Intellectual property is having the right to an invention that one has done. It helps one to protect his/her property from being stolen or copied. It helps protect the creation of the humankind . It is often in many cases intangible although it can always be materialized for cases like literature and artwork. There are many forms of intellectual property including trademarks, design right, copyrights , trade secrets and patents. All this will help the organizations to get a competitive edge.in the scenario of Sam, a client list is a form of intellectual property. One of the most valuable intellectual property for a company is the trade secret that helps the company to have a competitive advantage in the market ( Drahos, 2016) . In the non-disclosure agreement, Sam was supposed not to share the secrets of the company to any other company. The clients list that he was left to be in charge of in company ABC.
What Sam did was unethical. The moment he agreed to give out the list of the clients of company ABC to company XYZ, in itself was unethical. The terms of an NDA has it that an employee keeps the secrets of the company at all cost. This means that in whatever circumstance, Sam should have kept the secrets of the company. Another form of unethical behavior is pushing away the CEO when he was found downloading the list to an external hard drive ( Hovenkamp & Carrier, 2016) . An ethical conduct would have been to accept liability for his behavior. He rather chose to push the CEO on the wall which later suffered a concussion . As a professional, there are instances that one commits an error. It is only the way in which one will respond to the situation that will help save the situation.
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Tort laws refer to the set of laws that are used to give remedies to individuals that have subjected to harm due to the acts of another person. The tort laws are set on the basis that every individual is liable for their own actions. The actions that are covered by the set of laws include the actions that are either intentional or accidental. The bottom line is the harm that has been caused to another person. The laws are set so as to help a person get compensation for the wrongdoings that are inflicted on them by another entity ( Drahos, 2016) . In this scenario, Sam pushed the CEO to the wall while trying to run away. The first wrongdoing that Sam had committed is trying to give away the list of employees of company ABC. This would have had major financial implications of the firm because they would have lost the competitive edge that they initially had.
Tort liability occurs when a person intentionally harms another person, acts out of negligence, failing to act when an individual has a duty to act or violation of the laws. One type of tort that Sam committed is the intentional tort. An intentional tort is causing harm to somebody intentionally. The first case is Sam trying to get the client list of company ABC to company XYZ. Sam knew that the NDA that he had signed with the company was to ensure that he kept the secrets of the company. In this regard, any form of disclosure to another company will cause harm to the firm ( Bradner & Contreras, 2017) . The harm that is enshrined in the tort laws is not limited to only physical injury. In this manner then, the firm would have suffered major financial issues as a result of the act. Sam knew all this, but he still chose to act out of selfish interest and try and get the client list to company XYZ.
Another tort that is committed by Sam is the negligent tort. Negligent tort is causing harm to an individual or entity as a result of the negligent act. The first account is the sabotage that he almost caused the company. Sam had a signed NDA which restricts him from revealing any information about the company. He is promised a job with company XYZ only if he gets the company the clients list. It was his duty to create the list, but out of negligence, he uses his position to conduct unethical conducts. Another account of neglect in his cat is pushing aside Natalie. When he pushed against the wall, there was a chance that she will get injured ( Rabin, 2016) . We expect that Sam knows that the act will cause harm to her but he instead acts out of neglect and shoves her away leading to her hitting the doorknob.
Company XYZ also acted out of negligence by asking Sam to get the list of clients. The company having been operating is expected to be aware of the dangers that are associated with exposing the trade secrets. They should not have asked Sam to get them the list because they were also trying to gain a competitive benefit over the other company in an unethical manner. The actions that are committed by Sam are subject to criminal liability ( Bradner & Contreras, 2017) . Signing an NDA creates a legal obligation between Sam and company ABC. It is a crime for Sam to try and reveal the secrets of the company to another third party. The act of pushing Natalie on the wall while escaping is also a criminal activity. He caused harm to her boss through his act and therefore liable for his action. In conclusion, from the scenario, every entity is responsible for their acts. Sam, for example, has to take charge of his actions and face the law. Company XYZ will not get the services of Sam because of the task they ask him to do. They also face charges of criminal acts.
References
Bradner, S., & Contreras, J. (2017). Intellectual Property Rights in IETF Technology (No. RFC 8179).
Drahos, P. (2016). A philosophy of intellectual property . Routledge.
Hovenkamp, H., & Carrier, M. A. (2016). IP and antitrust: an analysis of antitrust principles applied to intellectual property law (Vol. 1). Wolters Kluwer Law & Business.
Rabin, R. L. (2016). Perspectives on Privacy, Data Security, and Tort Law. DePaul L. Rev. , 66 , 313.
