SECURITIES AND INTERNATIONAL REGULATORY AGENCIES

The purpose of this assignment is to analyze the effect of domestic and international regulatory agencies and court systems on business transactions and dispute resolution.

Read the following scenario:

You are the CEO of Bonner, a U.S.-based farm equipment corporation. Bonner recently announced the release of an innovative new tractor with technology based on a patented invention developed by Bonner’s engineers. Bonner’s vice president, who is aware of the upcoming product offering, bought 100,000 shares of Bonner stock prior to the announcement. You found out about the vice president’s stock purchase on the day of the announcement.

One week after the announcement, Bonner received a letter from a German farm equipment corporation, accusing Bonner of patent infringement based on the new tractor’s technology.

Bonner’s board of directors asked you to assess the vice president’s liability for the stock purchase and the company’s options for resolving the German corporation’s patent infringement claim.

Prepare an infographic for the board (e.g., Piktochart®, Publisher, Glogster®, Microsoft® PowerPoint®, etc.) in which you discuss the following:

• Compare the resolution of the patent dispute in a U.S. court with the resolution of the dispute using the World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO) dispute resolution program. Search the internet to review WIPO’s dispute resolution program. (Information about WIPO’s dispute resolution program may be located on their website by searching the Internet for WIPO).
• Assess the liability of Bonner’s vice president for purchasing the corporation’s stock prior to the announcement of the new tractor.
• Assess whether Bonner has any legal or ethical duties to disclose the stock purchase, and if so, to whom?
• Discuss risk management procedures Bonner can adopt to avoid or reduce situations like these from happening in the future.

Create a 350- to 525-word letter in response to the German farm equipment company in which you:

• Explain why Bonner is the owner of the invention
• Discuss the intellectual property rights owned by Bonner in the invention
• Suggest a method of dispute resolution (e.g., arbitration, mediation, litigation, WIPO dispute resolution), why that method would be desirable for resolving the dispute, and how and where the dispute resolution should be held (United States, foreign country, online, etc.).

Cite a minimum of two references.

Format your assignment according to APA guidelines.

Answer preview

Bonner is the owner of the invention since their engineers made it. When an employee comes up with an invention, it becomes the property of the company and not of the employee as he/she is an agent of the company. Employees are required by employment agreements to assign to the company all right to any inventions that they make when they are underemployment. Copyrights are works for hire meaning they belong to the employer since they are the ones who have hired the employee…

(380 words)