Category: Law

Assessing why people commit crime is essential in developing mechanisms for handling and preventing crime. Criminologists explore different theories, as they try to find the most appropriate methods of reducing rates and categories of crime.

Notably, criminal justice administrations use theories to explain the causes and nature of crime that commonly face the community. Experts depend on deviance theory and strain theory to explain causes of civil unrest and develop intervention plans (Barlow and Decker, 2010).

The Watts incidence of 1965 that raged for six days spurred when Lee W. Minikus arrested a young African American motorist. Reports indicate that the people engaged in riot as an expression of displeasure with the quality of services they had been obtaining from the government (Watts Riots, 2013).

The strain theory explains the causes and appropriate solutions for such problems. The theory is essential in assisting police administrations to manage crime rates. It is founded on the idea that some social structures can make people to take part in unlawful activities.

Moreover, the theory implies that majority of people who have encountered very serious difficulties while attempting to satisfy the expectations of the society usually choose to commit crime. They commit crime through any means possible without consideration of the legitimacy of the means used.

This confirms the opinion that certain individuals commit crime if they lose their sense of purpose or when they consider being isolated by the community as too cruel to accept. However, the negative feeling is commonly caused by lack of values in the person.

Experts also say that certain individuals commit crime when they undergo the strain experience within their environment. For example, in the nineteenth century several African Americans were arrested engaging in different forms of crime due to social pressure.

During the nineteenth century, the political world had adopted several fundamental leadership transformations and that led to escalation of hope among the group.

However, their lives did not change. Most of them chose to commit crime to improve their living standards and be accepted in the society (Barlow and Decker, 2010).The stain theory explains the causes of such crimes.

Remarkably, the theory can be assessed via two main features, namely, functional and structural features. The structural feature emphasizes on the mode in which things operate. Criminal investigation officers depend on it to assess the nature of criminal occurrences and the processes involved in committing offenses.

They also look at the connection between the features and the degree of interdependence of all the variances. The functional feature is based on the principle that most structural features are components of an entire social arrangement.

Social systems work together to support all functional aspects, yet when some of them fail, participants experience strain. If the people are affected by the strain for long, probabilities are that the attempts to create an impressive social system could be unsuccessful.

The society may create social problems when it gives more attention to winners rather than rewarding all participants in a competition.

This creates a situation in which the society does not have a clear-cut formula of defining what success is. The failure to reach consensus on methodologies of defining what is regarded as cultural chaos (McCluskey, 2002).

Another essential example is deviance theory. It states that people in the neighborhood influence actions of juveniles. The theory provides information on criminal subculture aspects that are useful in managing certain social issues. The theory states that youthful criminals usually engage in crime for pleasure.

The theory also provides other methods of analyzing levels of maliciousness in the actions of social deviants. The individuals usually have interests in causing trouble and should be helped to overcome the desire to cause trouble.

In addition, delinquent subcultures have several elements of negativism. The groups commonly tend to negate the role of other cultures, since they perceive their defiance as the acceptable social norm (Kaplan and Johnson, 2001).

Additionally, the theory states that certain groups commit crime because they seek immediate self-gratification. The groups find pleasure in taking actions that they view as pleasurable without giving much thought to the standard social requirements (Crossman, n. d.).

Delinquent boys are commonly frustrated with norms of the middle class. They, therefore, rebel against their leadership by engaging in crime, as they deem such actions gratifying. By appreciating the characteristics of different cultures, it is easier to handle certain social issues.

Outstandingly, police administrations can use these theories to prepare their response for social unrests. For example, they can use the deviance theory to learn about the behavior of school students and take appropriate action to avoid unrest. The theory stipulates that the surrounding commonly influence the behavior of young people.

It therefore offers the officers the opportunity to understand characteristics of different cultures and be prepared solve certain social issues. The officers can advice and prepare to act as soon as they learn that criminal activities are being committed in their neighborhood. The officers can use the strain theory to solve social problems.

The latter theory affirms that individuals engage in criminal activities when they have done their best to meet the expectations of the society but failed. The officers can depend on it to identify stressed individuals and educate them on their roles in the society. When such individual are inspired, they gain strength to do the right things.

Law enforcement officers with understanding of the theory can offer essential services to the community when the economy is under-performing. Civic disturbances related to the strain theory are common among the middle and low-income earners.

Plan of Action Relating to Civil Disturbances and Protests

This plan of action handles problems described by deviance and strain theories.

• Employing experts to educate the society is essential in fighting protest arising due to ignorance.
• To solve strain theory related problems, the officers should realize that all people encounter certain levels of constraints in life.
• Encourage people to talk about their feelings of constraints.
• The officers should support and advice young people to reduce their level of feeling constraints to minimum.
• Educate adults to engage in productive economic activities.
• Encourage the community to show love to people who have committed crimes in the past.
• The officers should plan to overcome civic disturbances by showing appreciation for the concerns of the aggrieved parties.
• To solve problems related to deviance problems effectively, the officers should understand that many of the social problems falling under this category are common among young people.
• They should learn the culture of the surrounding environments, which have influence on the actions of all the parties and encourage youths to maintain positive cultures.
• They should educate them to make independent decisions.
• They should encourage building of recreational faculties.
• They should support youths to engage in productive activities to help them use their energy productively.
• The officers ought to plan to maintain law and order whenever young people are free and engage in leisure activities for many days.
• They should be role models and encourage the group to make decisions responsibly.

References

Barlow, H. D. & Decker, S. H. (2010). Criminology and Public Policy Putting Theory to Work. Philadelphia, Pa.: Temple University Press.

Crossman, A. (n.d.). Biological Explanations of Deviant Behavior. Sociology  Sociology Information, Resources, and News from About. Web.

Kaplan, H. B. & Johnson, R. J. (2001). Social Deviance: Testing a General Theory. New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers.

McCluskey, C. P. (2002). Understanding Latino Delinquency the Applicability of Strain Theory by Ethnicity. New York: LFB Scholarly Pub.

Watts Riots. (1201). Welcome to the Civil Rights Digital Library. Web.

Introduction

In the contemporary society, pornography is viewed by antagonistic feminists as the pinnacle of moral decay shown on screens. However, irrespective of the stand, both the protagonists and antagonists share the same view that human beings have had a deep interest in pornographic material in the image of sex.

Authors share common definition of pornography as an erotic representation material that is solely designed for instigating sexual arousal. Thus, this reflective treatise attempts to explicitly explore feminists perception of pornography. Besides, the main issues surrounding growth and dominance of anti-pornographic feminists in the quest to balance pornography and moral suasion.

