ENGL 230 PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION WEEK 1 TO
8
National & International Ethics—Patent Rights
In the fall of 2001, anthrax was used as a weapon of terror in the United States, when it was
sent to numerous media & political organizations & individuals, including Tom Brokaw of
NBC News, Dan Rather of CBS News, & U.S. senators. According to a report from the CDC,
22 people were infected with the anthrax spores that were mailed out in two separate
attacks, & of those, five persons died.
(CDC) Fortunately, for many of the victims, once it was established & known that anthrax
was the cause of the illnesses (and deaths), Bayer was able to provide for sale to the victims
& to others who feared becoming victims, a drug they had invented & patented called
"Cipro." Bayer, AG, is a German-based company, which has plants in various countries, the
United States included. Bayer was founded in 1863 & is well known for its trademarked
"aspirin" (1899) but not so prominently known for its trademark of heroin in 1900,
marketing it for decades as a children's cough medicine. During the first & second world
wars, Bayer was involved in chemical warfare manufacturing & has spent a considerable
amount of time & money overcoming some of the repercussions of their involvment in those
wars & the atrocities which occurred during them. Despite this, they remain a well-
respected name brand in many households throughout the world. (GMWatch)
Bayer had paid reparations after World War II & had its patent for aspirin stripped from it & awarded to a
U.S. company due to its involvement with the World Wars. Bayer wasn't allowed to even use
its name until 2000 & so during the anthrax crisis, it kept a low profile as a deliberate means
to avoid appearing "exploitive of the problem" of the anthrax scare in the United States.
Once the anthrax scare happened, however, Cipro went into high demand, & people all over
North America were stockpiling the drug, making it even more scarce & driving up the cost.
Because only people with prescriptions could purchase the drug in the United States,
Mexican pharmacies capitalized on the market & starting selling it to U.S. citizens for a huge
profit. Canada became frustrated with Bayer's refusal to answer their questions about its
ability to meet production needs in the event the anthrax crisis went global. It suspended
Bayer's patent & ordered other drug companies to produce their generic formulas. Bayer
immediately threatened such companies with litigation in the event they violated the patent
on Cipro. (Jennings)
The U.S. congress began considering suspending the Cipro patent as well. The CDC
announced a warning to people stockpiling Cipro that it was a dangerous drug with serious
side effects which people should not use without medical supervision. Many argued that
the U.S. suspension threat was simply used to negotiate down the price of Cipro, & in fact,
Health & Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson was instrumental in these
negotiations. At no time during the situation was Bayer unable to fulfill the orders or needs
for Cipro. Bayer had $1 billion in Cipro sales in the year prior to the anthrax attacks
(Herper, 2001).
At the time of the crisis, Bayer's statement of corporate values was:
Our goals are to steadily increase corporate value & generate a high value added for the benefit of
our stockholders, our employees & the community in every
country in which we operate. We believe that our technical & commercial expertise involves
responsibility to work for the common good & contribute to
sustainable development. (Jennings, 2008)
Now, more than a decade after the crisis, you can review Bayer's newer mission & values
statements on their U.S. website (http://www.bayer.com/en/mission---values.aspx).
Let's discuss this scenario using the ethical dilemma resolution models & the information
,ENGL 230 PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION WEEK 1 TO
8
about social responsibility in our text, as well as using the International Code of Ethics
article you can find here or in Doc Sharing, authored by our textbook author, Marianne
Jennings.
• Are there situations in which a company, for the common good, must give up
the economic advantage accorded by intellectual property laws?
• Should Bayer have followed its own credo more than it seemingly did?
,ENGL 230 PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION WEEK 1 TO
8
• Was it unethical in threatening litigation to those who attempted to thwart its patent rights?
• And was the United States & Canada unethical in using their governmental
actions in ignoring patent law to gain a negotiating edge in getting the price of
Cipro lowered during the crisis?
• Would an International Code of Ethics have assisted in this scenario?
This case is based on a case study written by Marianne Jennings in her 2008 version of our textbook. It has been
modified significantly through use of the following references:
Herper, M. (2001) Cipro, Anthrax & the Perils of Patents Forbes.com Retrieved from:
http://www.forbes.com/2001/10/17/1017cipro.html (Accessed on 3/31/2012)
Jennings, M. (2008) Business: Its Legal, Ethical, & Global Environment, 8th Edition. South Western Educational Publishing,
01/2008. p. 74. Jernigan, D, et. al. (2002) Investigation of Bioterrorism-Related Anthrax, United States, 2001: Epidemiologic Findings
EID Journal Vol. 8, No. 10 Retrieved from:
http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/8/10/02-0353_article.htm (Accessed March 31, 2012)
GMWatch (n.d.) Retrieved from: http://www.gmwatch.org/gm-firms/11153-bayer-a-history (Accessed March
31, 2012) Holmes, P. (2001) Bayer Responds to Cirpo Crisis The Holmes Report. Retrieved from:
http://www.holmesreport.com/opinion- info/1346/Bayer-Responds-to-Cipro-Crisis.aspx (Accessed March 31,
2012)
Why an International Code of Ethics would be good for Business.docx
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Class in this thread we will seek to address essentially corporate citizenship. In other
words, when the necessity from help arrives & your organization is the only organization
that has what can deliver the society in which you operate in from peril, what do you do?
