Intellectual Property (IP), refers to any form of entrepreneurial innovations or creations of a human mind for which special exclusive ownership rights are granted to the proprietors of such inventions. Jimmy's device falls into the category of intellectual property since it's a unique design made from his personal reasoning capabilities. As such, it is subject to protection through intellectual property rights which will assign exclusive ownership rights of the devices to Jimmy. Jimmy’s innovation can appropriately fit into various forms of intellectual property which include, copyrights, patent rights and trademarks ( Cornish, Llewelyn & Aplin, 2013).
Copyrights is a form of intellectual property protection technique that shields infringement or duplication of creative works designed in a physical, tangible way. As such, jimmy's product can be classified into this type of intellectual property since it is a creative creation innovated in a physical way. Patent rights are the second category of intellectual assets that can significantly protect Jimmy's device from pirating since this type of intellectual property which protects a particular person's idea for a specified period. During that given period, illustrated in the patent right document it is indisputably illegal to come up with any innovation that resembles Jimmy's device. Thirdly, the trademarks is another key form of intellectual property that can be of great importance in safeguarding Jimmy’s innovation ((Judicial Education Center, 2016).
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A breach of contract is defined as the intentional failure of one of the parties involved in the contract to perform his or her duties and responsibilities as outlined in that particular contract without any justifiable legal excuse. However, for a breach of contract to be valid, it must have full filed the essential element that constitutes a valid contract. For any contract to be justifiable in a court of law, it must have encompassed the following items; contract offer, consideration, acceptance, and mutuality. In the case of Jimmy and his Aunt, an oral contract existed between the two of them since his Aunt Jane had promised to offer a portion of the money. However, the contract is not valid since it doesn't sufficiently satisfy the element of consideration which states that there should be an offer for something of value to be exchanged between the parties for the promise to be adhered to by both sides. As such, in Jimmy's contract with his Aunt Jane, there was no considerations element identifiable in the contract. Moreover, the contract doesn't adhere to the aspect of mutuality which states that both parties should have "a meeting of the mind" about the contract. The meeting would ensure that both sides understood the terms and conditions of the contract. Jimmy, in this case, did not disclose full information about his product to his Aunt Jane (Judicial Education Center, 2016).
The incompetency and non-clarity of the contract between Jimmy and Jane provide the accused with a broad range of defenses to contract that can prove her innocence in a court of law. The fact that the contract lacks the element of consideration is the first defense that can is available for Jane since the contract required the aspect of consideration. Secondly, the agreement contains a mutual mistake in which one of the parties, Jimmy starts something different from what was intended in the contract's specifications, and later on, he requests for money for school which is different from his actual intention to spend the money in developing Zombie Company. As such, Jane can use this clause as a defense to prove her innocence on breaching the contract (Judicial Education Center, 2016).
References
Cornish, W., Llewelyn, G. I. D., & Aplin, T. (2013). Intellectual property: patents, copyright, trade marks & allied rights.
Defenses to Breach of Contract. (n.d.). Retrieved April 13, 2017, from http://jec.unm.edu/education/online-training/contract-law-tutorial/defenses-to-breach
Breach of Contract. (n.d.). Retrieved April 13, 2017, from http://jec.unm.edu/education/online-training/contract-law-tutorial/breach-of-contract
