WEST CHESTER UNIVERSITY Mary Powell
Dr. Sandra M. Tomkowicz
BLA 201-Legal Environment of Business Alyssa Straiton
Spring 2016
Sections 01, 02 & 03 Section 03

Assignment - Constitutional Law, Administrative Agencies, Intentional Torts & Intellectual Property

** You may complete the assignment with one or two partners from any of my three (3) sections of BLA 201. Each student will receive the same grade. PLEASE TYPE YOUR RESPONSES ON THIS DOCUMENT.

DUE DATE: Friday, April 22, 2016

** Read the story FDA Warns Tobacco Companies Advertising “Natural” Cigarettes, located at http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2015/08/27/435235804/fda-warns-tobacco-companies-advertising-natural-cigarettes and answer the following questions:

1. What type of speech is at issue?
False or misleading speech

2. If the tobacco companies challenge the FDA’s order as violating their First
Amendment free speech rights, will the companies win? Explain why or why not.
The tobacco companies will not win because false or misleading speech is not protected under the First Amendment, so therefore none of their rights are being violated. If the tobacco were able to scientifically prove their claims, then they would win because then their First Amendment rights would be violated.

** Read the following stories (in chronological order):

In Fighting FBI, Apple Says Free Speech Rights Mean No Forced Coding, located at http://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2016/02/27/468308775/in-fighting-fbi-apple-says-free-speech-rights-mean-no-forced-coding

Apple v. The Government, In Their Own Words, located at http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/03/10/469994735/apple-vs-the-government-in-their-own-words

Apple vs. The FBI: The Unanswered Questions And Unsettled Issues, located at http://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2016/03/29/472141323/apple-vs-the-fbi-the-unanswered-questions-and-unsettled-issues

Answer the following questions:

1. Which constitutional right (and Amendment) is at issue in this case?
First Amendment

2. What is the legal issue in this case?
There are many legal issues within this case. The FBI is trying to get Apple to write an encrypted message to unlock a phone that the FBI needs access too. Apple feels that they do not own nor possess the phone at issue, while on the other hand the FBI feels that Apple does own the phone because they would be able to unlock it if they wanted to.

3. In what way is the Wolley v. Maynard case different from the Listerine case that we discussed in class and is described on p. 79 of your coursebook? (Hint: What type of speech is at issue?)
One of the main differences between the two cases is, in the Listerine case, the company was advertising false, misleading speech that was was not scientifically proven to be true and could potentially be harmful to consumers. In this specific case, this is one of the circumstances where the government has the authority to make have the company do a corrective advertisement. On the other hand, in regards to Wolley v. Maynard, someone objected on religious grounds and they won the case because the government can’t make you say something you don’t want to say if it doesn’t cause any safety issues.

** Read the story Goldman Sachs Will Pay $5 Billion For Misleading Investors
On Mortgage Assets, located at http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/04/11/473817622/goldman-sachs-will-pay-5-billion-for-misleading-investors-on-mortgage-assets, and answer the following questions:

Re-read pp. 122-123 in your coursebook. What is the name of the intentional tort that interferes with economic (business) interests that Goldman Sachs is alleged to have committed? In other words, which tort claim best fits the alleged wrongful conduct engaged in by Goldman Sachs as described in this news story?
Fraudulent Misrepresentation

Identify and describe one piece of evidence that you find most persuasive in supporting the claim that Goldman Sachs committed the tort you’ve identified above in response to Question 1. (Hint: Think about what the government would have to prove to win a lawsuit alleging this tort.)
"In the same year, Goldman was still packaging loans originated by Countrywide Financial Corp., even though it was aware of problems at the mortgage company." and also, "Goldman received information indicating that, for certain loan pools, significant percentages of the loans reviewed did not conform to the representations made to investors about the pools of loans to be securitized,"Goldman knew very well that what he was doing was wrong, but he decided to turn a blind eye and put a smile on his face as if everything was fine.

What is the dollar amount that Goldman Sachs has agreed to pay in settlement for its alleged wrongdoing in connection with the packaging and sale of residential mortgage-backed securities between 2005 and 2007?
5.06 Billion

Click on the embedded links (at the end of the story) to Bank of America,
Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase and read the news stories. State the dollar amount that each
3

has agreed to pay in settlement for its alleged wrongdoing in connection with the packaging of residential mortgage-backed securities that led to the financial meltdown in 2008.

Bank of America 16.65 billion
Citigroup 7 billion JPMorgan Chase 13 billion

** Read pp. 153-176 (Intellectual Property) in your coursebook and answer the following questions:

1. What are the three (3) requirements to obtain a patent on an object? a. Novel b. Nonobvious c. Useful

2. Give a specific example of a trademark (that is not mentioned in your book), such as the Nike “swoosh.”
The symbol for Starbucks

3. Which federal law permits a trademark owner or famous individual to file a lawsuit against anyone who registers its name as a domain name in “bad faith”?
Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA)

4. Identify one type (or category) of creative work that can be protected under copyright law.
Once a songwriter puts notes on a paper

5. What is the name of the legal doctrine that allows a portion of a copyrighted work to be reproduced for purposes of “criticism, comment, news reporting, scholarship, or research”?
Fair use doctrine

6. Explain what Tom means on page 164 in the context of copyright law when he says “the court voted 9-0 when this last hit the docket and those stubborn justices all believe in Stare Decisis.” Who will likely win this dispute and why? (Identify by name the unanimous Supreme Court case that Tom references above in support of his position and discuss the concept of parody.)

7. Read Pollack v. Skinsmart Dermatology and Aesthetic Center P.C. on page 175. a. What tort did Dr. Pollack claim Drs. Shawe and Badawy committed?
Misappropriated trade secrets b. Assume that Ricky works for a pharmaceutical company (Big Pharma) as a sales representative in the northeast region of the country. Ricky accepts a position at a competitor (Lil Pharma). Before leaving Big Pharma, Ricky copies onto a USB stick all of the monthly reports for the past year that indicate the names of Big Pharma’s customers nationwide, the contact person at Big Pharma, and the products ordered. As soon as Ricky starts his new position, he contacts each of these customers and explains that he’s now working for Lil Pharma. Big Pharma has filed a lawsuit against Ricky. You be the judge. Using the court’s decision in Pollack v. Skinsmart Dermatology and Aesthetic Center P.C. as precedent, write an opinion that explains who wins this case (Ricky or Big Pharma), and why.
Big Pharma would win the case because the information that Ricky had copied and used when he started his new job at Lil Pharma was valuable for the business of Big Pharma. Also, the information that Ricky had copied is a competitive advantage against Lil Pharma. Ricky did not own the trade secrets that he had copied onto his hard drive.