ACTIVITIES:

• Read:

Kaur, Satwant. “Intellectual Property Protection for MaskWorks.” IETE Technical Review, vol. 30, no. 4, July 2013, pp. 276–279. EBSCOhost,doi:10.4103/0256-4602.116715. https://trine.on.worldcat.org/oclc/5624949378

READ CHAPTERS 3 & 6

Howe, Helena R, and Jonathan Griffiths,editors. Concepts of Property in Intellectual Property Law. CambridgeUniversity Press, 2013. https://trine.on.worldcat.org/oclc/859537389

READ CHAPTER 8

Rimai, Donald S. A Guide forImplementing a Patent Strategy : How Inventors, Engineers, Scientists,Entrepreneurs, and Independent Innovators Can Protect Their IntellectualProperty. John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, 2018. https://trine.on.worldcat.org/oclc/1078996653

Video: Ablow, Gail, et al. Moyers & Company.Films Media Group, https://trine.on.worldcat.org/oclc/828745465

Video: Pilz, Bryce. Overviewof Intellectual Property Categories, University of Michigan Engineering, 19Feb. 2014,

ASSIGNMENTS:

Participate:

Week 4 Discussion: Patents for Plants

Watch the video from this week from Moyers & Companyabout genetically modified seeds. In the modern world, there is much debate anddiscussion about the efficacy of genetically modified organisms (GMO’s) inparticular fruits and vegetables that are grown from GMO seeds or animals thatare bred for the food market from GMO types of practices. GMO’s are often createdto enhance desirable traits and eliminate undesirable traits in an organism.For example, in farming practices, GMO plants are usually resistant to weed,better able to tolerate flooding or drought, and grow to be larger and morelush than the average non-GMO seed of the same variety of plant. Some peoplehowever, feel that such plants are environmentally unfriendly and the consumerin the marketplace should know if their food has been GMO modified so they can opt-out of consuming it if they wish.

However, aside from such dietary and environmental concernsthere is an entirely different level of debate surrounding GMO foods and thatis the practice of patenting certain seeds processes to create exclusive linesof certain crops. For example, a plant breeding company may create a new farmready plant of corm species that isresistant to the type of herbicidal spray their company produces by altering asingle gene in the plant. This means that the company could sell corn seed tofarmers and sell along with it herbicidal spray that will kill weeds and othertypes of plants including corn with the exception of the corn seed they havecreated that is resistant to their brand of herbicidal spray. If a company getsa patent for their brand of seed and herbicide spray they then will not onlyown the exclusive right to that plant seed but subsequent rights to futuregenerations of plants grown from that same seed line. Over time this can leadto only a few companies owning all of the legal rights to corn seeds andplants.

This can be an attractive seed to use for large scale cropfarmers that want to be able to plant one type of corn seed and then be able toliberally spray herbicide that will destroy all other weeds and contaminants sothat their corn seed thrives. However, the granting of such patents will cutdown dramatically on the diversity of corn seed that is produced and grown overtime thus lessening the benefits of evolution in the natural selection and adaptionof a large number of different corn seeds over time.

As you think about this along with this weeks reading andthe relevant video from this week consider and respond to the following:

1.Should individual plants and seeds be eligiblefor patent protection?

2.Even if a patent is granted to the seedengineer should the farmer, the grower of the seed be able to use the seedsthey grow at the end of the season to plant for the next harvest (*ie. Should aseed patent only extend to one generation of a particular plant as opposed togranting perpetual protection over that plant and any subsequent plants thatare grown from that same family line of seed indefinitely?)

After answering these questions describe what your policywould be if you were in charge of the world regarding the patent ofplants andseeds. How would you balance between the benefits of innovation andresearchinto agricultural practices that comes with granting patents against adecrease in biodiversity and variety that accompanies the allowance forthepatent of plants?

In your two responses to your peers, respond to your peer’s analysis, and discusswhat if anything they concluded that was different than what you concluded aswell as what was similar. Follow up with your own post regarding the same.

Discussion Rubric

Initial discussion board posts are due by Wednesday at11:59P EST.