Reflectively, the analysis is based on the findings in the article Keeping it real: User-generated pornography, gender reification, and visual pleasure and the book A billion wicked thoughts: What the internet tells us about sexual relationships.

According to Van-Doorn (2010), pornography can be traced to the early centuries of the Greek and Roman empires. In the early centuries, Romans and Greeks had frescos indicating threesomes, cunnilingus, and fellatio. Interestingly, as early as the second century, Kama Sutra handbook of India was more of a sex manual than a relationship book.

Despite the rapid development of this industry, anti-pornography feminists are vocal in the negative effects of pornography on gender stereotyping (Van-Doorn 2010). This group opines that pornography is the sole contributor to gender stereotyping, violence towards women, and dangerous sexual behavior among the male population.

Historical Perspective

The first verifiable incidence of porn was spotted in 1800. For instance, the book Memoirs of a Woman Pleasure was a pornographic material that had erotic descriptions of sexual acts. As technology progressed, Louis Daguerre was accredited for the primitive daguerreotype photography that was adopted by pornographers ((Van-Doorn 2010).

This was followed by Le Coucher de la Marie video clip of 1896. However, the explosion occurred in the 1960s when doors were opened in movie theatres for explicit sexual contents.

Reflectively, the fever pitch was reached following discovery of the internet. As a result, viewing transformed from public to private behind closed doors. It is estimated that pornographic industry at present is a multibillion-dollar venture that cuts across all societies of the world (Van-Doorn 2010).

Factors explaining the extent of pornography

Van-Doorn (2010) identifies a myriad of factors as responsible for the widespread of pornography in the modern society. Van-Doorn (2010) carried out extensive study in feminist perception on pornography. The main three categories identified in his article are gratifying of the exploitative male culture, liberal and pro-sex positions.

Under the male culture gratification model, the author established that the feminists argue that the exploitative male culture often engage the services of women in pornographic materials as commodities which can be bought and used as sex pets.

Liberal view entertains the thought of giving women the choice to either be in a pornographic material or not since the subscribers of this thought believes in self-consciousness and independence in decision making among the womenfolk.

In an interesting twist, the pro-sex feminists explore hidden advantages that pornographic materials have on women. Among the identified benefits are self-actualization, economic gains, and self-identity. Therefore, these divergent opinions make pornography arguments a thorny discussion of all times.

Arguments for and against pornography among feminists became common in the 1980s as Anti-Pornography and Pro-Pornography feminists emerge in the society following the sudden surge in pornographic materials in the market.

Van-Doorn (2010) states that the feminist movement was shaken as proponents and opponents of pornography among the women folks unfolded with the emergence of self-expression and proactive women hood. Members of this school of thought dismissed pornography as a contributor to sexism, hideous devilish acts, and results in unending visual influenced violence on women folks.

For instance, the ardent Anti-Pornographic feminist Mackinnon is very assertive in criticizing pornography. In her arguments, she re-conceptualizes pornography as a violation of womens civil rights. Mackinnon further claims that coercion is a common phenomenon in the pornographic industry and men seek to transform women into sex object receptacles (Van-Doom, 2010).

In the process, the basic moral standards are degraded, manipulated and finally skewed towards a permanent imbalance between principles and control of environment pressure on womens sexuality.

Van-Doorn (2010) found out that 60% of the self-confessed feminist supporters recommended complete elimination of the pornographic industry since most actors are sexually abused, disparate and poor women who are forced by circumstance to participate in the demoralizing erotic demeanors to satisfy the blotted male ego (Van-Doorn, 2010).

Among other Anti-Pornography feminists, Mackinnon is right in her claims since Van-Doorns statistics has it that most female pornographic actors are poor, drug-abusing persons who had a sexually abused teenage life. Besides, this group of females is often coerced into performing certain improper sexual behavior acts in return for money, drugs, or freedom (Van-Doorn, 2010).

Sexual orientation variances

Reflectively, antagonists of pornography are mainly feminists with sensible arguments on why the erotic show is immoral. These feminists argue that pornography displays women as loose and immoral members of the society. These critics resonate that constant competition among pornographers is responsible for verbal abuse and dominance of males over the female members of the society.

Therefore, the resultant degradation and soaring aggression levels created make feminists uncomfortable. Moreover, many antagonists of pornography are certain that sex life of people is greatly affected by aggressive images since negative stereotyping is bounded in the women folks (Van-Doorn 2010).

From the findings of his primary research, Van-Doorn (2010) established that most of the feminists are women and their dissatisfaction with pornography stands at 65% in a sample space of 100 self-confessed feminists. However, protagonists disagree with this view, which they describe as influenced by generalization and personal perception.

They argue that the heated debate on the negative effects of pornography is a creation of perception since there is no substantial evidence to prove the allegation raised by antagonists. Besides, every scenario and period on pornography is influenced by different dynamics that cannot function as a dependent variable.

The majority of the protagonists are males. The findings of this research reveal that the 70% of the protagonists in a sample space of 100 supports continued pornographic activities.

This controversial research confirms a direct relationship between aggressions and actual non-consent sex among the male population. Van-Doorn (2010) asserts that sexism and misogyny culture is inclined towards misogynistic attitudes. As a result, the effect may be seen in self-esteem, happiness, security, and relationship with women folks.

Therefore, the protagonists and antagonists are in constant conflict with the antagonists asserting that dissemination, consumption, and production of pornographic material enslaves womenfolk into a cube of stereotyping from the insensitive male population.

In the process, the basic moral standards are degraded, manipulated and finally skewed towards a permanent imbalance between principles and control of environment pressure on womens sexuality.

In direct contrast, Pro-Pornography feminists present divergent opinions on the position of pornography towards females. For instance, the book, XXX: A Womans Right to Pornography by Wendy McElroy explores a series of benefits attached to pornography for women folks (Van-Doorn, 2010). Specifically, McElroys definition of pornography in itself is a mockery of the antagonist feminists position.

McElroy defines pornography as an explicit and artistic delineation of males and females as normal sexual beings (Van-Doorn, 2010). Being part of the few but vocal Pro-Pornographic feminists, McElroy clarifies her stand on pornography as a free will art which men and women engage in alike.

For McElroy, the basis of participating in erotic scenes has little to do with coercion, but self-consciousness and need to curve a unique culture among the characters who explore their sexuality. In her analysis, men and women are equal partners in the pornographic art since the body of a woman is in itself her right, as long as, self-consciousness forms part of the right (Van-Doorn, 2010).

Therefore, the author argues that women are free beings in the society with an equal space as males to discover, experience, and willingly participate in erotic sexual episodes. Besides, numerous personal and political benefits women get from acting pornography include financial gains, popularity, and recognition.

