Pre-infringement
Contracts
Contracts are a pre-infringement control method, which very often is underestimated. Properly formed contracts enable copyright holders to restrict the use of their works in excess of the rights granted under copyright laws.
Copy Protection
This approach was standard in the 1980s, but rejected by consumers and relatively easy to break. Still copy protection, whereby the vendor limits the number of times a file can be copied, is used in certain situations.
Limited Functionality
This method allows copyright owners to provide a copy of the work, which is functionally limited. Software creators, for example, can distribute software that cannot print or save. A fully functional version has to be bought from the vendor.
Date Bombs
Here the intellectual property holder distributes a fully functional copy but locks off access at a pre-specified date or after a certain number of uses.
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The laws of almost all countries provide that protection is independent of any formalities. Copyright protection then starts as soon as the work is created.
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Looking at how public relations practitioners advertise their services, they do not primarily seem to be followers of the "social engineering" approach.
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Founded in 1977 the Cato Institutes 1998 budget made up US$ 11 million. Its funding consists of corporate and private donations (especially from corporations and executives in the highly regulated industries of financial services, telecommunications and pharmaceuticals industries) and sales of publications.
Catos corporate donors include tobacco firms:
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The fact that corporate money is seeking to influence public policy is nothing unusual. From the different ways of how private money helps to shape politics the first, and most familiar is direct campaign contributions to political candidates and parties, which is especially widespread in the United States. While the second great river of money goes to underwrite lobbying apparatus in diverse state capitals, the third form of attempts to influence public policy making is less well-known, but nearly as wide and deep as the two others - it is money which underwrites a vast network of public policy think tanks and advocacy groups. Although tried to be labeled in another way, unmistakably, these donations are naked attempts by corporations and other donors, to influence the political process.
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The London-based Institute for Economic Affairs (AEI) from its beginning undertook an extensive publishing program to push forward its free-market ideology. Among its publications was one particular paper, which had a direct and immediate political impact. Published in 1960 "Resale Price Maintenance and Shoppers' Choice" by Basil Yamey argued for the abolition of Resale Price Maintenance, which by fixing prices in shops prevented large stores from necessarily under-cutting smaller shops. Yamey argued that a free market in shop prices would save the shoppers £180,000,000 a year, and prices would fall by five percent.
The publication of Yamey's paper was timed to coincide with a period of public debate on the subject to ensure maximum impact, and Yamey's suggestions were taken up by the incumbent Conservative Government. Although the Abolition of Resale Price Maintenance by
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Burson-Marsteller, the worlds leading public relations firm employs over 2,000 professionals in over 30 countries, operating in multiple functional and industry practice specialties. Its focus is on adding value to its clients through the use of
Perception Management. The goal is to ensure that the perceptions which
surround their clients and influence their stakeholders are consistent with
reality and the clients' desired business objectives.
Fleishman-Hillard, headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, is the world's fifth largest public relations agency, with offices throughout North America, Europe and Asia, and affiliates in Latin America. Its 1998 net fees accounted for US$ 160,692,000.
Founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen and headquartered in Redmond, USA, Microsoft Corporation is today's world-leading developer of personal-computer software systems and applications. As MS-DOS, the first operating system released by Microsoft, before, Windows, its successor, has become the de-facto standard operating system for personal computer. According to critics and following a recent court ruling this is due to unfair competition.
For more detailed information see the Encyclopaedia Britannica:
Porter Novelli is the third largest PR firm with 1998 net fees of US$ 183,050,000. The companies focus lies on building brands, enhancing reputation and crisis management. Porter Novelli is specialised in: Food and nutrition, health care, consumer goods, technology, public affairs and social marketing.
GE is a major American corporation and one of the largest and most diversified corporations in the world. Its products include electrical and electronic equipment, plastics, aircraft engines, medical imaging equipment, and financial services. The company was incorporated in 1892, and in 1986 GE purchased the RCA Corporation including the RCA-owned television network, the National Broadcasting Company, Inc. In 1987, however, GE sold RCA's consumer electronics division to Thomson SA, a state-owned French firm, and purchased Thomson's medical technology division. In 1989 GE agreed to combine its European business interests in appliances, medical systems, electrical distribution, and power systems with the unrelated British corporation General Electric Company. Headquarters are in Fairfield, Conn., U.S.
IBM (International Business Machines Corporation) manufactures and develops cumputer hardware equipment, application and sysem software, and related equipment.
IBM produced the first PC (Personal Computer), and its decision to make Microsoft DOS the standard operating system initiated Microsoft's rise to global dominance in PC software.
Business indicators:
1999 Sales: $ 86,548 (+ 7,2 % from 1998)
Market capitalization: $ 181 bn
Employees: approx. 291,000
Corporate website: