Crown Awards, Inc. V. Discount Trophy & Co., Inc.

Crown Awards, Inc. v. Discount Trophy & Co. , Inc. U. S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit 2009 U. S. App. Lexis 8540 (2009) Material Facts of the Case: Crown Awards is a retailer of awards and trophies sold through mail order catalogs and via the Internet. Crown designed and sold a diamond-shaped spinning trophy for which it owned two copyright registrations. Discount Trophy is one of Crown’s competitors, and it sold a trophy that was substantially similar to Crown’s Spin Trophy.Crown requested that Discount discontinue the sale of the alleged copy, and when Discount refused, Crown filed suit in the Southern District of New York. Legal and Ethical Issues of the Case: In order to prevail on a claim of copyright infringement, a plaintiff must demonstrate both ownership of a valid copyright and infringement. â€Å"To establish infringement, the copyright owner must demonstrate that (1) the defendant has actually copied the plaintiff's work;  and  (2) the copying is il legal because a substantial similarity exists between the defendant's work and the protectable elements of plaintiff's. Actual copying may be proved directly or indirectly. Indirect evidence of copying  includes proof that the defendants had access to the copyrighted work and similarities that are probative of copying between the works. † Because direct proof of access is often  impossible to adduce, the law permits a plaintiff to carry his burden on this point through evidence that â€Å"an alleged infringer had a ‘reasonable possibility'† of access to the original work.Notably, â€Å"a court may infer that the alleged infringer had a reasonable possibility of access if the author sent the copyrighted work to a third party intermediary who has a  close relationship  with the infringer. † Access through third parties connected to both a plaintiff and a defendant may be sufficient to prove a defendant's access to a plaintiff's work. If a plaintiff ca nnot demonstrate a reasonable possibility of access, its infringement claim will fail absent proof of a â€Å"striking† similarity between the original and infringing works. We have held that where the works in question are ‘so strikingly similar as to preclude the possibility of independent creation, copying may be proved without a showing of access. ‘†Ã‚  In some cases, the similarities between the plaintiff's and defendant's work are so extensive and striking as, without more, both to justify an inference of copying and to prove improper appropriation.If a plaintiff demonstrates actual copying through proof of a reasonable possibility of access and similarities probative of copying, however, it can prevail on its infringement claim by demonstrating that defendant's work is â€Å"substantially similar to that which is original in the plaintiff's expression. † With â€Å"inexact copies,† this assessment proceeds by a comparison of the â€Å"t otal concept and feel of the contested works† as â€Å"instructed by common sense. The court must â€Å"analyze the two works closely to figure out in what respects, if any, they are similar, and then determine whether these similarities are due to protected aesthetic expressions original to the allegedly infringed work, or whether the similarity is to something in the original that is free for the taking. † Rules and Rationale Utilized by the Court to Resolve the Dispute: The district court found that Crown owned a valid copyright in its diamond-shaped spinning trophy and that Discount had access to Crown's design through its receipt of Crown's 2006 catalog and its monitoring of Crown's products.The district court found, however, that Crown had failed to demonstrate that Xiamen Xihua Arts and Craft, the manufacturer of the allegedly infringing trophy, also had access to Crown's design because there was no record evidence (1) that Discount asked Xiamen to manufacture a trophy that looked like Crown's copyrighted trophy, or (2) that Xiamen ever received a Crown catalog.While acknowledging that Crown's design could be viewed on the Internet after January of 2006, the district court noted that â€Å"there is no evidence in the record about the Internet habits† of Xiamen's principal. The district court nevertheless inferred access on the part of Xiamen from the â€Å"striking† similarity between the diamond-shaped spinning trophies sold by Crown and Discount. The court further found that the two products were â€Å"substantially† similar and shared the same â€Å"total concept and feel.    The court further found that â€Å"the timing of the order from Discount is . . . suggestive of copying,† insofar as â€Å"the first Discount trophies were ordered from Lin in the mid-summer of 2006, which is perfect timing if you worked forward from the publication of the Crown catalogs in 2006 and assumed that Xiamen got to work on fabricating a knockoff shortly thereafter. The district court concluded: â€Å"I find independent creation to be not only unlikely but absolutely impossible to believe. † Accordingly, it ruled in favor of Crown on its claim of infringement.Court’s Conclusion: The judgments of the district court were affirmed in favor of the plaintiff. Defendant Discount appeals from the judgments of the district court, entered after a two-day bench trial, awarding plaintiff Crown $22,845. 18 in damages and $165,528. 01 in attorney’s fees and costs for Discount’s infringement of Crown’s copyrights in the design of the Spin Trophy. Ethical Impact Analysis: The decision in the court’s ruling emphasizes that copyright infringement is not only illegal, but considered unethical in our society.Copyrights exist for a reason, and particularly against with a registered copyright, deliberate copying of a product for the purpose of making a profit is something that sho uld definitely be challenged and awarded to the copyright owner. The theft of intellectual property, as illustrated in this case, is sometimes difficult to prove, but it seemed clear in this situation that Discount blatantly copied Crown’s spinning trophy. I’m glad to have seen that Crown was awarded not only in damages, but also for their legal fees.