Reflectively, the author opines that violence witnessed in pornographic films is a simulation to create special effects that have nothing to do with real violence. Thus, like any other action-packed movie, violence in pornographic films is a creation of the pornographer to create a harmless fantasy during sexual acts (Ogas and Gaddam, 2012).

Despite a series of bills and laws that have been passed to censure pornographic materials, pornographic industries have devised successful ways of fighting censorship that is threatening their survival. For instance, online marketing of private pornography materials has proven successful since the target population is assumed to be mature enough.

In addition, production of educative pornography is slowly but steadily gaining ground in the homes of America. However, the general perception of the mass on pornography is negative. This view can be accredited to acculturation and idealistic social influences (Ogas and Gaddam, 2012).

Low self-esteem, maladaptive coping skills, disturbed self-identity, poor interpersonal skills, lack of social support, and increased vulnerability to stress have all been found in higher prevalence in adult who spends more time with pornographic materials than adults who regulate their consumption of pornographic materials. Stress is a holistic phenomenon with emotional, biological, cognitive, and coping aspects.

The purpose of this section is to examine stress response and stress management efficacy, focusing on interventions that emerge from a mindfulness paradigm. A review of the pathophysiology of the stress response and its impact on immunity provide a foundation for consideration of reviewing the impacts of stress on frequency of pornographic activities (Ogas and Gaddam, 2012).

Theories of stress, connections between stress and health, perception of stress, coping, cognitive appraisals, and stress management efficacy are presented. This sets the stage for exploration of mindfulness approaches to understanding the increased dependency on pornography to relieve stress. As behaviors are repeated and become more practiced, they become automatic.

Non-attention, automatic behavior, and preconceived expectations interfere with learning and limit options for response. Being mindful to new creative and effective coping allows continued learning and growth. Recognizing automatic behaviors and emotions provides an opportunity to detach from negative emotions and free up cognition (Ogas and Gaddam, 2012).

Cognitive restructuring is appropriate when a cognitive appraisal is faulty. The purpose of cognitive restructuring is to widen consciousness through awareness and then through changing faulty perceptions to minimize excessive dependence on pornography.

Successful management of pornographic addiction involves reevaluating irrational beliefs that cause and sustain behavior through cognitive, behavioral, and emotional approaches. Rational beliefs and emotions help to better achieve goals and avoid self-defeating behavior. Cognitive appraisal of the stressor is a mediating link between stress and coping response (Ogas and Gaddam, 2012).

Mindfulness of cognitive appraisals allows healthy coping and decision-making based on fresh assessment rather than automatic behavior. Mindfulness is not a personality trait. It is, rather a set of skills and processes individuals may use to enhance coping.

Mindfulness allows moments of self-awareness and personal growth. Mindful techniques may include actively considering alternative coping strategies and approaches to challenges. Mindfulness improves the quality of participation in everyday life with intentional and effective observation (Ogas and Gaddam, 2012). Mindfulness is developed and is a process of self-observation and self-questioning.

The subjective state of mindfulness involves the whole individual witnessing the moment, drawing novel distinctions, and maintaining emotional distance from the negative influences of pornography. The process of mindfulness is intentional, allowing accurate perception of reality simultaneously in parts and in gestalt. Mindfulness opens oneself to exploration and inquiry.

Conclusion

In summary, the article keeping it real: User-generated pornography, gender reification, and visual pleasure by Van-Doorn (2010) explores the arguments presented by pro-pornographic and anti-pornographic feminists. The paper explored pornography and feminism, especially on liberal and individualist feminism, to draw a clear understanding of the pornographic industry.

Reflectively, the paper explored the views presented by antagonists and protagonists of pornography. Interestingly, Van-Doorn succeeds in demystifying the wrong perception that pornographic industry is violence-filled. Rather, violence noted in pornographic films are simulated effects created by pornographers to preset a harmless fantasy of adults exploring their sexuality.

Irrespective of the stand, both the protagonist and antagonist feminists share a belief that self consent is critical in classifying the degree of abuse or violence in an erotic film. The Anti-Pornographic feminist Mackinnon presents strong arguments about the negative impact of pornography on women folks as stereotyping, exploitation, and sometimes unprecedented violence.

However, Van-Doorn challenges these claims by dismissing the non-quantifiable findings of Anti-Pornography feminists whose results are influenced by personal beliefs and generalization. Van-Doorn identifies a myriad of factors as responsible for the widespread of pornography in the modern society. Van-Doorn carried out extensive study in feminist perception on pornography.

The main three categories identified in his article are gratifying the exploitative male culture, liberal, and pro-sex positions. This controversial research confirms a direct relationship between aggressions and actual non-consent sex among the male population.

It also confirms that sexism and misogyny culture is inclined towards misogynistic attitudes. As a result, the effect may be seen in self-esteem, happiness, security, and relationship with women folks. These findings are compatible with those of Ogas and Gaddam. The authors share a common definition of pornography as an erotic representation material that is solely designed for instigating sexual arousal.

References

Ogas, O., & Gaddam, S. (2012). A billion wicked thoughts: What the internet tells us about sexual relationships. New York, NY: PLUME.

Van-Doorn , N. (2010). Keeping it real: User-generated pornography, gender reification, and visual pleasure. Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies. 16(4), 411-430

The case of Charles Laverne Singleton is often debated by journalists as well as medical workers. It should be mentioned that this person was sentenced to death penalty, but the execution was delayed because he was diagnosed with a mental disorder. In turn, it is important to speak about the court decision according to which he could be forced to take antipsychotic drugs.

In this way, the state attempted to make Singleton sane and eligible for death penalty. The critics of this decision believe that medicine is aimed at healing people, but it cannot be used to prepare them for execution. This is the main argument that can be identified. It is closely related to the functioning of the criminal justice system and medical ethics.

Overall, I believe that the medical treatment, which a death-row prisoner may receive, must not be viewed as a sufficient ground for execution. This argument is particularly relevant if one speaks about people who have some mental disorders. It is possible to single out several reasons that can support this position. First of all, the legitimization of such practices can compromise or even undermine the ethical integrity of medical workers.

These professionals must not use coercion in their daily practices. In many cases, voluntary and informed consent of the patient must be obtained by physicians prior to taking any action.

Therefore, the decision taken by the court can prompt medical workers to violate their ethical principles which are essential for protecting patients rights and their safety. This is one of the details that should be considered by legislators who need to think about the long-term consequences of their actions.

Additionally, the decision can eventually legitimate the dehumanization of death-row convicts or any prisoners. In particular, they may be forced to take not only antipsychotic drugs, but other chemical substances as well. For example, they can be used in medical experiments without their consent.

