evaluating disclosure implications of significant business activities and events. We execute financial stewardship by maintaining specific programs and activities to ensure that employees understand their fiduciary responsibilities to shareholders. This ongoing effort encompasses financial discipline in strategic and daily business decisions and brings particular focus to maintaining accurate financial reporting and effective controls. In addition, our Global Leadership Council is actively involved in rigorous oversight of the business. We reinforce key employee responsibilities through the Company’s Worldwide Business Conduct, which details management’s and the Board of Directors’ commitment to conduct the Company’s business affairs with high ethical standards. Every employee is required to be trained on the Company’s Worldwide Business Conduct Manual, and every employee is held personally accountable for compliance. Portions of the Worldwide Business Conduct Manual comprise PG’s Code of Ethics for SEC and New York Stock Exchange Regulatory Purposes, as further described in the Manual. Doing What’s Right PG’s reputation is earned by our conduct: what we say, what we do, the products we make, the services we provide and the way we act and treat others. As conscientious citizens and employees, we want to do what is right. For PG, and our global operations, this is the only way to do business. A. 2. 1. 5. 1. External reporting on social/ethical issues 100. 0% A+ The company provides comprehensive and transparent social/ethical reporting on a regular basis. Coverage: Group-wide coverage (= 100% of employees are covered by reporting). Comment: The company reports on social/ethical issues in its Sustainability Reports and on its corporate website as well as affiliated websites (www. scienceinthebox. com, www. pgbeautyscience. com). The company provides information on employees (diversity and health safety data, layoffs/outplacement programs, training, working conditions), product responsibility, as well as on its community involvement and philanthropic initiatives. In addition, PG reports on HSE non-compliance and fines. Some issues in the report are covered in-depth (e. g.  community initiatives, diversity, training and consumer information). Some issues, however, are only covered in a rather general way (e. g. working conditions). Apart from policies and standards, there is only little information on the companys supply chain management such as on supplier audits or counseling with regard to social issues. The companys 2007 sustainability report was prepared using the Global Reporting Initiatives reporting guidelines. No information is available whether the report has been audited by an external accountant. While both have been engaged in such efforts for years, theyre talking about them, and particularly advertising them, like never before. No less than Bill Gates recently mentioned Unilever as a top-of-mind example of a company involved in sustainability efforts in a CNBC interview from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Unilever also won top honors in global ethical-reputation rankings from PR-monitoring firm Covalence in 2007 and Columbia Universitys Botwinick Prize in business ethics, in part for  such efforts as Doves Campaign for Real Beauty which aims to reach 5 million girls with self-esteem programs. In fact, the line between doing good and marketing has become blurry enough that Doves Evolution viral video had to be yanked from a not-for-profit classification at the last minute to qualify for last years Film Grand Prix at Cannes. The same day as Mr. Gates interview, PG indicated it would be communicating about its sustainability efforts defined to encompass a broad range of community-betterment programs a much bigger priority in 2008. PG goes beyond It will be hard to do more communicating than PG already has done. At least eight PG brands have active ad campaigns touting environmental or philanthropic efforts, everything from Always and Tampax supporting efforts to keep African girls in school by providing them with free sanitary-protection products to Pantene collecting locks of hair for cancer patients. Two of those efforts already are leading to new-product launches, in the cases of Pantene and Pur water filters, the latter having switched ad agencies in part to advance its cause-related marketing. Though both PG and Unilever see prospects for substantial gains from such efforts on their bottom lines and for the communities in which they operate, both acknowledge that much of the effort is for internal consumption. Simply put, its getting impossible to attract or retain marketers without a solid reputation for ethical marketing. We are seeing, particularly with the new generation of young business people and young marketers, that they are only attracted to companies that fit with their own value set, said Kevin Havelock, president of Unilever U. S. And the value set of the new generation is one that says this company must take a positive and global view on the global environment. The ethical positions we take on brands like Dove, the positions we take on not using models of size zero across any of our brands, the positions we take in terms of adding back to communities these all underpin an attractive proposition for marketers. Its a similar story at PG, which has had a fairly long tradition of marketers leaving for philanthropic or religious pursuits. Cause-marketing efforts have a big motivational impact, said PG Global Marketing Officer Jim Stengel. It fires the agencies up, too. It just feels like youre playing to a higher-order ideal. Telling everyone But neither PG nor Unilever is just preaching to the choir anymore, or even limiting the message to its long-standing public-relations silo. Theyre increasingly incorporating their cause marketing into mainstream brand advertising and product assortments. PGs Pur has one of the most elaborate cause-marketing efforts a $20 million program that aims to purify 2 billion liters of water in Africa and save 10,000 lives by 2012. New Age as the program may be, the ads are classic package