Article Summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 4

Article Summary - Essay Example Combining these two entities would in fact enable easier analysis of cross-channels due to internal data sharing. Integration of email and Facebook increases the likelihood of reaching the target audience. This integration can be either through creation of email opt-tabs in the Facebook account or by adding a Facebook â€Å"like† request in email messages. A social login that operates through a single click into the individuals website that contain information from social networks such as Facebook can also be used to facilitate the conversion of email opt-in tabs. Such social logins could provide necessary information such as email address or other contact modes. A study has also concluded that this is now the most preferred method as compared to filling tiring registration forms. Such integration of services can also be used to test cross-channel data such as time of the day or day of the week. Metrics used in email operations such as open rate and clickthrough can be applied to posting schedules on Facebook and similarly the interactive windows of Facebook should be incorporated into sending windows of emails. Winning email subject lines and Facebook ads can also be exchanged. Additionally, images having a high clickthrough rate in emails and those which have increased interactive rates on Facebook can be interchanged. In conclusion, the article also stresses that a single editorial calendar could be used by marketers in order to promote action calls in both the channels. By and large the article lays emphasis on breaking the silos of an organization as it only serves to hinder its progress in the current global environment. Kirkpatrick, D. (2013). MarketingSherpa Email Summit 2013: Social Media is email with fresh paint. MarketingSherpa Blog. Retrieved 23 March, 2013, from

EMBA 560 Executive position week 1 discussion 1 Essay

EMBA 560 Executive position week 1 discussion 1 - Essay Example Not too long afterward, traditional consensus shifted from the belief of a predestined leader to the idea that there were natural-born leaders – that is, individuals who have the natural traits that are associated with good leaders. The concept of ‘leadership’ shifted at this point, from the view that leaders were great people who defended their people during wartime, to the concept of leaders who competently acted as stewards of their people. Leaders were thought to be virtuous, gifted, and had a charismatic appeal that won over people’s loyalty and adulation. The problem with the leadership traits theory is that the good leader eventually was though to possess all the possible positive qualities (and none of the negative qualities), which is an impossible proposition (Ledlow & Coppola, 2010). With the coming of scientific management, it became generally accepted that leaders can be trained and developed. This is the skills approach, indicating that people who are trained at leadership skills (technical, human relations, and conceptual) can become good leaders. Simultaneous with this is the leadership style theory, which categorizes a leader as autocratic, democratic, charismatic, bureaucratic, laissez-faire, and a host of other styles. While leadership skills are the capabilities with which an individual functions in the duties of leadership, leadership styles pertains to how the leader relates to his followers. Insofar as ‘skills’ are viewed as talents, then it may be said that talents help make a leader, although not to the exclusion of other factors. More recently, leadership has been viewed as falling into two general categories – transactional and transformational. A transactional leader deals with followers on a transaction basis, that is, if the follower does what is expected, he gets a reward. A transformational leader, though, brings lasting change to his followers so that they are motivated to perform a ccording to expectation. References: Bass, B M & Bass, R (2009) The Bass Handbook of Leadership: Theory, Research, and Managerial Applications, Fourth edition. New York, NY: Free Press, Simon & Schuster, Inc. Ledlow, G R & Coppola, M N (2010) Leadership for Health Professionals: Theory, Skills and Applications. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers, Inc Waite, M R (2008) Fire Service Leadership: Theories and Practices. International Association of Fire Chiefs. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers, Inc. 2. In your opinion and experience, what do you believe to be the most important role / duty of an executive. Off the cuff, I (and many others, I would imagine) would feel that the most important role of an executive would be to reach the goal (of the organization) and to maintain the peace. Ultimately, that is the goal of all leaders, particularly in the matter of attaining the objective. That would be fine in the case of short-term projects, where there is a singular objec tive, a definite start and end, and a fixed lifespan. In a continuing undertaking, however, the objective is recurring and people in the organization are made to work together over a long – theoretically an infinite – period of time. In this case, leadership takes on a more profound role, that of motivator for his many followers. From my experience, the best way for a leader to motivate his/her followers is not only to articulate a goal for them, but to provide them with a vision that they can assimilate in their