This is one of the pitfalls that policy-makers should not overlook. Certainly, they try to make sure that the execution of Singleton is not classified as a cruel and unusual punishment. In this way, they want to comply with existing legal norms.

However, their efforts to legitimize this execution can turn the criminal justice system into a machine that can dehumanize convicts who will be deprived of their dignity. There is a risk that this policy may create a loophole for violating the rights of prisoners. This is why the morality of this verdict can be questioned.

Secondly, one should mention that the medical assistance, which is given to a person, does not necessarily result in complete recovery. In many cases, medical workers can only help a patient adjust to some symptoms of a disease. One should bear in mind that Singleton was suffering from schizophrenia.

By taking antipsychotic drugs, this person can experience some temporary relief. However, one cannot say that he/she can overcome this disease. Similar argument can be applied to other disorders.

This issue should be considered since it is important for showing that this court decision is based on the superficial understanding of such notions as medicine and treatment. Moreover, this approach is not compatible with the daily practices of healthcare professionals.

Certainly, one can raise an objection to my position, and this critique will incorporate several arguments. In particular, the supporters of this decision can say that healthcare professionals are inevitably involved in executions. For instance, they must declare the death of a convict. More importantly, their duty is to provide medical assistance to prisoners, regardless of the crimes that they could have committed.

However, they cannot be held responsible for the actions of the state. In its turn, the government must enforce the decisions of the court. This task is critical for doing justice. By providing antipsychotic drugs to a convict, the state wants to make sure that this individual understands why death penalty is imposed on him/her.

In other words, this person should see that he is punished for a certain felony. Therefore, this decision of the court can be justified, provided that a person accepts the very necessity for capital punishment.

Admittedly, this objection should not be overlooked, but it is not sufficient for addressing ethical issues that are related to this case. In particular, this approach cannot justify medical workers use of coercion. Secondly, these professional must be concerned with the long-term well-being of a patient.

However, by facilitating the execution of a person, medical workers will deviate from the professional norms that are set for them. This is one of the issues that should not be disregarded.

Furthermore, it is vital to remember about the impact of this court decision on the experiences of other death-row convicts whose civic rights can be violated by the state. This position can be adopted even by a person who supports the use of death penalty. One should bear in mind that the acceptance of capital punishment does not imply that the state can dehumanize people.

Intellectual property laws have long been known to serve as market stabilizers. This function is especially achieved by getting rid of the low success rates for upstart companies occasioned by open systems that allow some people to use other individuals creations especially for intangible goods like what MoneyGram offers.

Intangible goods are generally viewed as an easy way for earning profits since not much investment is required in terms of physical assets as would be the case in institutions involved in production of tangible goods. Unfortunately, this intangibility has the drawback of it being easy for other people to reproduce the said intellectual creations without any limitations and in the process stealing some of the clients from the initial innovators.

In reality, the latter would be losing profits and customers that rightfully belong to them. Intellectual property rules and regulations are thus created to guide and stabilize the market eliminating counterfeits as well as to encourage innovative business ventures. This stability once established in a particular market helps reduce the risk associated with innovation.

As long as rules are in place to protect the respective rights of the creator of a business idea, the more likely are his or her chances of success in the market. In the case of competition, these rules serve to ensure that the competitor does not illegally gain advantage by merely imitating the new product that has been brought into the market.

The Brazilian market has been secured by the introduction of vital measures targeted at ensuring its stability. Corporation laws have over time been improved tremendously with the major aim being the promotion of cooperation among stakeholders as well as safeguarding the interests of minority shareholders.

The Brazilian government has been at the forefront in the creation of suitable environments that encourage innovation of technology based institutions. Stability in such ventures however has been achieved by ensuring that the intellectual property strategies of the companies are well respected. This has been entrenched in the industrial property law that was instituted into the constitution of the country a few years ago.

Developments in the legal systems of the land so the introduction of intellectual property and copyright measures particularly for software. A recent proposal is what is commonly referred to as the Innovations Law; a legal measure that is expected to support the transitioning business strategies from paper to the real market.

The Brazilian federal agency for fostering innovation embodies rules and regulations that guide how intellectual property rights will be used in the securing of contracts. This means that the agency promotes full refunding in case a contract is breached. This is particularly important for companies like MoneyGram which enter into the market without distinct goods to use as guarantees.

While presenting the idea to the relevant state authorities for approval, care will be taken to ensure that a proper valuation of the new intangible assets being introduced into the market. The risks involved while going into the venture should be minimalized to ensure that decent gains are made from the project.

Since Money Gram is already in operation in the country, the idea to introduce a multiple send currency remittance will be received as supportive intangible property to the entire enterprise. The ownership of this introduction will be on a third party basis and this is where the intellectual property laws will come in- to ensure that the innovators receive their due rights especially in terms of gains made from the idea.

Trademark Protection

The multiple send currency remittance feature that is set to be included to the Money Gram program is an independent and autonomous feature. It can therefore stand on its own as a subsidiary under the whole company and will therefore need to have identity features unique to it that will be used to distinguish it from other services offered by the company as well as competitors.

A trademark needs to be registered for this service and this will include features such as the name of the service, a special logo created to distinguish the service, colors designated to be used in the logo. All these have to be registered in compliance with rules applicable within the country.

When filing a trademark in Brazil, it is worth noting that the Industrial Property Law 9279/96 gives innovators the right to withhold information on what they intend to do with the trademark; at least until the time of registration (Garland, 1979). This is very important as it will ensure that intellectual property rights are respected by eliminating the situations that could lead to an individuals idea being used elsewhere without his/her knowledge.

The Brazilian property law also generally ensures that the first person to file the logo gets full rights to use it. However, article 129(1) allows for the individual who has been using a particular logo (or one similar to it) in good faith for a period of at least six months to have first priority (Gadbaw, & Richards, 1988).

Once a trademark application has been filed, and a legally accepted analysis conducted, the trademark (logo or symbol) is posted on the bulletin board for a period of not less than two months. This will give a chance to anybody that would be willing to challenge the application a period of 60 days in which to present their contention.

If such contention is filed, it is once again posted on the bulletin board and the applicant is once again given a period of 60 days in which to respond to the opposition. If the answer submitted by the applicant is not satisfactory, the application will be turned down and the applicant allowed a further 60 days in which to submit an appeal. If an appeal is not filed within the stipulated time, the application is regarded as abandoned and the decision to reject it stands.

On the other hand, if no contention for the trademark after the application has been posted on the bulletin board for a period of 60 days, a notice is posted on the board to alert the applicant that he or she has a period of 60 days in which to clear the issuance fees. If these fees are not paid within the specified time, the application is declared abandoned and is not allowed to pass through.