Two further reply posts are due by Sunday at 11:59 PM EST

Discussion Rubric
Criteria	Ratings	Pts
Content and Relevancy of Initial Post	5.0 pts Excellent Expresses opinions and ideas in a clear manner withobvious connection to topic. Facilitates class discussion. Utilizes coursematerials and outside sources that are relevant to the discussion; uses APAstyled citations. 4.0 pts Good States opinions and ideas clearly. Ideas are wellorganized and facilitate discussion. Post addresses the given topic.Utilizes course materials that are relevant to the discussion; uses APAstyled citations. 2.0 pts Fair Somewhat short in length, offering no further insightinto the topic. Unclear connection to topic evidenced by minimal expressionof opinions or ideas. May not cite sources with APA citations. 0.0 pts Poor Short or irrelevant remarks. Does not express opinionsor ideas clearly. Post does not relate to the discussion content.	5.0 pts
Responses	3.0 pts Excellent Fully engages in the discussion. Presents two or morerelevant responses that further class discussion by offering insightful commentsor questions. These responses have the potential to motivate others tocontinue the discussion. 2.0 pts Fair Engages in the discussion. Presents at least tworelevant responses that further the class discussion. 1.0 pts Poor Minimal engagement in the class discussion. There isonly one relevant response which contributes to the discussion. 0.0 pts None Does not engage in-class discussion as it develops.Responses are so poorly constructed that they contribute little or nothingto the discussion.	3.0 pts
Conventions of Writing	1.0 pts Excellent Utilizes correct grammar and spelling. 0.0 pts None Utilizes poor spelling and grammar; writing appearshastily composed with little to no proofreading.	1.0 pts
Timeliness	1.0 pts Full Marks Submitted posts by the posted due date. 0.0 pts No Marks Did not submit the initial post by the posted due date,but the initial post was submitted within the discussion week.	1.0 pts
Total Points: 10.0

Written Assignment:

Handbook Writinga Claim

The firststep in securing a patent to protect an invention or creative work is todetermine if an item is patentable. This means not only determining if the itemis worthy of the time and effort necessary to securing a patent for it but alsothat the item is sufficiently unique tobe able to secure patent protection if requested.

Whileattorneys and those with legal experience often play a direct role in writingthe full patent application and other steps in the process, inventor sandpatent engineers are the primary parties that are usually involved with writingup the actual patent claim section of the patent application.

Your job inthis assignment is to play the role of a patent engineer manager and provideguidance to the other patent engineers you supervise about how to write thepatent claim. This is the nut and bolts part of describing the invention and its applications. Inparticular, provide guidance about how to determine how many different types ofclaims or inventions you might have related to a single product. How might writingfor a unique invention be different than writing for an improved process orpart to an existing product? Your response should be 1,000 to 1,500 words inlength.

Week 4 Written Assignment – Writing a Patent Claim
Criteria	Ratings	Pts
INTRODUCTION / CONCLUSION The introduction provides sufficient background on thetopic and previews major points. The conclusion is logical, flows from thebody of the paper, and reviews the major points.		10.0 pts
READABILITY Paragraph transitions are present and logical, and flow ismaintained throughout the paper. Sentences are complete, clear, and concise.Sentence transitions are present and maintain the flow of thought. Rules ofgrammar, usage, and punctuation are followed. Spelling and word usage arecorrect. The font type should be professional and readable. There should befont consistency. Formatting should not distract from document content.		10.0 pts
CONTENT All key elements of the assignment are covered in asubstantive way. Discussions of topics outlined in the project are statedclearly, are supported by specific details (examples or analysis), and areorganized logically. The paper links theory to relevant examples of currentexperience and industry practice and uses the vocabulary of the theorycorrectly.		60.0 pts
RECOMMENDATION You provide clear guidance regarding the process of writing apatent claim. You discuss how to determine how many claims or inventionsmay be related to an individual project and how writing for a new itemmay vary from writing on how to improve an existing item.		20.0 pts
Total Points: 100.0