Hofstede Cultural Theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Hofstede Cultural Theory - Essay Example This is the way the top management treat their subordinates in the work place. The inequality treatment of the employees by the management creates a rift between the top management and low ranked employees. Employees are the source of ideas which might make the organization to be more competitive or avoid some risks and uncertainties that may face the organization. Power distance therefore, creates consultation barriers in case the employees have issues that they want to raise to the top management. The decisions are therefore, made by the top management without incorporating the decisions of the low ranked employees and this might bring about resistance in implementation of the proposal. Power distance can be overcome through open offices where employees are free to consult the top management on a certain issue that is of great concern to them. Team work can on the other hand, bring management closer to the employees as it is easier for employees to elect their leader who will take their grievances to the top management (Khastar et al, 2011, p.321) Collectivism is how people in a society or group in an organization feel as belonging to a group. On the other hand individualism is an aspect where each person acts as a single body without involving others. Top managements are prone to this culture where they exclude other people in the organization and act individually without the involvement of other members who also plays an important role in the success of the organization. This aspect demoralizes the other members of the society who feel left out in running the activities of the organization (Khastar et al, 2011). Masculinity versus feminity is a culture that treats different members depending on their sex. Top leaders create up gender disparities in awarding of chores in the organization. This aspect makes one gender to feel less respected an aspect that have an effect on their overall performance of the minority gender (Khastar et al, 2011, p.321). Lastly, uncertainty avoidance is how the organization is structured to deal with future risks. A culture of team work is one strategy that organization uses in order to come up with ways of fighting risks and uncertainties. Team work comes up with strategies and ideas which are important in shielding the organization from any risks that might occur in the future. Organization avoids uncertainty through insuring their employees and organizational structures against any risks. This gives the employees morale to work harder as they are certain about their future (Khastar et al, 2011, p.321) Hofstede theory has brought changes in the organization through bringing gender balance in the organization. Many organizations have eradicated any practices that could bring gender imbalance. Some of these practices start direct from advertising the vacancies in the organization. The organizations have also ensured that the advertisements are gender neutral so as to give all interested applicants an opport unity to try their luck. In the interview level, questions that are asked by the panel are neutral so as not to discourage the minority gender. Countries have also adapted to the cultural model through putting up strategies to ensure that all genders are well represented in the organizations and institutions (Khastar et al, 2

Eeryday life Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Eeryday life - Essay Example In my turn, I have wondered whether we could possibly even approach the ideal of rationality, and I believe that what is clear is that this task is far from being easy. After all, we, humans, have a too significant heritage of irrationality to live with and this is an integral part of our nature. As a demonstration of this may serve the great number of biases in human reasoning and decision making, when for instance due to the so-called 'confirmation bias' people tend to look for and believe only that which they already have a predisposition for, and ignore evidence for the contrary. Ironically, this type of bias is one of the main mechanisms that work to maintain the enormous popularity of horoscopes in our society despite the lack of scientific evidence for their validity, and is used for the promotion of such a chancy endeavour as lottery by overemphasising very slim possibility of winning and ignoring the real possibility of losing. Now, it is not surprising that the study of approaches to problem solving and thinking is that powerful tool which can help one efficiently employ ones ability for rational thinking and effective problem solving, and in the process understand how the general concepts and theories that study them apply to our everyday life that is rife with challenges such as the need for a person to deci

Courtroom Players Response Essay Example for Free

Courtroom Players Response Essay In the courtroom there is a group of key players that work together on a daily basis. They are made of a group of professionals. These professional are those who know all aspects of a criminal trial and they work together in performing the duties of the court. The courtroom work group is all of the professionals that participate in a court proceeding. They include the judge, prosecuting attorneys, defense attorneys, public defenders and any other individuals who earn a living by giving service to the court. These individuals act together with a common goal of bringing any and all court room proceedings to a successful close. Each of professional in the courtroom work group has its own duties. The prosecutor is responsible for presenting the states evidence and preparing the states case against the accused. It is up to the prosecuting attorney to determine which cases should be pursued and which to let the charges drop. The prosecutor makes these decisions based on a variety of criteria. They will look at the evidence against the accused, the crime itself, the history of the accused as well as many other factors. If the criteria where more strict which would end up in fewer cases being prosecuted, the court would be less crowded for time but there would be more criminals on the streets going unpunished. On the other hand if they were too loose, there would be a risk of more innocent people being charged with crimes they didnt commit and an already overtaxed court system becoming completely bogged down. I would not really recommend any changes in the court system that we have now. I understand it is not a perfect system but it is better than many and it has the right goals in mind. Reference: Schmalleger, F. (2011). Criminal justice today: An introductory text for the twenty-first century (11th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ. Pearson Prentice Hall.