goods. The Pur water-purification packets make for an amazing product demo. Take the most turbid swamp water imaginable, mix in a sachet of Pur Purifier of Water and strain it through a cloth. Within a minute or so, it produces a pitcher of perfectly clear, drinkable water. The trouble is, the people who need it most have no money. Hence it became one of the cornerstone projects in the companys global Live, Learn, Thrive philanthropic program, albeit with a commercial twist. PG has licensed the product to Canadas Reliance Products for a U. S. launch aimed at campers and disaster-preparedness kits that broke in late February behind a feature in PGs March and April Brand Saver newspaper coupon inserts. Saatchi gets in the game Though those ads for the PG-Reliance effort came from Quigley-Simpson, a Los Angeles direct-response agency, Purs shift to a sustainability message played a role in the shift of the brands creative account to Omnicom Groups TBWA/Chiat Day, Playa Del Rey, Calif. , from Publicis Groupes Saatchi Saatchi, Los Angeles, last year. Saatchi lost Pur, but the agency has definitely not given up on sustainability. In January, Saatchi acquired San Francisco-based consultancy Act Now Productions, headed by former Sierra Club executive turned Wal-Mart consultant Adam Werbach, to form a Saatchi Saatchi S (for sustainability). The growing interest in sustainability issues from PG, Unilever, Wal-Mart and others is creating ripples of change throughout marketing services. ARS Group, which for decades has tested TV copy for PG and others in package-goods, recently formed its own green consulting unit, ARSGreen. What ARS is finding underlines the big reason that sustainability has become so popular with analytical package-goods types: it works at least sometimes. Green ads in the ARS database do about as well as others on recall and persuasion, said Ashley Grace, president of ARSGreen and head of research and development for ARS Group. Doing about average is actually a testament to sustainabilitys selling power, as he sees it. Offering solutions In our database, about one out of 50 ads usually has a negative tone, Mr.Grace said. In the green data set, its more like 75%. ARS has found for decades that negative ads which raise a problem without offering a real solution usually fare poorly in tests. But negative green ads generally do about average. And green ads that go the extra step of offering tangible solutions can sometimes score exceptionally well. Ashley Grace, president of ARSGreen and head of research and development for ARS Group Ashley Grace, president of ARSGreen and head of research and development for ARS Group While many in the package-goods industry believe sustainability messages resonate with only about 10% to 15% of consumers, ARS research indicates such appeals can sway about two-thirds of people, including 24% in the hard-core health and sustainability segment who rate both personal and environmental health highly. To be sure, copy testing is widely loathed by advertising agencies, particularly creatives. But marketers such as PG use the results because they correlate with sales results. Its clear that ethical marketing really can make a difference in peoples lives. For example, since PGs Pantene launched its Beautiful Lengths program in 2006 to solicit locks of hair to be woven into wigs for women receiving cancer treatments, it has gotten enough donations to make 3,000 wigs. Compare that to the 2,000 wigs created over 10 years by the previously existing charity in the space, Locks of Love. It doesnt hurt PG, of course, that Oprah snipped the locks of Hilary Swank on air for one of those wigs, or that schoolgirls have organized events to collect hundreds of hair donations at once. Oh, and it dovetails nicely with the launch of Pantene Beautiful Lengths shampoo and conditioner later this year to care for those long locks. Mitigating factors Of course, such programs only work if other factors, such as product and pricing, are also right. For example, PG Chairman-CEO A. G. Lafley identified the U. S. Pantene business as the only real problem in the companys global hair-care portfolio in a January investor conference call, but the share losses date to the brands restage last year, not to the  launch of Beautiful Lengths a year earlier. Unilevers Campaign for Real Beauty, while very much alive, last year stopped delivering double-digit sales gains Unilever had seen the first two years of the effort. Doves 2007s new-product lineup didnt go over as well as prior years (and a price hike on bar soap, not initially reciprocated by PG and others, didnt help, either). By whatever name ethical, sustainable or cause marketing is an important secondary factor for consumers, said Unilevers Mr. Havelock. A great product at the right price is the entry point, he said. Once there, a company or a brand that has a social responsibility position or a sustainability position will then have an edge over other brands. Of course, in an age of social media, marketings good deeds seldom go entirely unpunished, and never unquestioned. Even PGs ads about efforts to provide free sanitary protection in Africa to help keep girls from missing school, which broke in December from Publicis Groupes Leo Burnett Co., have prompted lengthy discussions on some blogs criticizing the motives in using giveaways to develop new markets and generating more waste as a result. When you do it in the right way, with the right tone and authenticity, consumers reward us [for these programs], Mr. Stengel said, citing Pampers 20-country, multiyear effort to fight tetanus via Unicef as the PG program that appears to have had the biggest positive impact on sales and brand equity to date. Such programs work best when owned by the brand, which is why PG, like Unilever, has generally avoided multi-company efforts such as the Red campaign to fight AIDS or the Susan G. Komen pink-ribbon campaign against breast cancer, instead focusing on efforts linked specifically to their own brands equity and function. It has to be right for the brands voice, said Mr. Stengel. And it has to really work for the business.

