My Answers to HWcase1, Q1

Q1: Prepare case notes on an ethics case related to intellectual property. Online students will post their notes to their blog. Your notes should include the following:

• A link or other citation to the case you are using; if it is from personal experience, point that out.
• A list of 5 or more important facts about the case. These could help you tell your group members or anyone or remind yourself what the case is all about.
• A list of questions (3 or more) that you could consider yourself or ask someone else about (for online students); see the “Questions to ask during discussion” tab on the course web page for some suggestions in developing your discussion questions.

A: The sources of my case are https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1985/11/13/lucasfilms-star-wars-lawsuit/c1c2ca50-8bc2-4f96-a792-5c22b7b3a35d/ & https://www.kleinlitigation.com/that-one-time-when-lucasfilm-sued-president-reagans-star-wars-program/


Five important facts are:

• November 12, 1985 George Lucas "launched a legal attack against the television commercials that use the same name to refer to President Reagan's proposal for a space-based missile defense system. (Lucas) accuse(d) the political ad makers of trademark infringement, unfair trade practices and "disparagement" and seeks to have the ads changed or barred from the air." ("Lucasfilm's 'Star Wars' Lawsuit")
• In the case Lucasfilm Ltd. v. High Frontier, High Frontier was found to not have committed trademark infringement, as the commercials they made generated no revenue, but rather they were made to simply spread awareness about the new military defense program coining the Star Wars name ("That One Time When Lucasfilm Sued President Reagan’s Star Wars Program"). 
• This ruling determined that the military had the right to use any IP, as long as the interest groups involved were not using the IP to profit. 
• The ruling allows the military to bully an IP owner's brand name into being attached with the military and as a result, war. This can and will sully the name of brands that have a strong anti-war following. It is essentially defamation, but it would seem the laws do not agree.
• This ruling seems to insinuate that our judicial system, while generally thought of as being founded upon ethics, does not always adhere to ethical standards.

Four important questions to ask about the case:

• Is it ethical to force someone's creation to be associated with war and death?
• Do you think that the judicial system is ethical based off of this case? Why or why not?
• Is it ethical for the government to use popular culture to spread propaganda about war machines?
• Does it seem in bad taste to name a nuclear warhead defense system 'Star Wars' rather than something more peaceful like the function it is claimed to carry out?

Three additional standard questions:

• What does virtue ethics say about this case?
• What does utilitarianism say about this case?
• What does deontology say about this case?