Pros And Cons Of Capital Budgeting Measures Finance Essay

Pros And Cons Of Capital Budgeting Measures Finance Essay Capital budgeting refers to the process in which a firm determines whether a project or investment is worth pursuing. More often than not, the process involves a long term assessment of the cash inflow and outflows to determine if the returns generated meet the investment appraisal. The most common methods used are the net present value (NPV) where evaluation of the project is based on the amount by which its value is maximized. Other measures or tools used in decision making include: the internal rate of return (IRR), a version of the IRR known as the modified internal rate of return (MIRR), the discounted payback period (DPB), a profitability index method (PI) and the traditional payback method. Regardless of the demerits presented by each, most firms or financial managers tend to stick to a certain method of capital budgeting. This discourse explores each of the measure as they apply to real world process of project approval. The discourse comprehensively reviews and evaluates the advantages and disadvantages of each of these measures with regards to their effectiveness, project size and long term/ future returns. Based on review of recent literature in business related journals, the discussion primarily sought to determine which version of capital budgeting method is most suitable for big and small businesses. The findings of the discourse indicate that capital budgeting decision is a unique investment decision making tool to macro or micro enterprises and there is no one size fits all solution. As a matter of fact, certain methods of capital budgeting are identified with the level of project, size of firms and innovation levels. The discourse also established that while most chief executive officers or managers have distinct capital budgeting models, not all yield the same results for a company or even meet listed project or investment expectations. Introduction Capital budgeting involves a series of identifying, evaluating and implementing long term investment opportunities in a firm or business venture. Depending on the measure or technique employed, firms seek to identify investments that will increase their shareholder wealth. The decisions involved largely target or aim at assessing a project that demand large upfront investment coupled with a series of small cash inflows. The most commonly used measures of capital budgeting are NPV, IRR, MIRR and DPB methods. Distinct as they are in approach, each presents its strengths and weaknesses when it pertains to project evaluation or capital budgeting. Internal rate of return (IRR) According to recent budgetary surveys, the internal rate of return has received more preference for project evaluation than other techniques (Rousse, 2008, p. 2). The IRR presents analysts with an avenue through which rates of return are quantified in an investment and according to Kelleher MacCormack (2004, par. 4), managers opt to finance projects with high IRR based on their selection of the project value but at the same time destroy shareholder wealth in the investment. IRR can generate different values for the same project when future cash flows switch from negative to positive and back. More often than not, the IRR is expressed as a percentage thereby making small projects appear attractive and large ones great (Kelleher MacCormack, 2004, par. 4). As evident in most IRR projects, the general rule dictates that where the measure is greater than the opportunity cost of capital, all investments remain acceptable. Strengths and Weaknesses As one of the most commonly employed measures in capital budgeting, the IRR draws its popularity from the fact that it is based on a discounted cash flow. When used effectively, the IRR method provides viable or feasible options on a project value. On the flip side however, internal rate of return has numerous risks that outweigh its merits. The method is essentially inconsistent and exposes shareholders wealth at risks minimizing their objective (Rousse, 2008, p. 1). The IRR may exhibit multiple rates of return when cash flows shift from negative to positive multiple times (Kierulff, 2008, p. 327). If managers and analysts are to continue using IRR, then major adjustments are to be made over the measures critical assumption: that interim cash flows will be reinvested at the same high rates as the returns (Kelleher MacCormack, 2004, par. 5). Even more disturbing is the practice that practitioners frequently employ in interpreting the IRR; when computing the IRR, practitioners usuall y equate the measure with return on a given investment. Net present value (NPV) The net present value of a capital project or an investment is the aggregation of the present values of all benefits (in cash) by deducting the present value of all cash (Elumilade, Asaolu Ologunde, 2006, p. 145). The NPV basically involves evaluation of the amount by which the value of a given project is maximized. As the name suggests, the basic premise for the net present value is the assumption that monetary value of a currency today is worth more than its future value. According to Rudolf (2008, p. 1), the logic behind the premise is that present cash can be invested and generate interest. Profitability is determined by evaluating the return on the invested capital whose net present value is zero. Negative NPV implies that the project is not desirable while a positive NPV means the project is viable. Theoretically, all estimations made in the NPV involve measuring the projects future net cash flows such that they are discounted at appropriate cost of capital to procure their pr esent value (Elumilade et al., 2006, p 145). Strengths and Weaknesses The net present value method is effective for both the assessment of new investments and comparison of investment alternatives (Rudolf, 2008, p. 2); the investment with the higher NPV becomes a more viable alternative. Based on its additive process, the net present values of different investments with different discount rates can be added up. A notable strength of the NPV is that it recognizes the risks associated with future monetary value using the money concept. Another strength of the NPV method is that it is an arithmetically simple procedure that when computed presents easy interpretation as the capital value is expressed in monetary units. In addition, the NPV offers managers with the possibility of adapting the discount rates for different periods (Rudolf, 2008, p. 2). In line with the IRR, the net present value has several drawbacks much as it is popular in capital budgeting. For one thing, the NPV lacks visibility of a time frame on which a project is expected to generate positive values given the simplicity in calculations. While the NPVs basic premise is to accept all investment greater than zero, the measure is however not clear of when the positive values are achieved. In cases where a new project has higher risks than a companys cost of capital, its cash flow should be discounted at a higher rate to mirror that risk. But if they are, the reinvestment rate becomes detached from the cost of capital such that the investment rate for the new product introduction is way above the normal cost of capital (Kierulff, 2008, p. 323). Hypothetically, the NPV tends to generalize and assume that at any given time, the capital is always abundant and thereby no capital rationing. Supposing the resources are scarce, practitioners have to do some critical exa mination of not just the measure, but each and every available project and size of investment. Modified internal rate of return The modified internal rate of returns is a derivative of the IRR with the exclusion of the aforementioned drawbacks. Compared to the internal rate of return, it provides a more accurate percentage measure of financial attractiveness (Kierulff, 2008, p. 322). Based on existing literature, the MIRR method has not received much attention. Within a sample of 15 significant and highly respected finance textbooks, nearly all have ignored the MIRR (Kierulff, 2008, p. 322). Given the widespread use of NPV and IRR, financial institutions across the globe overlook the importance of the modified internal rate of return method. The main idea behind MIRR is simple computation that may seem challenging in practice because of the need to estimate reinvestment rates (Kierulff, 2008, p. 326). The modified IRR involves three basic procedures that when utilized effectively present the best measure of capital budgeting. The first step involves discounting investment funds committed to the project back to present at a rate that fairly reflects the investment risk. Two, with the exclusion of investment, the free cash flow is compounded forward within a time frame and a chosen reinvestment rate. It is worth noting that the reinvestment rate represents projected future opportunities with risks equal to investment risk. The final step involves calculation of the internal rate of return. Strengths and Weaknesses There are several reasons why firms should ditch the traditional IRR and embrace the modified version. While the former exudes rigidity in changing the reinvestment rate and assessing impacts, the MIRR function permits both a finance and reinvestment rate to be associated with the stream of cash outflows and inflows in investment evaluation (Block Bell, 2009, par. 14). Unlike the IRR or NPV, a company is able to tell whether an investment increases its value through MIRR. With MIRR, risks of future cash flows, time value of money and cash flows of the project are considered. Both NPV and IRR share significant drawbacks in that both of them have problems of size, timing and ranking. Moreover, NPV and IRR renders management locked into assumptions about how free cash flows will be reinvested by giving unrealistic view of investments actual potential (Kierulff, 2008, p. 328). Of the three, MIRR is the most effective considering its capability in dealing with the mentioned problems. Like the other decision tools, the modified internal rate of return has its share of weaknesses in capital budgeting. Some of the techniques in MIRR require adjustments for effective functioning in practice. For instance, the method requires an estimate of the cost of capital for one to make a decision and when used to compare mutually exclusive projects, the measure may fail to produce value-maximizing choices. Discounted payback method (DPB) The discounted payback method simply measures the period it takes to recover the initial investment using discounted cash flows. In DPB, projects with the shortest payback periods are ranked highest or considered the most viable. Unlike NPV, IRR and MIRR, the criterion used in discounted payback method centers more on profitability rather than liquidity. This method has many advantages over other measures. The discounted payback period is simple to understand and easy to compute. Additionally, the method offers a more conservative measure of the relative liquidity of an investment than the traditional payback method (Bhandari, 2009, p. 3). The DPB function allows for a better gauge of the economic breakeven point and can be interpreted as a period beyond which a project generates economic profit (Bhandari, 2009, p 3). Even so, the methods efficiency is reduced in cases where cash flows beyond it are overlooked. Another