SLIDE 6 Essays - Economy, Income Distribution, Labour Law

SLIDE 6 Should we keep the minimum wage law? Some argue that we should abolish it and let the free market decide what to pay their employees. Already we see Small business and corporate franchises paying well over t he minimum wage and that is an example of the free market. The purpose of theminimum wagewas to stabilize the post-depression economy andprotecttheworkersin the labor force. Theminimum wagewas designed to create aminimumstandard of living toprotectthe health and well-being of employees. raising the minimum wage to an excessively high rate would exert inflationary pressure on the economy, but increasing it to keep pace with inflation would only have a minimal effect. By setting a government-specified floor for workers' wages, minimum wage laws tend to disrupt labor supply and demand. SLIDE 5 When government increases minimum wage is causes a shift in demand causing it to decrease. This shift happens simply because businesses cannot pay all the unskilled workers higher wages and stay profitable. When this happens, it interrupts the equilibrium and causes unemployment.

Death Penalty for Murderers essays

Death Penalty for Murderers essays Some people believe that emotional trauma, in a persons young childhood, is the main characteristic of a serial killer. The trauma, whether it be from an unstable family, a family separation or even parent abandonment, are part of the common characteristics of a serial killer and therefore, the blame should not be put on the serial killer himself, but rather society. The problem with this argument is that studies show that fifty percent of American marriages will end in divorce, yet half the citizens of the U.S. are not serial killers. This argument is similar to saying that eating meat is responsible for turning people into serial killers. If studied, close to one hundred percent, if not all, serial killers eat beef, chicken or fish on a daily, or semi daily, basis and the killer himself should not be punished for their deeds. Instead, all meat products should be banned and the American public needs to turn to vegetarianism in order to stop these killings. Many people fail to comprehend that the only person responsible for ones own action is him/herself. Since society has the highest interest in preventing murder, it should use the strongest punishment available to deter murder, and that is the death penalty. Whatever people fear most is likely to deter the most. Hence, the threat of the death penalty may deter some murderers who otherwise might not have been deterred. If one is already serving a life sentence for a crime unrelated to murder, the death penalty seems the only deterrence from stopping the inmate from killing a prison guard or even another inmate. If this did not deter them, then surely nothing else would have. Lastly, the death penalty will surely put an end to the killings of the condemned who was put to death. In death, one is no longer able to carry out such heinous acts. Capital punishment also helps the victims and their families by knowing that justice has been served and...

Bloody Sunday Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Bloody Sunday - Essay Example Internment was introduced by the state authorities. In internment, the individuals who protested or were suspects were imprisoned without any trial. And it is believed that this Internment basically targeted the Catholics as most of the individuals imprisoned were Catholics. This Internment and unjust treatment of their community led the Catholics to protest for their rights. This peaceful rally was arranged by the Catholics on 30th January 1972. The rally was going peacefully until it was stopped at an army barricade. The whole situation turned to be ugly from here on when the protestors started being aggressive and hurled stones at the army. In response to this Water Cannon and rubber bullets were fired back at the crowd which went on for quite a while. This situation went on for a while because of which the Head Quarters ordered the Parachute Regiment to be deployed. Unusual events took place after the deployment when gun shots were fired at the rally by the army personnel and sev eral of the protestors were killed during this process. 13 casualties were at first reported at the site but after some months another individual who was shot succumbed to the injuries raising the death toll to 14. The unusual events of the incident have been provided from two different sources. The government sources put forward the event in such a way that the army personnel were at first shot at by the civilians and in self defense the army personnel had to shoot back. An army source which was interviewed after the event said that the civilians also possessed nail bombs and they were about to use them to harm the army. On the other hand this source is clearly denied by another eye witness of the event who was also interviewed. According to the eye witness the civilians did not possess any weapons and the army personnel were the first ones who shot the innocent civilians. These unusual

During the placement identify a specific issue relating to nursing Essay

