Case 2 The New Helmet My company is one of several organizat

Case 2: The New Helmet My company is one of several organizations that try to develop a new helmet for military personnel to meet the new stringent standards of the US Department of Defense. If we are able to develop a unique new process for manufacturing this helmet, we are likely to reap a significant economic benefit. Three other companies work on the same problem and they employ some of the best scientists and engineers in the field (as do we). There is a high likelihood that the company that gets the solution first would have its solution reverse-engineered by the other two corporations. On 1 September 2015 my chief engineer announced that the latest round of testing has demonstrated that our new process works; in several additional months we would have a complete new process ready for manufacturing of helmets that would meet the new DoD standard and make us millions of dollars. A big debate started among my managers. Manager Tom wants to rush to the patent office and file for a patent on the new process right away, even before we have completed all the testing and before all the preparations of the new process for manufacturing. He believes we have enough evidence to convince the patent office in the validity of our invention right now. He does not want to wait. Manager Harriett believes we should not rush. \"We were the first to invent the new manufacturing process and we can prove that we were the first,\" she says. Hence we will be granted the patent eventually even if others try to claim that they should be granted the patent because they filed before us. \"It is better,\" says Harriett, \"to make sure we completed all the work and provided the patent office with complete and unassailable patent application when we finally file.\" Manager Alexandra thinks that we should not file for a patent at all but start manufacturing the helmets based on our new invention as soon as possible. Our new process should be considered a TRADE SECRET. Explain the PROs and CONs of each one of the three approaches, and provide your substantiated advice on what needs to be done based on the facts of the case. Whose advice should my company follow and why? Case 3: The Mango Dessert The three family restaurants that my mother manages and owns are known for a special dessert, The Newark Mango Cream Tart With Mango Whipped Cream. People come from all over the country to enjoy this dessert in our restaurants. My family has been serving this dessert for 70 years, since my great-great grandmother Bertha introduced it in 1945 when she opened her first bakery kitchen in Newark. Last month we found to our horror that someone received a patent on a dessert that is exactly like The Newark Mango Cream Tart With Mango Whipped Cream. The successful inventor even sent us a Cease and Desist letter – claiming we can no longer sell this dessert in our three restaurants in Newark because he and not us now holds the patent for this delicacy. The reaction of my uncle Joseph was – \"I TOLD you that we should have patented The Newark Mango Cream Tart With Mango Whipped Cream long time ago. In fact Bertha should have done it herself, and if she did we would not have this problem today because we would still have patent protection. Now we cannot sell the dessert anymore and our businesses would collapse.\" The reaction of my mother to Joseph\'s statements was that she plans to continue to bake and sell The Newark Mango Cream Tart With Mango Whipped Cream as she has done for years. She is not really bothered by the whole situation. \"Nothing will happen to us\" she promises. Who (if anyone) has the right attitude in this case? Why? Analyze the two conflicting reactions in detail.

Solution

The case study shows that a company has developed a new process of manufacturing helmets, which the company thinks could result in huge profits for them. One of the manager want that the company should go and get the process patented without any delay.

On the other another manager says that the company should not wait and get the process patented but should start manufacturing helmets out rightly. Another manager says that the company should wait and perform complete testing of the process and should obtain such information which would be unassailable in getting the process patented. She thinks that the company would be able to prove that they invented the process eventually.

Waiting to get all the things finalized would require considerable time from the end of the company. Collecting all the information related with the testing of the process is also not necessary in order to apply for the patent. The company is only required to prove that they were first to develop the process.

Also starting manufacturing of helmets without getting the process registered might make the company to be prone to copyright issues in case another company applies for patent of similar process.

The correct process would be that the company should go and get the process patented as soon as possible. This is because as other companies also have qualified engineers with them and they are also working continuously to improve the process, it is very likely that they would also be able to come up with a similar design of the process.

Thus, the company should not waste time in getting the process patented as it would give them a head-start over other companies. The correct process would be to get the process patented at the earliest in order to avoid copyright issues in the future.