of its weakness is that it requires an estimate of the cost of ca pital for one to compute the payback and exudes a part whole bias in special cases such as assessing or valuing long term projects. Profitability Index (PI) Profitability index is also known as the cost-benefits ratio as it involves ratio of the present value of future cash benefits at the required rate of return to the initial cash outlay of an investment (Elumilade et al., 2006, p 146). The PI is another capital budgeting methods used by entrepreneurs in choosing among countless causes of action. The monetary cost of a project is ascertained and compared with its expected benefits in monetary term. The profitability index computes the present value of benefits to that of the cost such that when PI is greater than 1, the project is termed as acceptable. By comparison, the PI method is a slight modification of the NPV only that this time, the PI evaluates project using a return element. Its close relation with the net present value may lead to identical decisions in project evaluation. The PI method is easier to understand and tends to communicate more easily than the NPV. For firms initiating smaller or larger projects, the PI acts as an effective tool regardless of the project size. On the flipside however, the values obtained in profitability index may not be as accurate as the ones in IRR. Conclusion The survival, growth and development of a firm is heavily dependent on constant flow of ideas for new products and ways to make existing ones better. Capital budgeting is one of the most important factors in the process of corporate decision-making. The whole process of capital budgeting calls for a series of stages in which the project is evaluated and feasible options employed. For a firm to make rational decisions, specific objectives must be included to maximize profits with one eye on the projected long term return (Elumilade et al., 2006, p. 141). Identifying and evaluating possible projects and alternatives makes the all essence of capital budgeting and this fundamentally implies that a firm has to find a measure that is uniquely in congruence with its short term or long term objectives. The existent body of literature, primarily those included in this discourse, identify NPV and IRR as the most popularly used by firms. Whether this is a testament of their superiority in pract ice is still debatable as each of them has its own drawbacks. It is difficult to find one measure that would work for every organizations.

Intellectual Property Rights

Intellectual Property Rights Intellectual Property Rights Intellectual property can be instrumental to the value of any business. The ability to protect a business or an individuals ideas, inventions and original processes is something that is considered essential to many establishments, particularly those that rely on innovative ideas and products as their unique selling point. Intellectual property rights span a wide range of situations and products, although the most common rights are designs, copyright, patents and trade marks. Each of these intellectual property rights aims to protect a different area of invention. Copyright protects works such as art or music; design protects the physical appearance of a product; trade marks protect the way in which a trader separates himself from his competitors; and patents protect the method by which a product is technically made up and functions. This latter category of intellectual property right can cause considerable difficulty to those applying for protection and those attempting to enforce existing rights. Technology and the associated functions are changing constantly and often being tweaked or altered to meet a new requirement. At what point does this become patentable and distinct from the original technology? This requirement to be innovative in some way is the subject of much debate. Determining when that extra step results in a new protectable technological item is the key to ensuring that the correct items are offered protection. Courts have grappled with the relevant issues in determining whether or not a patent should be protected and when an attack on validity should be successful. Throughout the years, various tests have been forwarded by the courts; however, consistency in relation to obviousness and the concept of novelty and invention have proved particularly troublesome and are often hotly debated in court proceedings. Elements of Patent Law Before determining the way in which the courts deal with the issues surrounding obviousness and novelty, it is first important to gain an understanding of what must be established in order to establish a valid patent, successfully. The basic definition of what is patentable is contained in Section 1(1) of the Patent Act 1977 (the Act). This Act states that in order to be patentable the invention must be new, must involve an inventive step and be capable of industrial application. The Act then goes on to consider each of these requirements, in more detail. Section 2 deals with the requirement that the invention is new. This requirement is commonly referred to as the novelty requirement. Section 2(1) states that for an invention to be novel or new it must not form part of the state of the art. Section 2(2) goes on to consider what state of the art actually encompasses. It defines state of the art as any matter (i.e. product, process, etc. ) that has previously been made available to the public by either a written or oral description. Simply put, if the invention has already been made available to the public, it is not going to be eligible for patent protection. When determining whether or not an invention is new or novel, the