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CH 5] Business 101 5-21

bankruptcies by the federal court system. Bankruptcy procedure allows the individual or
company to make a fresh start. Four types of bankruptcy are possible: Chapter 7, Chapter
11, Chapter 12, and Chapter 13.

Chapter 7 bankruptcy is a liquidation plan, whereby the business firm is dissolved and
the assets are sold to pay off all creditors. Individuals filing under Chapter 7 are allowed
to keep some assets as determined by federal and state laws.

Chapter 11 bankruptcy contains the provision under which most businesses go
bankrupt, a reorganization bankruptcy. There is no specified debt-level limit and no
required income. However, Chapter 11 is the most complex form of bankruptcy and
generally the most expensive, allowing a firm to reorganize and devise a plan to repay
its debts. Thus, it's most often used by businesses rather than individuals.

Chapter 12 bankruptcy signed into law by Chapter 12 bankruptcy shares some aspects
of Chapter 11 and Chapter 13 bankruptcies but is structured to work better for the
unique needs of farmers and fishermen. Chapter 12 bankruptcy provides a way for
family farmers or family fishermen under financial distress to pay back their debts.
When approved, it prevents creditors and collectors from taking action against the
debtor while they pay back their debts. President Trump (R) signed the “Family Farmer trademark
Relief Act of 2019” which raised the debt limit from $4.3 million to $10 million. Words, symbols, or other
designations used to
Chapter 13 of the bankruptcy law is the working man’s bankruptcy. It allows a person identify a product.
to set up a three to five-year debt repayment plan. Debtors often end up repaying only a
portion of what they owe. Section 109(e) Chapter 13 sets an unsecured debt limit of patent
$419,275 and includes the total of all amounts owed by an individual on credit cards, Inventors' guarantee of
medical bills, lines of credit, unsecured taxes, and other debts not secured by collateral. exclusive rights to their
inventions for 14 years,
Trademark Protection provided the inventions 5
A trademark is a registered logo that consists of words, symbols, or other designations have been accepted by
the U.S. Patent Office.
used by businesses to distinguish their products. The trademark grants exclusive right to
that logo and is used as a product differentiator. Numerous legal battles develop over
trademarks, because the owners want their distinction to be solely recognizable with them. copyright
The Italian arms manufacturer Beretta sued General Motors for trademark infringement Protection of an individual's
because Chevrolet named a car model Beretta. exclusive right to such
When a trademark distinction becomes a generic term for a class of products, then the materials as books, photos,
and cartoons.
trademark holder loses their monopoly protection. Aspirin, nylon, kerosene, and shredded
wheat were all once the exclusive properties of their manufacturers, but they became
generic terms, and now anyone can use them.

Patent Law
A patent is a set of exclusive rights granted by government to a person for a fixed
period of time in exchange for the regulated, public disclosure of certain details of an
invention. The U.S. Patent Office grants a design patent to an inventor and this patent
guarantees the inventor’s exclusive right to his invention for 14 years. Patent protection is
Constitutional guarantee and a patent application must be applied for in the name of the
true inventor(s), although the application can be assigned to another party, typically the
company the inventor(s) work for.

Copyright Law
A copyright is a set of exclusive rights granted by government for a limited time to
regulate the particular form, way or manner in which an idea or information is expressed.
Copyright may subsist in a wide range of creative or artistic forms or “works”, including
literary works, movies, musical works, sound recordings, paintings, cartoon illustrations, logo: is a graphical
photographs, software, and industrial designs. Copyrights are filed with the Library of representation of an entity.
Congress and protect intellectual property which is intangible property.
Authors or their heirs hold exclusive rights to their published or unpublished works for
the author's lifetime, plus 70 years. Works for hire and anonymous or pseudonymous works
receive copyright protection endures for a period of 95 years from publication or 120 years
from creation, whichever is shorter.

Learning to Do, Doing to Learn, Earning to Live, Living to Serve
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