Should the fees be paid on time, the final consenting authority allowing for registration is published. In a period not exceeding 180 days, the opposing parties are allowed to seek nullification of registration.

Once a trademark has been registered, it is associated to the person who registered for a period of ten years after which he or she is required to register afresh. If the trademark is not in use for a period of more than five consecutive years, it can be cancelled and therefore anyone willing to use it can file an application (Abbott, Cottier, & Gurry, 1999).

Once the relevant procedures seeking approval to commence delivery of the service have been cleared, a creative panel will be sought to come up with a unique trademark for the new feature of the Money Gram services and the appropriate registration procedures followed to consolidate its legality.

Point of sale software

As a new service within the MoneyGram franchise, the multiple send currency remittance feature will need the installation of new software to support its operation. These are programs that will basically support the transfer of various kinds of currencies from the same point without necessarily requiring for the service provider to go through rigorous currency exchange computations.

Since Moneygram already uses DeltaWorks software alongside Agent connect, it will not make much business sense to purchase them again. Instead an upgrade of the existing software is recommended in the various Agent locations. Computer programming service providers and software developers will be contracted to come up with additional software that can either be used alongside DeltWorks and AgentConnect software or if necessary integrated into the two.

These software should have the capability to record an in-depth inventory of all the transactions made on the system as well as being easy enough for the average user in an agent location to perform these transactions effectively. The point of sale software to be used should be installed in both sender locations and on the receiver side in order to provide for accountability.

It would actually not make sense to have the sender transfer funds in one currency only for the transaction to be halted because the recipient has no capacity to handle completion of the funds transfer.

The good thing about this product is that it does not involve the selling of tangible goods or clearly visible services. This means that the software which enables the transaction is most likely the only software needed at the point of sale.

Elaborate software for analyzing the performance of the product in the market and analyzing the profits made in a given time will not be required at the point of sale and most of these functions will be studied at the head office of the company.

SWOT Analysis

Strengths

The service to be introduced into the MoneyGram franchise particularly in Brazil has the primary strength of being completely new in the country. None of the competing companies offering money transfer services in Brazil have implemented a multiple send currency remittance feature in their service.

This will make Money Gram a pioneer hence providing for the chance to not only secure clientele, but to also maintain customer loyalty in case competition emerges in future. Another strength of this service and probably the more reason why it is bound to receive accreditation from MoneyGram is that it seeks to complement the services already being provided by the company.

This service is also bound to be very attractive to regular users of money transfer services; most of whom have to undergo strenuous currency exchange procedures before transfers are made.

Sometimes a lot of money is deducted from what they original had in order to pay for the exchange service (Terry, 2005). Aside from increasing the revenue earned by MoneyGram international, this service will make the company a competitive giant in the region.

Weaknesses

The main weakness of this service is that it is not the kind of product that yields profits immediately. The cost of setting up the new systems may be slightly on the higher side and MoneyGram International may not be willing to let its systems be interfered with in the process of implementing the upgrades.

The project is also based on the premise that a lot of people are now immigrating to Brazil and the assumption is that they would wish to send money to their respective countries in the particular currency formats of these countries. It is however difficult to confirm that these clients will be willing to abandon service providers with whom they have established some degree of loyalty for an off-paper service that has yet to prove itself in the market.

Finally, the project is based on the assumption that the number of multiple send currency remittance requests will be sufficient enough to support the service as a self standing department of Money Gram International.

Opportunities

The opportunities that guide this service include the very fact that the migration of people from countries bordering Brazil into the country is on a rapid upward trend. This means that once the program has been unfolded, the new immigrants will find it the most convenient of all money transfer services available.

The project will capitalize on the newly introduced funding systems introduced by the Brazilian government to fund developing ventures within the country. This will help reduce the burden of funding thus giving the service more chances of picking up in the market. Unlike an exclusively start up company, this service will depend on infrastructure already installed by Money Gram international.

It will also initially rely on the current MoneyGram clientele to spread the word. This therefore means that most of the resources that would have been redirected to equipment purchase would be used to perfect the development of the project-a factor that will immensely contribute to its success.

Threats

The major threat to any new innovation is imitation. This will unavoidably present once the service has been proven successful, and competitors begin to see MoneyGram International as a company begin to snatch clientele from them. The rules in Brazil like in any other part of the world are not entirely water tight.

They come with loopholes that competitors can capitalize on to create a remarkably similar product but change a few aspects and patent it as a new service altogether. Luckily, since this is an entirely new innovation in the country, the company can count on customer loyalty based on the assumption that an imitation can never be totally as good as the original.

As much as money transfer services are gaining ground in Brazil, so are banking systems. There is a very big possibility that in the prospective future most of the immigrants will prefer to directly transfer funds from their accounts to bank accounts in their destination countries. These threats however are not sealed and ways to circumvent them will develop as the service gets into the market.

Reference List

Abbott, F.M., Cottier, T., & Gurry, F. (1999).The international intellectual property system: commentary and materials. Netherlands: Kluwer Law International.

Gadbaw, R.M., & Richards, T.J. (1988). Intellectual property rights: global consensus, global conflict? San Francisco: Westview Press.

Garland, P.G. (1978). Doing business in and with Brazil. Brasilia: Banco Lar Brasileiro.

Terry, F.D. (2005). Beyond small change: making migrant remittances count. Washington: Inter-American Development Bank

Difference between pornography, erotica and moral realism

Pornography is the verbal or pictorial representation of sexual behavior that degrades and demeans the role as well as status of female. It depicts them as sexual objects to be exploited and manipulated (Longino 2006). Pornography degrades, dehumanizes and causes injury and violation to the rights of women.

It constitutes of materials that cause pain, injury both physical and psychological, deceits to other people, providing interference to others rights, exploiting other people, perversion and defamation that are characteristics of decadent behavior (Longino 2006).

It places women in a position where their role is reduced to that of fulfilling men desires without taking into concern their own emotions. The portrayal of nude pictures that do not show the lack of self respect is not regarded as pornography although individual standards may vary. Such pictures can be called erotic.

Erotica and pornography differ on the subject of self-respect and the mutual benefit gained from a sexual encounter or an explicit display of the act. They also differ on the issue of degradation and abuse of rights pertaining to one person in the encounter. Moral realism entails presentation of explicit sexual material but that reaffirm the dignity and respect of an individual.

For example, learning materials that show rape cases in order to highlight the concerns of such an act to a victim although degrade and deny the victim her rights are understood in the context of its environment to reaffirm her dignity. Therefore, they cannot be called pornography but are classified as moral realism. Thus, pornography is the open demonstration of sexual behavior that degrades one of the participants in a style that proposes the consent of such activity (Longino 2006).

