| Topic area | Intellectual Property |
| Target audience | Undergraduate or graduate in CS/IS. |
| Activity type | Worksheet, reading assignments, class discussion, research, and group activity. |
| Time required |
|
| Attachments | Worksheet 1 Worksheet 2 Worksheet 3 |
| Additional materials | The students need a copies of article(s) listed next that discusses this incident or have access to search engines (e.g. LEXIS/NEXIS). |
| Background needed to complete the assignment | None. |
| References |
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| Last modified | August 1998 |
Goals for the activity:
The activity is built so as to foster the ability to think alone, to discuss in a group, to write
coherently, and to present cogently.
Knowledge / skills / attitudes to be developed (behavioral objectives):
Students should develop basic understanding of the nature of protection offered by trade secrets
and the ownership of intellectual property in software business scenario. The students will also
realize that they do not exclusively own everything they author.
Procedure:
Three of the possible active learning scenarios that can be built around this case are as follows.
The first two scenarios are extended versions which explores the case in depth and involves the
whole class. The third one does not take up much of the class time and is group based. All
activities are built around the attached worksheets.
Scenario 1: Divide the class in groups of four and ask each group to work on Worksheet 1, which discusses a hypothetical scenario built around the actual case. After the breakup session, summarize and synthesize the group responses. At the end of class, handout Worksheet 2 and the newspaper article [2] that discusses the VMI and Autodesk case. The students should complete the worksheet and bring it to the next class. The worksheet asks questions about the facts of the case and can be graded. The next class starts off with a summary of the responses to Worksheet 2 so that everyone is up to speed on the facts about the case. Then handout the Institute Letters to the Editor [4] and Worksheet 3 and ask the class to work in groups of 3 or 4. The worksheet explores the ethical ramifications of the case. Use rest of the class to synthesize the group responses.
Scenario 2: This scenario is almost like the first one expect that the students do not consider the hypothetical scenario but explore the ethical ramifications at a greater depth. Divide the class in groups of four and ask each group to read the news paper article on the VMI vs. Autodesk case and work on Worksheet 2. After the breakup session, summarize and synthesize the group responses. At the end of class, handout Worksheet 2 and the Letters to the Editors of The Institute [4]. The worksheet explores the ethical ramifications of the case. Each student should complete the worksheet and bring it to next class. The next class starts off with a break-up session of 2 students per group. Each group synthesizes their responses that are discussed with the whole class. Then the viewpoint article by Rachlin [3] is handed out and each group is asked to compare and contrast their responses with that of Rachlin. The class ends with a summary of any new viewpoints expressed (or missed) in the article.
Scenario 3: Give articles [1], [2], [3], and [4] (and maybe the worksheets) to a group of students and them to write a four page report exploring the ethical ramifications of the case. In the next class, this group presents their summary before the class and leads a discussion around Worksheets 2 and 3.
Assessing outcomes:
In scenarios 1 and 2, one could grade Worksheet 2 since it is based on just facts. In the third
scenario, the student group can be graded based on the written article and the presentation.
Additional remarks:
A variation of scenario 3 has been tried in-class where just one student works on the paper and
presents, followed by a very brief class discussion. The other scenarios have not been tried out
in an actual class.
Author contact information:
Sudeep Sarkar
Computer Science and Engineering
University of South Florida
Tampa, FL 33620-5399
E-mail: sarkar@csee.usf.edu