issue of whether or not it has been made available to the public will become central. The invention, in order to be considered in the public domain, must have been disclosed to at least one member of the public, who could if he wished use the information freely and the disclosure had to be sufficiently enabling. Sufficiently enabling means that the information contained must be such that someone who has a reasonable level of skill in the area to which the invention relates would be able to implement and make use of the disclosure. The disclosure must be in relation to one document (or one document with several others interlinked) and cannot simply be disclosure obtained from a mosaic of documents. There are exceptions to this rule in relation to disclosure that allow a patent still to be established where the disclosure has been made within six months of the patent application and has been done in confidence. Pulling these factors together, it is clear that the need for novelty insists on the patent being completely new and innovative. Although, based on the mosaic rule, the collection of previous documents and information to create a new invention will not be barred from receiving patent protection. The Issue of Novelty From looking at the above breakdown of what an individual has to prove in order to establish a valid patent, it is clear to see that the issue of novelty is central to most patent decisions. The Section 2 requirement for novelty contained in the Act is a corresponding provision of Articles 54 and 55 of the European Patents Convention (1973) (EPC). As a general rule, an invention is not novel if the amalgamation of features has already been anticipated in a previous disclosure. This point was considered in detail in the case of SmithKline Beecham Plcs Patent [2006] RPC 10. In this case, it was held that for there to have been that degree of anticipation, there must firstly have been a disclosure and there must secondly have been the element of enablement. That is, based on the disclosure, the suitably skilled individual receiving the details of the process would have been able to replicate the process disclosed. Pulling together both of these elements will allow the court to decide whether or not the patent before them is novel or not. Let us first consider the element of disclosure. When it comes to determining whether or not the specific invention has been previously disclosed, the question is not whether the prior disclosure was for an item of similar utility, i.e. it does not necessarily have to solve exactly the same problem as the current invention. In deciding this matter, courts have stated that in order to be a conflicting patent, the situation previously disclosed must be so close to the new invention that the utility gained by the new invention would be a practical certainty. This suggests that in order to establish a valid objection to a patent application on the basis of a prior disclosure, it would have to be shown that the prior invention was inextricably linked in terms of function to the new invention. Therefore, even if something similar has been previously disclosed, provided it is not close with the degree of inevitability that is required, the patent application will not necessarily fail on the basis of not being novel. A general disclosure of a possible process does not impact on the novelty of an invention; however, where there is a series of processes, each individual process could be the reason for a future patent application failing, due to lack of novelty. Secondly, there is the element of enablement. This means that whatever has been disclosed must be sufficient for a person, skilled in the relevant art, to copy or replicate the process or invention. This enablement provision should be thought of separately to the disclosure, as in the case of disclosure the information must be sufficient for a skilled individual to understand the disclosure. For the purpose of enablement, the skilled person must be capable of actually utilising or at least trying to utilise the relevant invention. When it comes to determining whether or not the invention is novel, therefore, several issues need to be considered. It is not simply a matter of determining if something similar has ever been made public. It must have been made public with sufficient clarity as to allow the invention to have been understood and put into effect by another third party. The patent, therefore, in order to gain protection, must offer a solution to a situation that has not been possible to achieve before and not simply a fanciful possibility of a solution given enough further experimentation. As stated in the case of General Tire Rubber Co. v Firestone Tyre Rubber Co. Ltd, the disclosure must contain clear and unmistakable directions to do what the patentee claims to have invented. Pharmaceutical Application The pharmaceutical industry as a whole has been one of the most litigated and dynamic areas in relation to the test of novelty. The recent case of Actavis UK Limited v Merck Co. Inc changed the way in which UK courts look at the test of novelty in relation to medical products. Prior to the Actavis case, it was thought that a new dosage or way of taking a particular drug could not be seen as novel; this has now been reversed by the Court of Appeal. In this case, it was held that a new regime for taking medicine could constitute a novel invention for the purpose of obtaining a valid patent. Furthermore, the court dealt with the issue of obviousness, stating that it had to be obvious at the date of priority, not before or after, to defeat the patent, on this basis. The leading case of Merrell Dow v. Norton and Penn, commonly referred