Intellectual Property Statement of Ethics Project
WHAT'S A STATEMENT OF ETHICS?
A statement of ethics clearly identifies a person's or company's beliefs about core concepts of the person's life or a company's business and defines key terms related to those concepts. This statement guides the ways people or companies function and leads to the development of specific lists of practices, which may be called a Code of Conduct or Best Practices that enable people to enact or uphold those beliefs.
THE ASSIGNMENT
This assignment asks you to write a personal statement of ethics regarding intellectual property. Your statement needs to do the following:
• Define intellectual property
o What types of things count as intellectual property?
o What makes something someone's intellectual property?
o The definition must follow the term = category + defining characteristics pattern
• Define plagiarism
o What actions or uses cause plagiarism?
o What factors make an action plagiarism?
o The definition should follow the term = category + defining characteristics pattern
• Identify at least 3 ethical, responsible uses of intellectual property and articulate why they are ethical
o What ways can people appropriately use the intellectual property of others?
o When can/should people use the intellectual property of others?
o Why are certain uses appropriate?
o What tools are available to help people protect their own intellectual property or the intellectual property of others?
o Why is it important to protect intellectual property?
• Identify at least 2 unethical or irresponsible uses of intellectual property and articulate why these uses are unethical
o What ways can people inappropriately use the intellectual property of others?
o When can't people use the intellectual property of others?
o Why are these uses inappropriate?
• List 4 statements of best practices that clearly state, using action verbs, how to ethically handle intellectual property
o What will you do specifically to ethically use intellectual property?
o What will you do to avoid unethical uses of intellectual property?
FORMAT
Your statement should be 1-2 pages in length, with distinct sections identified by headings. Content within each section should be in either paragraph or bullet format. Paragraphs should be single - spaced. You may use indentation, bold or italic font, or font sizing to make particular concepts, terms or sections easier to identify.
Your Statement of Ethics should have a header and headings in APA style (see pages 62-63, 230 in the APA Publication Manual (6th Edition). Your paper title should be centered.