Pornographic materials mostly represent women and children on the receiving side. In fact, it supports the degrading behaviors in a way that females are represented as providing pleasure to males ignoring the interests and desires of female participants. Pornographic materials always carry texts or audial contents that signify the abuse of one of the participants.

Although the audial and written texts can be used to reaffirm participant dignity, sequential portrayal makes the material pornographic whether there is a consent of the participant or not (Longino 2006). Other pornographic materials show violence actions towards women.

For instance, some of the most valued pornographic materials show women bound with ropes to display their gentialia to passersby. Advertisements in pornographic materials show the level of support and endorsement of the degrading acts in the materials (Longino 2006).

Pornography as constituting lies and violence against women

Some of the pornographic materials considered to be of high quality exhibit women bound by ropes making their genital or anal areas vulnerable to passersby. Others show rape and physical torture for the purpose of sexual stimulation to male participants. The notion articulated for in movies that women sexual life is to be subordinate to the service of men, pleasures of women lie in pleasing of men and that they ought to be raped, bounded, tortured and murdered for the sake of men pleasure is deceiving.

This perception fosters more lies about women sexuality, self-esteem and their human character (Longino 2006). The existence of allegations that justify the immoral treatment of women except from being women fosters lies about them. The continued production of pornographic materials due to their increasing consumption continues to promote the lies about the actions that are meted to female participants.

The explicit and public display of sexist materials and the internalization of the actions in the minds of the females foster more lies about them. The entrenchment of pornography in the society endures to reaffirm womens role in society as mediocre to that of men. The vested attentiveness in men to continue upholding the belief of subordination of women renders women efforts to abolish pornographic materials useless.

Pornographic materials that portray women as inferior serve those interests and are therefore deeply rooted in the society (Longino 2006). The nature of pornographic materials through their inherent portrayal of sexuality and their effects on society shields it from overt communal debate.

The increase in production and consumption of pornographic materials is correlated to the increasing actual cases of rape and actions of violence against women all over the world. Various researches are being conducted to provide proof of these correlations in a manner that will lead to the abolition of such materials from the society (Longino 2006).

The place occupied by the pornographic materials entity and the continued reception by the communications and performing media shows the level of entrenchment of the ideology in the lives and minds societal members. This conception also portrays the cultural endorsement and support of the messages and actions presented in the materials.

The continued social tolerance of these explicit, degrading and deceitful images of women in such huge quantities indicates a general willingness to view women as people lacking essential human privileges and justifies their treatment as displayed in the pornographic materials. The tolerance attitude to vicious shows of women in anguish, rape and repression may cause actual harm in such a manner displayed in the pornographic contents.

Society lenience to massive-scale pornographic contents strengthens the application of injurious acts to women. Lack of censorship of such materials supports the male-oriented inferiority mythos about women as subservient human beings. This notion therefore backs to the preservation of an environment lenient on emotional and bodily violence against women (Longino 2006).

Reference

Longino, E. H. (2006). Pornography, Oppression and Freedom: A closer Look. In Mappes, T., & Zembaty, J. Social Ethics: Morality and Social Policy. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Publishers.

The open enrolment policy was enacted into law in 7 January 2010 before it became effective in April of the same year (Rho-ng & Noteware, 2011). This came into existence after a requirement from the legislation that the department of education in California should reproduce a list of 1,000 California schools that had low achievers.

These schools came to be known as open enrolment schools. The act actually required that parents with children attending either of the schools to transfer the children to other schools if the school had a good ranking in terms of performance than the former school (Kemerer & Sansom, 2009).

The aim or the purpose of the open enrolment policy was to upgrade students performance and to give parents the opportunity to send their children to schools of their choice. The policy was for increasing the enrolment choices that were available to the parents by removing the states restrictions on school enrolment.

Raffel (1998) stated that, the act prohibited the discrimination on the transfers. The main impact that resulted from the policy concerning the removal of the restriction was that parents could have a wide range of schools to choose from and therefore they could send their children to schools according to their abilities. The policy had a direct impact on the student, whereby allowing the students the opportunity for transfer to higher achieving school meant that the students academic performance would improve.

Secondly, the schools listed as persistently lowest achieving, or PI had their listing or ranking based on the federal governments provisions or criteria. The criteria used by the federal government was found out to be based on statistics and for this reason it was not an actual representation of the situation on the ground.

Therefore, the findings were that the students were subjected to transfer in order to take them to high achieving schools but later they found themselves in a school with the low performance. The act encouraged students to transfer and this had an effect on their academic performance due to the changes of the social and physical environment.

The points of the act identified and excluded certain schools from the list of enrolment. Community schools were in this category of schools whose enrolment was below 100 test scores and juvenile court schools. The students from those schools were affected by the changes since they were in a lack of interactions from students from outside schools.

Because of the enrolment, schools were restricted in some measures and the students from those schools did not have any chance of interacting with students from high achieving schools and, for this reason, their performance on test score could not be improved.

The policy was also found to have issues of concern especially when Single Schools in the district were considered (Korgen, 2008). It was found out that the policy contained some statues, which made it not clear whether the district single schools are included on the open enrolment list or not. This, therefore, left the parents and the students in a situation when they could not make an accurate decision on matters concerning transfers and performance of these schools.

The policy was also found to have statues that affected the transfer of students whose parents either were military personnel or had served in the military. Concerning the students, the policy was found to lift the deadline on the students transfers if the transfer was carried out within 90 days after the application was submitted.

These clauses were therefore found to be of great benefit to this particular kind of students especially when their parents were transferred from their workstations. The policy could therefore be said that it made the transfer process of this category of students easy.

The extension of the period also allowed the parents and the students to make informed inquiry about the school that they were planning to send their children. The parents and the students therefore could make all the necessary arrangement that were necessary before the student joined the school.

Sometimes different high schools in the state had different requirements that were needed for graduation. This was found out to be a major issue that could affect transfer of students in the state of California. The open enrolment policy was found to address this issue by authorizing all the students who had applied for transfers to be allowed to complete the graduation requirements in the school of enrolment.

This was of benefit to both the parents and the students. To begin with, the students had been saved the extra work of working in two different schools at the same time and therefore they could concentrate with one school. The parents were also found to benefit from the policy by saving on the expense.

Conclusion

The open enrolment policy was enacted in the state of California. With this policy in place, parents had the opportunity of transferring their children from the schools that had been ranked as low performers to schools that had been listed as high performing.

The policy therefore encouraged the transfer of students from one school to another. In some cases, transfer of students is of benefit to both the parents as well as the students especially based on academic performance, and the policy therefore provided for this transfer. I hence recommend that the policy should be adopted.