Sustainable architecture for sustainable future

Sustainable Architecture for a Sustainable Future Our environment today suffers from many issues. The most important one from a constructor's point of view would be the resources depletion problem. Freshwater resources are declining, the soil is loosing its fertility, and there is a crucial shortage in basic minerals such as zinc, copper, and phosphorus. These deficiencies would definitely lead to a slowdown in construction growth. According to Reran Named (2012) construction is the less sustainable business in the world because it uses around 50% of all non- renewable resources (8).Therefore, in order to be able to keep growing in construction, architects and contractors must change their approach, which would mean that they have to adopt a more CEO-friendly vision in terms of architecture; â€Å"Green building†. The term is now frequently used by newspapers, online articles, or even on TV, but what does it really mean? In Building Green in Pennsylvania, a green building is d escribed as â€Å"one whose construction and lifetime of operation assure the healthiest possible environment while representing the most efficient and least disruptive use of land, water, energy and resources†(l).An example of this type of buildings would be The Change Initiative (TIC) in Dublin, a flagship store where one can shop for green materials. The building is platinum certified by LED, a non-profit organization dedicated to promote green buildings worldwide. TIC produces 40% of its own energy requirement, the water is reused, and almost all materials used inside are submitted for recycling. After having been exposed to all of the positive impacts of sustainable architecture, one must surely consider green building as the definite future of construction.The first and main reason for using a Green strategy in construction would be to rooter the environment. Buildings and the Environment: A Statistical Summary shows that, in 2005, 38. 9% of the energy in the US is cons umed by constructions, with residential buildings consuming more than the half of this percentage. The study also concludes that the electricity consumption of commercial and residential buildings in the states was 72% of its total electricity consumption in 2006. (2).This massive electricity consumption meaner more energy consumption, which leads to more emissions by fossil fuels which are known for causing acid rain, smog, and many other environmental issues. Green buildings address these countless problems by making use of daylight and solar power that help reduce electricity consumption. Another green building strategy is rainwater recycling which help conserve potable water and increase the amount of saved water. The construction business has its share in causing pollution, but climate change would be the last idea to occur to one's mind as being a problem caused by construction.Brown, M. A. , & Southward, F. (2006) point out that greenhouse gas (Sighs) emission is one of the p rimary causes of climate change, and one of the least-cost approaches to reduce it is energy-efficient instruction (1). Buildings are responsible for 43% of the CA emission, and for an average of 8% of other Eggs (4). A sustainable building would address these emissions by integrating some of the latest technologies; Green buildings use advanced techniques such as reflective roof products, low-E coating for windows, using materials from demolished buildings, and natural heating and air-conditioning, and Brown, M.A. , & Southward, F (2006) assert that these ecological strategies can reduce energy consumption and Sighs emissions by 30 to 40% (12). Another reason or benefit of building green is because sustainable constructions have a positive influence on humans' health. Pollution is one of the main causes of sicknesses and diseases, since sustainable architecture tends to avoid the use of polluting materials, it indirectly contributes in making the human health better. From a general approach, Sings, A. , Seal, M. , Grady, S. C. And Korma, S. (2010) present a survey in which they ask people about their health before and after moving to a green building. The preliminary studies based on the surveys conducted show that green buildings have eventually improved health and well-being (p. 6). In addition, Cats G. 2013) believes in The costs and financial benefits of green buildings that improving the quality of the environment in which a person uses information positively affects his health by lowering stress and therefore leads to longer lives.Sustainable constructions take into account the occupants' health and restrain their use of materials that can harm it in any way, while taking advantage of natural resources (6). Productivity is also a factor influenced by green buildings. In Effects of green buildings on employee health and productivity, Sings, A. , Seal, M. , Grady, S. C. , and Korma, S. 2010) confirm â€Å"The improvement in perceived productivity were fa irly substantial and could result in an additional 38. 