During the placement identify a specific issue relating to nursing practice. (Progression development in mental health nursing) - Essay Example It requires a perfect understanding of the health problem, its effects and implications for other life and health functions in older people. Therefore, it is imperative for mental health nurses to develop professional awareness of the dementia problem and its risks in older people, in order to understand the ways of addressing this problem, as well as the personal and medical needs of older people. This paper aims at investigating the issue of dementia in older people from the standpoint of a mental health nurse. The paper will discuss and critically evaluate the significance of the problem for older people. Prevalence of dementia in older people and its effects on the critical life functions will be discussed. The paper will analyze the challenges, which mental health nurses face, while trying to deliver high quality nursing care. Other aspects of mental health care will be discussed, including nursing paradigms and therapeutic approaches, the role and the boundaries of a mental hea lth nurse in dementia care, and the role of effective planning and nurse-patient interactions in caring for older patients suffering from dementia. Legal and ethical factors of dementia care will be evaluated. This paper will expose the key problems related to mental health nursing and its role in dementia care. Practical recommendations for mental health nurses will be provided. ... ing those with dementia, constantly grows, and (b) dementia requires that nurses develop complex approaches to care, in order to reduce its negative influence on other life functions. The World Health Organization believes that the growing proportion of older people to the total population is a global phenomenon, and increasing age turns chronic health conditions into the issue of the main health importance (Anonymous 2009a). Among the most common health problems in older people, mental health disorders and cognitive impairments feature prominently (Anonymous 2009). Dementia and depression as the two most widely spread forms of chronic mental conditions later in life (Anonymous 2009a). Needless to say, the higher the proportion of older people to the general population, the more acute the problem of dementia grows. In its 2009 report, WHO estimated that almost 36 million of older people worldwide would be diagnosed of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease in 2010 (Sorrell 2010). Th is number is likely to double every 20 years (Sorrell 2010). These statistical results have far-reaching implications for health care systems’ operation and functioning. These implications are equally relevant to mental health nurses. Nurses need skills and knowledge to anticipate the development of cognitive changes in the older people and guarantee high quality care, which reduces social stigmatization of patients with dementia and improves their life and wellbeing. The problem is dangerous and complicated in the sense that dementia produces multiple negative effects on life and health functioning in older people. According to The World Health Organization, quality of life is â€Å"an individual’s perceptions of their position in life in the context of the culture and value system in which

Intellectual Property Essay Example for Free

Intellectual Property Essay Overview of Paper Whether we believe it is right or not, many of us have become accustomed to the fact that a large number people download copyrighted material regularly using Peer-to-Peer file-sharing software. As a result, the entertainment industry is losing billions of dollars in revenue, and is suffering from the infringements of many copyrights. Who should be held responsible for this? Is it the fault of the people who misuse the software or the fault of the software distributors for allowing this to occur? With the recent case of MGM Studios, Inc. v. Grokster, Ltd., these issues came to an even bigger showdown than the predecessor case of AM Records Inc. V. Napster in which the violations that its users were directly infringing the plaintiffs copyrights, that Napster was liable for contributory infringement of the plaintiffs copyrights and that Napster was liable for vicarious infringement of the plaintiffs copyrights, particularly after it was discovered that multi-platinum artists were finding their songs leaked to the internet long before an album had ever been released. (Vaver) Thusly, the basis of this paper will be to examine the relationship of Peer-to-Peer (P2P) file sharing services and how they violate copyrights, patents and generally, intellectual property. Further, I will discuss the impact on software developers, artists and the individual user who participates in utilizing P2P software on their individual and public access computer systems. The primary case that will be featured in this discussion is Metro Gold wyn Mayer (MGM) versus Grokster which took place in 2005. †¢History of participants (MGM) Theater magnate Marcus Lowe, who orchestrated the merger of Metro Pictures Corp., Goldwyn Pictures and Louis B. Mayer Productions, formed MGM in April 1924. With visionary Louis B. Mayer and Irving Thalberg at the helm, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer was a powerhouse of prolific artistry and filmmaking expertise that the studio famously said attracted more stars than are in the heavens. During a golden three decades from 1924 to 1954, the Culver City-based studio dominated the movie business, creating a Best Picture nominee every year for two straight decades. One of the more memorable years at the Academy Awards ® was in 1939 when MGMs Gone With the Wind and MGMs The Wizard of Oz were both nominated for Best Picture. Gone With the Wind took home Best Picture that year, along with 8 other Oscars. The Wizard of Oz secured two Oscars. United Artists was established on July 15, 1919 by Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and D.W. Griffith and was best known as the company built by the stars. The budding company quickly left an indelible mark on Hollywood, revolutionizing the motion-picture business by promising creative freedom to actors and filmmakers, while offering the filmmakers a share of the films profits. UAs Midnight Cowboy, released in 1969 starring Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight, was the first X-Rated film to be nominated and win an Academy Award ®. It won 3 Oscars ®, including Best Picture. It was changed to an R-rating in 1971. United Artists later joined the MGM family in 1981, and thrived as member of the lions pride.