to as the Terfenadine decision, held that when looking at a pharmaceutical process the definition of new had to be applied to the actual processes and not to a new result or outcome. In this case, it was held that although Merrell had discovered a new reaction from Terfenadine, it was not novel as the composition had previously been disclosed to the public (albeit not for that specific purpose). This produces an interesting position. Based on this judgment, it would seem that whether or not the process or invention produces a solution for a previously unsolvable issue is irrelevant; the issue is whether the actual matter itself has been disclosed. The focus of the test is on the physical items and not on the resulting outcome. Bearing this decision in mind and the way in which the courts have chosen to deal with pharmaceutical claims, it would seem impossible to conclude that the issue of patentability is based purely on finding a solution for a technical problem that could not be solved before. Obviousness This leads us on to consider how important the actual resulting process or invention is to the determination of whether or not it is patentable. Aside from the requirement of novelty, the process or invention must involve and innovative step. This has been interpreted to mean that the invention would not be obvious to someone skilled in the art when presented with the relevant matter. One of the ways in which this test has been interpreted is to consider whether or not it fills a gap in the market, thus becoming an immediate business success. If this is the case, it is more likely that the invention would be seen as non-obvious and, therefore, patentable. The requirement for this inventive step is contained in Section 3 of the Act. Deciding on what exactly is obvious and what is not has been a matter for the courts. In the case of Windsurfing International Inc. v Tabur Marine (Great Britain) Ltd, the main test for obviousness was laid down and remains the starting point for judges when deciding whether or not the invention is obvious. It was held that the court should take a four stage approach. Firstly, it should look at the inventive step itself in isolation, i.e. separating it from any supplementary aspects of the invention. Secondly, once the court is clear what the inventive step in question actually is, it should put itself in the position of the common person, skilled in the relevant art with the knowledge that was available at the date of priority. Thirdly, the court needs to consider the difference between what is known by the common man and what the invention professes to display. Finally, the court needs to determine whethe r the step between what is known and the invention would have been obvious to the common man. For example, in the case of Sabaf SpA v. MFI Furniture Centres Limited and others, the House of Lords considered the issue of whether the gas burner in question was obvious. In this case, the argument that Sabaf was presenting to the court was that its patent for a gas burner had been infringed. The respondents (MFI and others) claimed that they were using a new invention as it was, in fact, the combination of two inventions that had generated their specific gas burner. The crucial point here was that it was not possible to take two existing inventions and put them together to establish a new invention, where this new invention would be the obvious product of the two original inventions. The test for being obvious seems to be reasonably wide with the court requiring a definite inventive step and not simply a natural progression, even if the natural progression is novel. Conclusions The area of patent law and, in particular, determining whether or not an invention is novel and / or obvious is by no means clear. The courts take a very individual approach to each case as it is presented to them based on the individual facts. Despite this, it seems that both elements, i.e. novelty and obviousness, remain instrumental. It is not true to say that provided an invention is novel it does not matter whether or not it is obvious. The courts have widened their view of obviousness but not so far as to remove it entirely. Therefore, if the patent in front of the court fails the test of obviousness and a person skilled in that specific area could have also established the invention it would fail, regardless of how novel the invention turns out to be. Both tests must be suitably established in order to gain patent protection. Producing a solution to a problem is highly important to the decision, but it is not the only deciding factor. The issue of obviousness simply cannot be ignored. Bibliography (14 required) Bagley, Margo A. , Patent First, Ask Questions Later: Morality and Biotechnology in Patent Law, William and Mary Law Review, Vol. 45, 2003 Bainbridge, David I. , Intellectual Property, Pearson Education, 2006, Pages 374 407 Colston, Catherine, Principles of Intellectual Property Law, Cavendish Publishing, 1999, Pages 86 105 Cornish, William Rodolph, Vaver, D. , Bently, Lionel, Intellectual Property in the New Millennium: Essays in Honour of William R. Cornish, Cambridge University Press, 2004, Pages 91 95 Grubb, Philip W. , Patents for Chemicals, Pharmaceuticals, and Biotechnology: Fundamentals of Global Law, Practice, and Strategy, Oxford University Press, 1999 Hodkinson, Keith, Protecting and Exploiting New Technology and Designs, Taylor Francis, 1988, Pages 32 71 Johnston, Josephine, Wasunna, Angela A. , Patents, Biomedical Research. And Treatments: Examining Concerns, Canvassing Solutions, The Hastings Center Report, Vol. 37, 2007 Karet, Novelty under English Law. 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