References

Kemerer, F., & Sansom, P. (2009). California school law. California: Stanford University Press.

Korgen, K. O. (2008) Contemporary readings in sociology. California: Sage Publishing Ltd.

Raffel, J. (1998). Historical dictionary of school segregation and desegregation: The American. West Port: Greenwood Publishing Group.

Rho-ng, E., & Noteware, M. (2011). Open enrolment act got choice& what now? California: Schools Boards Association.

When a company or an individual has no abilities to pay back the debts they can use such retrenchment strategy as bankruptcy. In this case, the company or an individual, but not a creditor, will be considered as an initiator of bankruptcy.

Bankruptcy can be discussed as the effective strategy for avoiding significant debt obligations because there are a lot of factors on which the process of declaring bankruptcy depends, and it can be a real opportunity for a company or an individual to avoid irreversible consequences and to preserve the definite resources.

The principles of the American bankruptcy law and the five types of bankruptcy are provided in the United States Code. These types are determined according to the peculiarities of the procedure of bankruptcy (liquidation or reorganization) and with references to the company, municipality or an individual as the owner of the resources. Thus, they have definite similarities and differences which should be analyzed properly.

The five types of bankruptcy are named in relation to the chapters of the Code. Therefore, the main types are Chapter 7, Chapter 9, Chapter 11, Chapter 12, and Chapter 13. Chapter 7 Bankruptcy is the liquidation of the individual or companys property when there are no possibilities to pay back the debts or it is impossible to obtain the agreement with a creditor (David, 2008).

Declaring bankruptcy according to Chapter 7, the debtor liquidates his assets with referring to a trustee who can sell the assets, and the debtor cannot continue his business activities.

Chapter 9 Bankruptcy differs from Chapter 7 Bankruptcy in applying not to individuals or companies, but to municipalities. According to this chapter, only cities, towns, villages and the other municipalities can declare their bankruptcy. This type of bankruptcy differs from the previous one in the possibility to reorganize the strategy for the development in relation to the repayment plan. It is important that there are states in the USA in which the declaration of bankruptcy by municipalities is prohibited (David, 2008).

Chapter 11 Bankruptcy is similar to Chapter 9 Bankruptcy in the possibility of the reorganization according to the court-approved plan. Chapter 11 makes accents on the companies or commercial enterprises reorganization (David, 2008).

In this case, it is opposite to Chapter 7 Bankruptcy because of allowing companies to continue their business activities according to the reorganization plan which includes a lot of aspects of the organizations reducing debts and discharging contracts. Thus, to get the opportunity for reorganizing, the debtor should fill the petition for protection.

Chapter 12 Bankruptcy is developed specially for providing the debt relief to family farmers. Their debt can be less than $1.5 million (David, 2008). This chapter can be discussed as the particular aspect of the Chapter 13 Bankruptcy.

According to Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, the debtor is inclined to continue his business activity, but this individual has no opportunities to pay back his debts in the current situation. When he has the regular income he can propose the plan for overcoming the situation and approve it in the Court. It is possible to declare Chapter 13 Bankruptcy and make the necessary payments to the creditors with the help of a trustee.

The main types of bankruptcy are Chapter 7, Chapter 9, Chapter 11, Chapter 12, and Chapter 13. These types have a lot of similarities as it is in Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, Chapter 9 and Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, Chapter 11 and Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, but the chapters peculiarities are caused by the differences in them and by the procedures of declaring bankruptcy and their conditions.

Reference

David, F. R. (2008). Strategic management: Concepts. USA: Prentice Hall.

Putting pressure on defendants to accept prosecutors plea deals

Public defenders are all those prosecutors and attorneys who provide legal representation of criminal defendants who are indigent (that is, those who are poor and cannot afford a lawyer) (Levinson, 2002). There are lots of situations, which may considerably improve the public defender system.

In case, when pressure is put on defendants to accept certain prosecutors plea deals, the public defender system has more chances to operate efficiently and effectively because of several reasons. First, psychological factor is one of the major ones, which turn out to be helpful during the cases.

Defendants may be prepared to certain questions, however, it is not that difficult to catch them and start using some personal information to accept plea deal. This is why the psychological factor should be taken into consideration.

Of course, to present more efficient public defender system, it is necessary to use the existed laws and present real life and legal examples of punishment. If this pressure does not have enough legal background, the results may be disappointing for any side.

Putting pressure on defendants helps to incriminate even bigger criminals. Lots of defendants cannot even imagine that pressure during the case may lead to unpredictable confessions.

However, prosecutors should take into consideration that this pressure may lead the defendant to accept a plea deal in exchange for real testimony. In this case, the case will get another course, and more evidences have to be gathered again.

Taking into consideration the above-mentioned outcomes of pressure on defendants, it is possible to conclude that the public defender system may be improved, if prosecutors try to use checked evidences and proper psychological evaluation of the case. This is why prosecutors have to take psychological courses to ask the question and put pressure in a proper way.

Heavy caseload per attorney

Many people admit that heavy caseload per attorney is considered to be one the areas that considerably affect the public defender system. Heavy caseload per attorney may cause because of racial issues, as people of one race want to choose an attorney of the same race in order to be sure that the attorney of the same race will do more to protect a defendant.

In this case, an attorney has not much time on each case, and the chances to present reliable and helpful information may decrease. Another reason of heavy caseload per attorney is the financial side.

Some attorney ask more money for their services, however, lots of people do not have such sum of money, this is why those attorney, who try to meet and comprehend the financial troubles of defendants may have heavy caseload.

To improve the public defender system, it is better to develop proper requirements for all attorneys in order to divide their duties and have the same amount of caseloads. When an attorney has enough time and energy to analyze the case, the results may be rather beneficial.

Some attorneys have numerous friends, who are eager to find more help and support from a particular attorney. This is why close relations to the defendant may also decrease the level of attorneys services: people try to look for some benefits even by means of friends and other people.

To my mind, it is better to create a system that the work between the attorneys should be divided rationally: people should be prejudiced with the ideas of race inequality and gender discrimination. It is better for attorney to pass some tests to prove their devotion to the work but not to money or racial biases. In this case, the public defendant system will be much more beneficial.

Reference List

Levinson, D. (2002). Encyclopedia of Crime and Punishment: Volumes I-IV. SAGE.

Purpose- To review, analyze, critically assess and clearly articulate the federal process for funding congressionally mandated Homeland Security activities under the Homeland Security Grant Program (HSGP).

Background- The unfortunate events of September 11^th compelled the US government to review its strategy on national security. As a result, it established the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to enhance the protection of its citizens from external threats.