†¨Ã¢â‚¬ ¨MGM boasts a total of 205 Academy Awards ® in its vast library. Among those are 15 Best Pictures. These films include; Rebecca (1940), Best Years of Our Lives (1946), Hamlet (1948), Marty (1955), The Apartment (1960), West Side Story (1961), Tom Jones (1963), In the Heat of the Night (1967), Midnight Cowboy (1969), Rocky (1976), Annie Hall (1977), Platoon (1986), Rain Man (1988), Dances With Wolves (1990), The Silence of the Lambs (1991). Today MGM boasts an impressive library comprised of titles from the United Artists, Orion Pictures, and Goldwyn Entertainment and PolyGram Filmed Entertainment libraries. With approximately 4,100 films and over 10,400 hours of television programming, the library also includes the Rocky and Pink Panther franchises and the celebrated James Bond franchise, the longest running and most profitable series in film history. (MGM) MGM and other entertainment companies (24 in total): A collection of song-writers, music publishers and motion picture studios who â€Å"own or control the vast majority of copyrighted motion pictures and sound recordings in the United States.† Damages were sought as well as an injunction against Grokster for copyright infringement. MGM accused Grokster of distributing software which enabled users to breach copyright restrictions. They insisted that around 90% of data transferred using P2P software was copyrighted, costing them millions of dollars in lost revenues. They also argued that this type of copyright infringement would not occur if Grokster and similar software distributors did not make it possible. †¢History of participants (Grokster) Grokster Ltd. was a privately owned software company based in Nevis, West Indies that created the Grokster Peer-to-Peer file-sharing client in 2001. Grokster Ltd. was rendered extinct in late 2005 by the United States Supreme Courts decision in MGM Studios, Inc. v. Grokster, Ltd. (Duke) Grokster became popular after the collapse of Napster due partly because of its decentralized architecture. Grokster’s client application licensed the FastTrack network technology. Grokster was in a new client software application that was used to connect to the FastTrack and Gnutella’s decentralized P2P networks to enable its users to share files. This network was quite different from Napster in two primary ways: 1) users could search for any file type (they were not restricted to MP3s like in Napster) 2) the network was decentralized. The decentralized architecture prevented any single broken link, such as Napster’s index servers, from bringing down the network. Grokster removed the need for centralized index servers through its use of super nodes. Whenever a powerful computer with a high-speed connection running Grokster connected to the FastTrack network, it automatically became a super node and acted as a temporary indexing server for other clients on the network. It was believed that the decentralized nature of the network would insulate it from legal threats, however, this can also intimate a certain level of culpability in the act of sharing the files. (Giblin) So what is Intellectual Property? According to WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization), intellectual property refers to creations of the mind: inventions, literary and artistic works, and symbols, names, images, and designs used in commerce. Intellectual property is divided into two categories: Industrial property, which includes inventions (or as we commonly know them: patents), trademarks, industrial designs, geographic indications of source (definition of geographic indications: a name or sign used on certain products which corresponds to a specific geographical location or origin {e.g. a town, region, or country}. The use of a geographic indication may act as a certification that the product possesses certain qualities, is made according to traditional methods, or enjoys a certain reputation, due to its geographical origin†¦ example: Vidalia Onions or Florida Oranges†¦) and Copyright, which includes literary and artistic works such as novels, poems and plays, films, musical works, artistic works like drawings, paintings, photographs and sculptures, and architectural designs. Rights related to copyright include those of performing artists in their performances, producers of phonograms in their recordings, and those of broadcasters in their radio and television programs. The innovations and creative expressions of indigenous and local communities are also Intellectual property, but because they are â€Å"traditional† they may not be fully protected by existing Intellectual property systems. Thusly, when industrial works and/or literary and artistic works are shared without proper compensation, any business, contract holder, artist or individual related to the copyright or patent has the right to seek damages in what is owed to them in relationship to the work in question. MGM V. Grokster – Facts and Decision MGM and several music and motion picture studios brought this suit against Grokster alleging vicarious and contributory copyright infringement for distributing peer-to-peer file-sharing software. According to MGM, over 90% of the material exchanged using Grokster’s file-sharing software is copyrighted material and therefore, copyright infringement occurs every time users exchange the information. MGM contends that Grokster contributes to this infringement by making the file-sharing software available to the public. The district court disagreed with MGM, granting partial summary judgment in favor of Grokster as to the liability that occurred from its present distribution activities. MGM appealed the decision to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The Ninth Circuit held that Grokster was