98 work hours per year for each occupant of a green building†(6).Green thinking pushes architects to include more daylight in order to save electricity, and to use self-heating/cooling systems that would work on solar power. In his report The costs and financial benefits of green buildings, G. Cats (2013) explains:† Increases in tenant control over ventilation, temperature and lighting each provide measured benefits from 0. 5% up to 34%, with average measured workforce productivity gains of 7. % with lighting control, 1. 8% with ventilation control, and 1. 2% with thermal control. Additionally, significant measured improvements have been found with increased daylight. (6) According to these statements assessed by professionals, it is clear that green buildings affect productivity rates in a positive way by making workers more comfortable and therefore enhancing their creativity and inventiveness. G. Cats (2013) stres ses in The costs and financial benefits of green buildings on the importance of the quality of benefits that workers receive in their workplace, which will eventually attract the best employees. Environmentally friendly design seems perfect to some, but others may consider its flaws. The most common concern about green buildings is the lack of information about how much it costs.Due to the use of many unknown techniques and strategies that are unheard of to build green, a misconception made its way through the minds of many that sustainable buildings cost much more than traditional ones. Cats G. (2003) states in Green building costs and financial benefits that the average cost of a green building is lower than what people believe (8). Not only do green buildings cost less than expected, but they pay back for themselves ever the years. Cats G. (2013) discusses that the financial advantages of green buildings are more important than traditional ones'.The financial benefits of green bu ildings come from water saving and re-using, less need for energy, therefore less costs. These savings are over than 10 times the additional cost of these buildings (8). In addition, the property value increases due to the fact that green buildings need less maintenance and economies energy. From an economic point of view, sustainable constructions positively affect sales rates; A study accomplished by HEDGEHOGS MAHONEY GROUP has found that â€Å"Skylights were found to be positively and significantly correlated to higher sales.All other things being equal, an average non-skylight store in the chain would likely have 40% higher sales with the addition of skylights, with a probable range between 31% and 49%. â€Å"(as cited in Green building benefits (Para 12)) . Nature has always been the human race's mentor since the earliest of ages. Michael Pawl, a modern environmental architect, made an important point in a lecture he gave at TED in 2010:†life could learn to make things ND do things the way nature does, we could achieve factor 10, factor 100, maybe even factor 1,000 savings in resource and energy use†.The world has been surviving for over 4 billion years. In order for the humanity to do the same, it's up to the architects to take action and encourage this project that can save what's left of our polluted planet. It's about time to stop violating our planet that has suffered enough of human greed which has caused many tragedies such as deforestation, green fields and pure water sources pollution, rise of sea levels, and many more. It's about time to tart thinking about the new generations, by building them sustainable constructions that would improve the inside and outside environment.Besides reducing gas emissions, conserving water, and reducing waste, building Green has its economic benefits: Money wasted for producing energy and water would now be spared, not to mention the increase in the value of the building, the high productivity rates, and the sales improvement.

