Issue
The issue in the case is if he went against the rule on intellectual property when he took the client lists from ABC Paper Corp with the aim of providing it to XYZ so that he can be employed in the company.
Rule
Intellectual property rights are the exclusive rights that are usually granted the owners of intellectual properties so that they can behave in a specific way with the aim of economically exploiting the benefits of the property ( Landes, 2003) . Some examples of intellectual properties include designs, patents , and copyrights. Increased competition among companies has encouraged companies to protect their competitiveness to maximize their benefits. One of the commonest types of intellectual property is trade secrets.
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A trade secret is considered to be information that includes compilation, method, pattern, formula, program, device, or process that has an economic value which is independent, whether the value is potential or actual. A trade secret often has three elements that include information, reasonable measures that demand it to be kept secret, and has an economic value if it is not known to the public. The main types of trade secrets are likely to take many names that include customer lists, trade secret, customer data, client lists, customer data, and customer account information. Employers often rely on this protection in cases where the employees have knowledge about the trade secrets ( Yu, 2007) . The federal laws usually provide that an individual who intentionally accesses the organizational computer without getting authorization in addition of exceeding the authorized aces with the aim of getting protected data or restricted data or tries to do so, is liable to criminal prosecution. In addition, classified protected or restricted data include various forms of information such as credit records, customer list, and financial data, trade secrets, and personnel records.
Analysis
An analysis of the case study indicates that there is an issue with the intellectual property, more specifically with regards to the trade secrets. In this case, Sam downloaded the list of customers that he was in charge of while in the company with the aim of taking it to XYZ Paper Co. The list of customers is considered by the law to be a knowledge-based resource which is considered to be intellectual property. In addition, Sam infringed the Non-Disclosure Agreement when he tried to provide the customer list to XYZ Paper Co. It is vital to note that the Non-Disclosure Agreement that Sam had signed with ABC Company meant that he had promised to protect the confidentiality of a secret that he has come across during the course of his employment, which includes the list of clients that he was responsible for. There is the risk that the defense of independent development may be raised by Sam, however, he would not have developed the client list if he had not been employed by ABC. It means that the list was the property of the company and he was liable for stealing the intellectual property.
Deduction
From the analysis, it is evident that there is an issue of intellectual property, more specifically trade secrets and thus Sam is criminally liable for stealing the client list ( Merges, 2011) .
Ethical Issue in Sam’s Action
Ethics relates to what is acceptable in the society. There are ethical issues that relate to Sam’s Actions. To start with, Sam made an unethical decision when he decided to give the client list to XYZ Paper Company. In this case, he created the client list with the aim of becoming successful at ABC Paper Corporation. It means that the list would not have been created if he did not work at ABC Paper Corporation and thus it belonged to the company. In addition, the clients may not have worked with him if he had not worked at the company. Therefore it is wrong for him to think that the list belonged to him. In addition, Sam had signed a non-disclosure agreement which meant that he was ethically expected to maintain the confidentiality of the company. It is worth noting that the reason for deciding to give the client list to XYZ Company is so that he could get employment in the company. Therefore, he acted is a selfish way at the expense of ABC Paper Corporation which is not ethical because there is the risk that the company will lose its competitive advantage.
Another action that was taken by Sam which is not ethical is shoving Natalie aside as she was attempting to stop him. As a result, Natalie fell and hit her head on the doorknob which made her suffer a concussion. It was completely wrong for Sam to shove Natalie because it unfairly results in bodily harm. He has caused intentional mental distress, battery, and assault. In addition, he has negatively affected the business relations at the company.
Conclusion
Intellectual property issues highly affect companies today, especially in competitive markets as seen in the case of Sam. Sam has gone against the laws of intellectual property and against the Non-disclosure contract that he had signed with ABC Company by stealing the client list that he was responsible for with the aim of getting an employment with XYZ Company. Therefore, he is criminally liable for the action. In addition, he did not act ethically by stealing the list even though he had worked on it because it belonged to the company and would not have the opportunity to develop the list or to have access to the clients if he did not work for ABC Paper Company. In addition, shoving Natalie was also not ethical because he unfairly caused bodily injury to his boss as he was selfishly stealing the list so that he can get a job.
References
Landes, W. M., & Posner, R. A. (2003). The economic structure of intellectual property law . Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press.
Merges, R. P. (2011). Justifying intellectual property . Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press.
Yu, P. K. (2007). Copyright and related rights . Westport, Conn: Praeger.