not liable for contributory infringement because it lacked sufficient knowledge of the infringement and it did not materially contribute to the copyright infringement. According to the court, th e peer-to-peer file-sharing software distributed by Grokster was capable of substantial non-infringing uses. Based on this finding, the court held that Grokster could not be found liable for mere constructive knowledge, but must have had reasonable knowledge of specific infringement at the time it contributed to the infringement. Such knowledge was impossible in this case due to the structure of the network created by the Grokster software. Unlike previous file-sharing networks, Grokster did not maintain a searchable index on a centralized server. Instead, indexes were maintained on the computers of individual users, which prevented Grokster from learning of any infringement until after it had occurred. The network design also prevented Grokster from materially contributing to any copyright infringement because Grokster did not provide the site or facilities for infringement. (Duke) The Ninth Circuit also held that Grokster was not liable for vicarious copyright infringement. According to the court, Grokster lacked the right and ability to supervise the direct infringers. The peer-to-peer file-sharing software did not allow Grokster to block access to infringing users and did not provide Grokster with any opportunity to filter content. While MGM argued that Grokster could alter the file-sharing software to control user access, the court noted this was not a viable option because the software resided on the computers of the users and not on a centralized server. The court ruled against Groksters peer-to-peer file sharing program for computers running the Microsoft Windows operating system, effectively forcing the company to cease operations. The product was too similar in look and feel to Kazaa, which is marketed by Sharman Networks and Morpheus, which was distributed by StreamCast. Grokster along with Morpheus and Kazaa are considered second-generation peer-to-peer file sharing programs because unlike their predecessor Napster these file sharing programs allowed users to trade files directly between one another without these transactions passing through a centralized server. Because Napster maintained this fraction of control over the transaction of files through its server it was ruled illegal because it should have exercised its power over the server to stop the sharing of copyright infringing files. Grokster and this second generation of peer-to-peer file sharing programs sought to avoid this legal obstacle. (Duke) Issues at Stake In a peer-to-peer network each computer is both a server and client. Members need to download only the relevant software file sharing software, free of charge, and they may participate in the network to exchange files, which are more often than not, copyrighted. The owners of copyrights, in this case MGM believed that the software distributors are liable for copyright infringement of the software users: By providing P2P file-sharing software, MGM believe Grokster should be liable for the actions of the individuals who misuse it. A major debate rages over the issue that copyrights, no matter how numerous, do not give the holders a veto over certain advancements in technology. The copyright owners (MGM) relied on the two recognized theories of secondary copyright liability: contributory copyright infringement and explicit copyright infringement. In order for Grokster to be held liable for contributory copyright infringement, it had to be proven that direct infringement of copyrights took place by a primary person, party or group and that Grokster had full knowledge of the infringements. It also had to be determined that they also provided a material contribution to this infringement. For Grokster to be held liable for explicit copyright infringement there had to have been direct copyright infringement by a primary party, a direct financial benefit to the Grokster and an ability on the part of Grokster to supervise those responsible for the infringements. Precedent: The Betamax Case (Universal City Studios, Inc. et al. v. Sony Corporation of America Inc. et al. 1979) In this case it was held that video-recorders should not be banned, even though there is a chance they might be misused by the owner. This technology has substantial non-infringing uses, and so an outright ban could not be justified. Betamax technology was developed with the aim of allowing users to record television that they would have otherwise missed: thus, it’s intended and advertised use was not as an infringer of copyrights. (Vaver) Billions of files are shared across P2P networks each month a large proportion of which are illegal. If Grokster was made responsible for their actions, the amount of files transferred would be expected to reduce significantly as tighter regulations are enforced. If MGM won their case in its entirety, the owners of file-sharing software would be held responsible for copyright infringements of the software users. Even though MGM was attacking a certain type of software, many other technologies could be affected if MGM had been successful. MP3 players, CD burners, external hard-disks, and so on would have been drastically changed to the leisure (and working) time of many individuals due to the basic operating software included with each of those devices and the nature of their portability from machine to machine and platform to platform. (Vaver) A precedent would be set against which similar cases in the future could be examined. This is not a new problem, it has been going on for years between the Entertainment Industry and technology, which allows copyrighted material to be duplicated. The ultimate and unresolvable issue here is a trade-off between intellectual property rights