Human Resource Essay

The paper would revolve around the discussion done over the concern regarding the rising wages of labor along with the decline in the supply of labor from China, which was previously considered to be the hub of labors from where the labor was supplied to other countries at a cheaper cost. Let’s discuss this issue in detail along with the explanation regarding the measures being taken by the organizations to change their human resource strategies. Answer – 1  Competing on the basis of labor costs can generate both positive and as well as negative outcomes for a company, or country. Talking about the brighter side, companies these days strive to achieve the optimum profitability level in order to stay in the competition. Therefore, what they do is to hire employees on part-time basis where employees would be paid on the basis of work they would do along with the working hours. This usually happens when the companies start a new venture such as, product development, its launching, or promotion. It does save huge costs for the company, but the turnover rate rises drastically. Talking about the negative side of the picture, either it is the company or country; it would result in a high turnover rate that often increases the costs such as, training costs. It is because when employees are hired by the companies, they must be trained about the job description that they are held responsible of. Therefore, investments are made by either sending them abroad or arranging workshops or training sessions. Obviously, when employees don’t get enough pay, they would leave their jobs; moreover, the supply of labor within the country would get minimized because workers might leave their country and go abroad to work for MNCs. Answer – 2 There is absolutely no doubt that many organizations consider their workforce as a main asset since the utilization of resources depend on their skills and abilities. Employees often demand the companies to value them, give them some autonomy, and involve them in the key managerial decisions where they can suggest new ideas. Companies, in order to keep their employees satisfied, introduce certain compensation packages and training sessions so that the employees think of themselves as part of the organization and get motivated. When managers invest over the training sessions and involve their subordinates in the key decisions, it becomes necessary for them to retain them at any cost or else they would leave their jobs. This would result in the loss of intellectual capital and loss of investment that was made to groom them by polishing their skills. As compared to the costs that incur for training the employees, the cost of labor force is much more than that. The reason is that when employees are trained and are retained by the company, it benefits the company not only in the short-run, but also in the long-run. Whereas on the flipside, when those skillful employees leave the company the labor costs take a domino effect because the firm would lose those employees, the investment made on them, and would have to recruit others, and then train them again. Consequently, these companies must focus on retention of employees, and that can be done by offering them attractive compensation packages, further training, giving autonomy, and promotion. Answer – 3 Companies these days are really focusing on reshaping their human resource strategies and forming them in such a way that not only keeps the employees contented, but also benefit the overall organization. There are several ways adopted by the firms these days and are explained below. Organizations these days encourage and support the presence of collectivist attitude. Collectivists define themselves by their group membership, give group goals priority over their personal goals, put more emphasis on harmonious relationships and experience more socially based emotions† (Robbins & Judge, 2007) Moreover, individual rights is are also emphasized, that is to ensure the freedom of movement, physical security, and freedom of speech. Emphases are laid on the presence of health and safety and ensure the condemnation of actions or choices that are not safe for people, actions that violate law and ethical principles. Equal employment opportunities are ensured where they hire individuals based on their intellect, creativity, enthusiasm and the presence of Emotional Intelligence. In working structure, they value team relationship, team work, and team achievements; moreover, their employees value the importance of effective communication and employee involvement while making certain decisions and delegating the tasks. There ratio of discrimination seems to be getting lessened; everyone is given equal opportunities and there is no glass ceiling for females or people from different backgrounds. When it comes to improving and retaining the skills of employees, many organizations rely on the concept of Employability, i. e. – to continuously improve the employee’s working skills by the time to meet the requirements – (Daft, 1997). Answer – 4 Since the competition for workers in China is heating up where high wages are demanded by them and at the same time, companies seek to cut their redundant costs, especially from payrolls; therefore, employers would definitely shape some of the terms and conditions regarding the working conditions, job type, compensation, working hours, and job security. First of all, since the supply of well-educated and skillful workers is less in China, so firms would have to recruit those who are available even if they are demanding high wages. Of Among these workers, many of them come from abroad to find best possible job opportunity. Another change that can be made is in the working hours, where companies can decide the job type, job status, and working hours of a worker before recruiting him or her. In this case, a contract would be signed between the worker and the company in which all the responsibilities and liabilities of both of them would be outlined, along with the penalties that either party would have to pay in case of violating the contract. A very enticing strategy that can be brought on is to introduce the Performance-based compensation play, where the employees whether they are contractual or regular, would be paid on the basis of their performance and productivity level. Moreover, chances of promotion would only be for those who perform well and benefit the organization. This would result in provoking the motivation among the employees to gain more knowledge and skills, perform better, and abide by the rules and regulations. Not only this, the turnover rate that China is currently facing, would decline to a great extent and would attract the best available talent, which would be beneficial for both the employees and the business.

Did Father Flynn get what he derserved at the end of the film, Doubt Movie Review

Did Father Flynn get what he derserved at the end of the film, Doubt - Movie Review Example This in effect operates as a promotion and when Sister Aloysius is told of Father Flynn’s departure, she repeats â€Å"in the pursuit of wrongdoing, one steps away from God†. The denouement of the film poses more questions than at it answers and has fuelled polarised debate as to whether or not Father Flynn is actually innocent, which in turn poses the question as to whether Father Flynn gets what he deserved at the end of the film. On the one hand, Father Flynn’s departure and silence at the end could be interpreted as an admission of guilt, which would lend itself to the argument that Father Flynn did not get what he deserved as he effectively ends up in a higher position of authority by the end of the film. On the other hand, the audience learns that Sister Aloysius lied about speaking to a nun at Father Flynn’s previous church, which in turn leads the audience to question the guilt of both Aloysius and Father Flynn. Therefore overall, in contrast to the archetypal Hollywood blockbuster, the film’s conclusion leaves many issues unresolved, which in turn projects the central theme of doubt throughout the film onto the audience. In turn, it is submitted in this paper that ultimately it is impossible to decipher whether Father Flynn gets what he deserves at the end of the film. Whilst questions about Father Flynn’s conduct remains throughout, Sister Aloysius’ relentless pursuit of him not only serves to heighten the anticipation from the audience’s perspective as to whether or not he is guilty; it arguably serves to operate as a microcosm of gender conflict within the Catholic Church (Smith 218). Whether or not Father Flynn is guilty of abuse further serves to highlight the irony of the battle between him and Sister Aloysius who is also guilty of lying to remove Father Flynn from the Church. The irony is that within the Church’s infrastructure, Sister Aloysius’ position as a nun is inferior to Father Flynn.