Lessons 8 & 9 – Application Assignment

Provide answers to the questions listed below. 

1. Brad and Jen have developed a new idea for a product but lack the capital necessary to produce the product or open a business. Discuss in detail, ALL the options available to Brad and Jen at this point.

2. WidgetCo is a new manufacturer and wholesaler of a line of widgets. They have just hired Maurice, as manager at WidgetCo, to supervise a work team responsible for assessing the quality of the widgets before they are shipped to various retailers around the U.S.  Maurice proceeds to develop a highly effective quality assurance process, and he has produced a training manual, a video for new employees, and a specific checklist of procedures for employees to follow to ensure that any defective of substandard widgets are detected and repaired prior to shipping.  Given this scenario, provide answers to the following questions:
   1. Who owns the legal rights to Maurice’s ideas: WidgetCo or Maurice? Explain your answer.
   2. Which forms of intellectual property protections are available to Maurice or to WidgetCo to protect the quality assurance process and materials developed by Maurice?
   3. What are the major advantages and disadvantages of each protection you listed in 3b.
   4. Compare the facts of the hypothetical with trade secrete law. Could quality assurance process be considered a trade secret under these standards?
   5. What steps should the company take to achieve its objective of having this process protected under trade secret law?
   6. Could WidgetCo obtain copyright protection for its manual, training video, and checklist under the Copyright Act? Or are its manuals simply a compilation of facts known in the industry and thus not protectable?

3. For each of the types of businesses listed below, describe the type of profession insurance they may need:
   1. Certified Public Accountants (CPA)
   2. General Contractor
   3. Landscaper/Lawnmowing
   4. Food/Grocery Delivery
   5. Dry Cleaners
   6. Beautician – Nail/Hair Salon
   7. Long-Haul Trucking Business

4. Nicole, is planning on opening a food truck business called – “Mucho Sabor Food on the Go.” She currently has a part-time cook and herself as employees.  Her business plan has her traveling all over DFW on different days of the week attending “Food Truck Festivals” in different cities.  She want to make sure that she has the right type of insurance coverage for her new food truck business.  Since you are taking this class, she has asked for her advice.
   1. List ALL of the different types of insurance coverage she needs to consider having.
   2. Provide the name of the type of insurance and a description for her. Also explain to her why she needs to have this type of coverage for her business.