and technological innovations, which will become more and more cloudy as social media and technological innovations churn ever forward and change at such a consuming and rapid pace. Repercussions In the wake of the case filing, Grokster began warning many users on the main page of their website that their IP (internet protocol: A unique string of numbers separated by periods that identifies each computer attached to the Internet) addresses were being stored. Prosecution of the file-sharing individual relies upon what has commonly been referred to as a process of a doe subpoena. If a doe subpoena is utilized, prosecutors are required to gain a series of subpoenas in order to find out the identity of the user behind the IP address in question. Following the shut down of Grokster blogs became inundated with concerned users fearful of the warning however there were and are no reports of the use of doe subpoenas in this case. Research into the effects of warnings such as the one left on Grokster’s website has shown that while these warnings can result in a substantial reduction in online file sharing of individuals, the overall availability of downloadable content did not diminish. Furthermore, researchers cannot account for how much of this reduction in individual file sharing is simply shifted to other file sharing programs. In cases where the RIAA has issued threats the users who conduct the most file sharing usually reduced their daily transactions to levels below the level of prosecution. In effect these warnings have only caused only a brief reduction in overall online file sharing. (Duke) Future Fallout The fear raised by some is that the Grokster findings would impose far too heavy of a burden on technological development, or discourage the dispersment of community information. The Grokster Court attempted to remain mindful of the need to keep from trenching on regular commerce or discouraging the development of technology with lawful and unlawful potential. The Court did not focus on the legality of the P2P networks but rather on the intent and conduct of the defendants. Finding the defendants intent unmistakable, the Court reasoned that such wrongful intent combined with defendants unlawful conduct could make defend- ants liable. Thus, the Court appropriately placed the blame on the malicious con- duct of technology developers rather than on the technology itself. (Grigorian) Under Grokster, businesses [can] continue to develop new technologies provided they do not encourage their users to violate the copyright law. Therefore, it is reasonable to infer from Grokster that P2P file-sharing software and similar technologies remain perfectly legal. This is a legitimate finding because, as the Court pointed out, file-sharing technologies can and have been used for legitimate, non- infringing purposes. For example, universities, business, and government entities use P2P file-sharing software for added efficiency and a more stable platform on which information can be shared [without being susceptible] to the types of attacks that a centralized server faces. (PC Review) Since the Supreme Courts pronouncement of Grokster, many legal scholars are eager to know the role the decision will play in future indirect copyright infringement cases, especially those involving file-sharing technology. Given the questions that remain unresolved after the Grokster decision, like those regarding the proper interpretation and application of Sony, future plaintiffs are likely to first proceed under the active inducement theory and, alternatively, plead contributory copyright infringement. To establish liability under the active inducement theory, plaintiffs must prove that: 1. The defendant took active steps with intent to cause infringement 2. The users of defendants technology did in fact engage in infringing activity. In cases involving P2P technology, proving intent is the trickiest of the two elements. However, copyright holders with legitimate claims will most likely be able to meet this requirement by showing that the conduct and activities of the alleged infringers in developing and marketing their technology would rise to the level of actively promoting the illegal sharing of said works. Courts will then need to examine the alleged infringers business models, marketing and promotional strategy and capability of installing filtering and monitoring systems in order to determine whether sufficient evidence of intent exists. Although it’s unclear as to how many of these factors must be present for a court to find wrongful intent, it is reasonable to determine that the more closely a persons behavior resembles that of a Grokster type entity, the more likely a court is to find liability under the active inducement standard. (Grigorian) This does not indicate that Grokster prefers copyright holders or offers them an automatic win. Some would argue that Grokster makes it more laborious for copyright holders to obtain damages because it forces them to conduct more extensive discovery and incur greater legal expenses in order to successfully prove intent. So while Grokster may appear unreasonably burdensome at first, it actually benefits all parties involved. By setting the burden of proof higher and requiring copyright holders to prove intent, Grokster will likely deter wasteful claims. The newly adopted standard also favors copyright holders because it offers clearer guidelines for those with legitimate claims to seek a legal remedy when their rights are violated. Therefore, in contrast to what some scholars may argue, Grokster successfully maintains a delicate balance between innovation and copyright protection. Conclusion The District Court of California and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Grokster, much to MGM’s disappointment. It was held in both courts that Grokster escaped liability for a number of reasons: 1.Grokster did not have constructive, adequate knowledge of the infringements. 