In the course of your work as a computer science professional, you may need to protect something you have invented. This may require that you apply for a patent. This assignment will help you explore what a patent is in more detail and what is involved in getting protection for an invention. Some of the questions below may require you to do some additional research. Please footnote any sources you have used to answer a particular question.
Go to the Canadian Intellectual Property website at http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/cipointernet-internetopic.nsf/eng/Home .
Have a look at the site and find the Patents Database search tool. Once found, do a search for any patent registered by a UNB computer science professor. (Note: you may need to do some extra research to find these. Use your imagination!)
Review the patent details and answer the following questions:
1. What is the patent number?
2. What is the invention being patented?
3. Who is the patent agent?
4. When was the patent filed?
5. Has the patent been implemented in a product or service? (This may require some Googling). If so, give a short description and link to any website(s) referencing the implementation.
Read Thaler v. Vidal, a decision of the United States Court of Appeals.
Answer the following questions:
What was the primary reason why the court declined to hold that AI generated content was patentable?
In section III the court briefly touches on some of the other arguments made by Dr. Thaler. What are these other arguments?
Do a bit of research on the "innovation" argument. Cite a source which presents a defensible argument in support of permitting patentability on this basis. Find another which takes the opposite point of view. Analyze these two perspectives and provide your opinion and argument in favour of one of the two positions.
Research the following concepts and write a brief explanation for each term:
Compound Interest
Registered Retirement Savings Plan
Index Fund
Mutual Fund
Assume you are 25 years old and plan to retire at age 65. You decide to invest $100 per month in a retirement account with an average annual rate of return of 4.5%. Create a spreadsheet in which you calculate the total amount you will have in the account by the time you retire, assuming you make monthly contributions and the interest compounds monthly.
Add a column to the spreadsheet tracking your progress, where you start saving at 35, 45, and 55.
Adjust the monthly investment amount by doubling or tripling it, and note the effects. Adjust the applicable annual return rate by 0.5 to 1.5 percent (with 0.5 increments), and note the effects.
Answer the following questions:
What are the differences in retirement savings at age 65, when we start at each of 25, 35, 45, and 55?
Which makes a bigger difference, in your point of view, in generating a higher amount of retirement savings: a larger monthly amount or a higher interest rate?
How long does it take to double your money, given the varying interest rates?