According to the DHS, other measures which have been taken since then include the enactment of the intelligence reform and terrorism prevention act of 2004, the implementation of the recommendations of the 9/11 commission act of 2007, the enactment of the US Patriot act of 2001, comprehensive engagement in meeting global challenges including environmental and national security, strengthening the economy of the country to recover from the effects of the 2008 global financial crisis and the development of several presidential policy directives and executive orders.

All these are aimed at making the issue of national security a responsibility of everybody. The DHS coordinates all state and non-state security agencies to make sure that the security of the nation is not compromised. One of the approaches used by the DHS is provision of funds in form of grants to finance security related projects in the US.

The DHS supports the National Preparedness System (NPS) through the HSGP. The NPS in turn provides support for the development, sustainment and delivery of essential capabilities for the achievement of the National Preparedness Goal (NPG), which aspires to have a secure and resilient nation. The HSGP is based on the following five pillars:

• Protection.
• Prevention.
• Response.
• Mitigation.
• Recovery.

The HSGP is divided into three interconnected grant programs which provide funds to a range of security related activities such as planning, purchase of equipment, organization, administration, training, management and other exercises. The three programs under the HSGP are as follows:

• The State Homeland Security Program (SHSP).
• The Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI).
• The Operation Stonegarden (OPSG).

The State Homeland Security Program (SHSP)  In the FY 2013, the program was allocated a tune of $ 354, 644,123.

As per the federal emergency management agency, SHSP supports strategies for addressing the organization, planning, training and purchase of equipment for various activities aimed at preventing, protecting, mitigating and responding to emergencies related to terrorism or other calamities.

The SHSP also facilitates the state preparedness report initiative with funds for various activities.

In the FY 2013, the funds were allocated based on the following factors:

• Anticipated effectiveness.
• Minimum legislated amounts.
• The risk methodology of the DHS.

The State Administrative Agency (SAA) allocated the funds to all the 50 states and the following districts:

• Guam.
• American Samoa.
• Northern Mariana Islands.
• Virgin Islands.

The Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI)- This program assists densely populated urban areas in the planning, training, organizing and purchasing equipment to build or enhance their capacities to prevent, protect, respond to and mitigate effects of terrorism.

The reason for allocation of funds to urban based security initiatives is that the urban areas are preferred by terrorists because when the terrorists strike, they are able to kill many people at a go.

Urban areas also provide a good environment for the terrorists to disguise themselves which enables them to plan and execute their mission without being recognized due to the presence of many civilians.

Additionally, urban areas provide the up-to-date technological and transport infrastructure for the terrorists to execute their mission and flee as soon as possible.

In the FY 2013, the UASI program took the lions share of $ 558,745,566 for funding urban based security initiatives. The disbursement of the funds was overseen by the SAA. A total of 25 cities with the highest risk of attack were eligible for funding under this program.

The 25 cities were selected from a list of 100 most densely populated urban areas in the US according to the 9/11 act, which also outlines the relative risk for all the 100 urban areas. Just like the SHSP, the funds under this program were allocated based DHSs criteria of anticipated effectiveness and the risk methodology.

The Operation Stonegarden (OPSG)  This program was allocated $55, 000,000 in the FY 2013. The program aims at promoting the cooperation of State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial (SLTT) law enforcement agencies in the protection the US from terrorists.

According to the State of California, the law enforcement agencies are assisted to harmonize all laws governing cross border movements.

The funds were appropriated by the SAA and the following were eligible to apply:

• Government units in Alaska.
• Territories with international water boundaries.
• States bordering Mexico to the south.

The funds were allocated based on the risk-based prioritization criterion which borrows heavily from the sector specific Customs and Border Protection (CBP) methodology. The following factors were considered during the allocation of the funds:

• The length of boundaries.
• Threat.
• Vulnerability.
• Feasibility of the FY 2013.
• Law enforcement intelligence.

For Additional Information

Department of Homeland Security. (2014). DHS announces grant guidance for fiscal year (FY) 2013 preparedness grants. Web.

Federal Emergency Management Agency. (2014). FY 2013 Homeland Security Grant Program (HSGP). Web.

Homeland Security. (2014). National network of fusion centers guidance and requirements. Web.

State of California. (2011). Homeland Security Grant Program Documents. Web.

Patent can be defined as the right entitled to an individual due to specific contribution in a particular area. A person may be entitled to a patent for various reasons. To start with, an individual may be granted a patent because of coming up with a new idea that never existed before. A patent is also granted to any person who may come up with a new development in a certain field.

When a patent is granted, other people do not have the right to use the new idea or development over which a patent is entitled. The contributor of the idea is given rights to enjoy their creativity and innovativeness. However, the holder of the patent does not have rights to manipulate the patent in any way.

Most of the patents granted are due to modification in the contributions done earlier by different people in a certain field. It is allowed to make developments in order to improve on existing inventions. However, it is advisable to consult the persons responsible for these innovations.

After carrying out developments on already existing inventions, the holder of the innovation should be consulted before making a sale as he or she still holds the right for such innovation. In this case, the person engaged in the development of the previous innovation is entitled to a right in the development made.

One form of developing previous innovations could be a new way of conducting a certain process. This may also include a solution to a certain technological complication which may have disturbed people before but there have never been any proposed way of overcoming the problem.

People who contribute in such developments are granted this protection and rights in order to recognize their contribution. However, such kind of protection is valid for only twenty years.

It is very important to know how the patent helps the people who have come up with new ideas or have found a solution to a certain technological difficulty. Adequate knowledge on how the patent is granted is very essential in protecting the rights of the inventors.

In many cases, other people may take the advantage of innovations that have not been granted a patent. Regulations guiding the patent ensure that such people are detected earlier and sanctioned accordingly in case they attempt to gain any favour with respect to other peoples innovations. People may take advantage of others work to gain compensation, which they dont deserve.

Patent can also be very important in generating a business opportunity for the holders. Enough knowledge on how to patent helps the innovators when they wish to use their innovation for business purposes. People can use their innovation for business purposes in two ways.

First, holders of a patent may decide to sell their innovation hence generating income. Another way an innovator can use an innovation for business purposes is through application of the developed idea in production processes. Patent protects such businesses from imitation hence sustaining their profitability.

A great percentage of most profitable businesses have at least a unique idea or development, which is protected from imitation by other businesses. This allows them to provide a service or a product that no other provider can offer in the market.

In some cases where businesses are not able to access the protection of a patent, secrecy in business operations substitutes the role of a patent. While granted, patent protects a business for a period of two decades. During this time, an industry is free to carry out its operations without facing unnecessary antagonism.