2.The software distributed by Grokster was capable of substantial non-infringing uses. 3.There was no central server, thus Grokster could only obtain information of the infringement after it had already happened (i.e. they could not block or prevent copyright infringement because they were not able to directly supervise file transfers). 4.Grokster could not be found responsible for materially contributing to any copyright infringement. 5.Grokster did not directly earn money from this software, as it is free for people to download. Instead, they earned money through advertisements on their website. 6.Grokster was unable to change the software to control user access due to the fact that the software resided on the users’ computers and not on a centralized server. In the United States Supreme Court, the ruling of the appeal favored MGM. The unanimous ruling was that â€Å"one who distributes a device with the object of promoting its use to infringe copyright, as shown by clear expression or other affirmative steps taken to foster infringement, is liable for the resulting acts of infringement by third parties.† Under these conditions, P2P file-sharing companies could now be sued for copyright infringements. Many as the most important intellectual property case have dubbed this case in decades (PC Review) Due to the extent of disagreement, which arose as to whether Grokster is protected under the Sony Betamax case, a new test has been developed to determine whether the ruling in the Betamax case protects the software in question. The test assesses whether or not the distributors of the software have promoted it as a means of copyright infringement. If such intentions were found, then the ruling of the Betamax case could not be used as precedent. As long as new innovations do not affect existing copyrights, then this ruling should not affect them. It is seen by the Supreme Court as a fair balance between the benefits gained by allowing and promoting technological innovation and the need to respect the intellectual property rights of artists. However, critics do not quite view it in the same light: they are skeptical that the test will work in their favor due to its inherent ambiguity. (PC Review) There are major concerns, however, that despite the good intentions of the court to strike a fair balance between innovation and copyrights, many investors may be put off. If there is a slight chance that a potential project is at risk from this ruling, then ideas are likely to go no further than the drawing board. This could have huge significance, especially regarding the creation of new digital technologies: Any threat of liability, and the idea dies Many argue that file sharing is not the problem, which needs to be addressed here; it is the issue of the individuals that abuse it. On the other hand, trying to hold millions of downloaders responsible for their (numerous) actions would be logistically impossible, and so a more preventative approach has instead been used. (PC Review) Therefore, Groksters message could not be any louder or clearer: innovators should continue to develop new technologies but they must do so with a lawful intent. In devising a new standard for liability, the Court in Grokster provided an alternative mechanism under which copyright holders could seek redress against technology developers and distributors that infringed on their intellectual property rights by proving un-lawful intent. The new standard appropriately focuses on the infringers conduct and intent rather than the technology itself. Works Cited 1. Giblin, Rebecca. Code wars†¯: 10 years of P2P software litigation. Cheltenham, UK; Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2011. Print. 2. Duke University School of Law, â€Å"MGM V. Grokster.† Web. 2004 2005. http://publiclaw.law.duke.edu/publiclaw/supremecourtonline/certgrants/2004/mgmvgro.html 3. â€Å"The Legality of File Sharing MGM Vs Grokster.† Web. 14 July 2012. http://www.pcreview.co.uk/articles/Consumer-Advice/The_Legality_of_File_Sharing_-_MGM_vs_Grokster/ 4. â€Å"The Official Website for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) Studios: Learn More About the History of MGM.† Web. 14 July 2012. http://www.mgm.com/corporate/index.html 5. Vaver, David. Intellectual property rights†¯: critical concepts in law. London: Routledge, 2006. Print. 6. â€Å"WIPO World Intellectual Property Organization.† Web. 14 July 2012. http://www.wipo.int/portal/index.html.en 7. Grigorian, Kristine. MGM vs Grokster: Adopting Patent Law’s Active Inducement Do ctrine and shifting focus to actual infringers. Maryland, Northampton, Journal of Business and Technology, Maryland School of Law, 2005. Print.

Formalistic Approach Ode to the Death of a Favorite Cat (Favourite) Ess

Formalistic Approach Ode to the Death of a Favorite Cat (Favourite) In Thomas Gray's poem "Ode on the Death of a Favorite Cat," we find many examples of the Formalistic Approach. In this poem, we find numerous examples of alliteration, rhyme scheme, puns, and creative word choice. This poem is very joyful and fun to read because the author is very creative in his choice of words and phrases. In the first stanza, we figure out where this event is taking place or in other words, we find out the setting. The cat is standing on a ledge in his owner's house looking down into a fish bowl and gazing at gold fish. In this stanza, we find patterns of rhyming. Within this stanza this rhyming pattern is A, A, B ,C,C,B. In the first stanza they would be the first two lines (side and dy'd), the third and sixth line (blow and below), and fourth and fifth (kind and reclin'd). Line six of this stanza states" Gazed on the lake below" (Gray line 6) represents word choice. Gray could have just stated that the cat...