In your discussion of the Bayer problem you will find yourself balancing & wondering,
how do you overcome some of the barriers of doing the right thing from the corporate
perspective. That being said let's get started. I will post additional questions &
comments throughout the week!
Website Link to the Patent Office: www.uspto.gov
Organizations are socially responsible for meeting legal, ethical & economical
responsibilities place on them by shareholders. Also organizations need to create higher
standards of living & quality of life in the communities in which they operate, while still
earning profit for stakeholders. Organizations can express their citizenship through
their waste & pollution reduction process, contributing educational & social program, &
earn adequate returns on the employed resources.
, ENGL 230 PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION WEEK 1 TO
8
8
National & International Ethics—Patent Rights
In the fall of 2001, anthrax was used as a weapon of terror in the United States, when it was
sent to numerous media & political organizations & individuals, including Tom Brokaw of
NBC News, Dan Rather of CBS News, & U.S. senators. According to a report from the CDC,
22 people were infected with the anthrax spores that were mailed out in two separate
attacks, & of those, five persons died.
(CDC) Fortunately, for many of the victims, once it was established & known that anthrax
was the cause of the illnesses (and deaths), Bayer was able to provide for sale to the victims
& to others who feared becoming victims, a drug they had invented & patented called
"Cipro." Bayer, AG, is a German-based company, which has plants in various countries, the
United States included. Bayer was founded in 1863 & is well known for its trademarked
"aspirin" (1899) but not so prominently known for its trademark of heroin in 1900,
marketing it for decades as a children's cough medicine. During the first & second world
wars, Bayer was involved in chemical warfare manufacturing & has spent a considerable
amount of time & money overcoming some of the repercussions of their involvment in those
wars & the atrocities which occurred during them. Despite this, they remain a well-
respected name brand in many households throughout the world. (GMWatch)
Bayer had paid reparations after World War II & had its patent for aspirin stripped from it & awarded to a
U.S. company due to its involvement with the World Wars. Bayer wasn't allowed to even use
its name until 2000 & so during the anthrax crisis, it kept a low profile as a deliberate means
to avoid appearing "exploitive of the problem" of the anthrax scare in the United States.
Once the anthrax scare happened, however, Cipro went into high demand, & people all over
North America were stockpiling the drug, making it even more scarce & driving up the cost.
Because only people with prescriptions could purchase the drug in the United States,
Mexican pharmacies capitalized on the market & starting selling it to U.S. citizens for a huge
profit. Canada became frustrated with Bayer's refusal to answer their questions about its
ability to meet production needs in the event the anthrax crisis went global. It suspended
Bayer's patent & ordered other drug companies to produce their generic formulas. Bayer
immediately threatened such companies with litigation in the event they violated the patent
on Cipro. (Jennings)
The U.S. congress began considering suspending the Cipro patent as well. The CDC
announced a warning to people stockpiling Cipro that it was a dangerous drug with serious
side effects which people should not use without medical supervision. Many argued that
the U.S. suspension threat was simply used to negotiate down the price of Cipro, & in fact,
Health & Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson was instrumental in these
negotiations. At no time during the situation was Bayer unable to fulfill the orders or needs
for Cipro. Bayer had $1 billion in Cipro sales in the year prior to the anthrax attacks
(Herper, 2001).
At the time of the crisis, Bayer's statement of corporate values was:
Our goals are to steadily increase corporate value & generate a high value added for the benefit of
our stockholders, our employees & the community in every
country in which we operate. We believe that our technical & commercial expertise involves
responsibility to work for the common good & contribute to
sustainable development. (Jennings, 2008)
Now, more than a decade after the crisis, you can review Bayer's newer mission & values
statements on their U.S. website (http://www.bayer.com/en/mission---values.aspx).
Let's discuss this scenario using the ethical dilemma resolution models & the information
,ENGL 230 PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION WEEK 1 TO
8
about social responsibility in our text, as well as using the International Code of Ethics
article you can find here or in Doc Sharing, authored by our textbook author, Marianne
Jennings.
• Are there situations in which a company, for the common good, must give up
the economic advantage accorded by intellectual property laws?
• Should Bayer have followed its own credo more than it seemingly did?
,ENGL 230 PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION WEEK 1 TO
8
• Was it unethical in threatening litigation to those who attempted to thwart its patent rights?
• And was the United States & Canada unethical in using their governmental
actions in ignoring patent law to gain a negotiating edge in getting the price of
Cipro lowered during the crisis?
• Would an International Code of Ethics have assisted in this scenario?
This case is based on a case study written by Marianne Jennings in her 2008 version of our textbook. It has been
modified significantly through use of the following references:
Herper, M. (2001) Cipro, Anthrax & the Perils of Patents Forbes.com Retrieved from:
http://www.forbes.com/2001/10/17/1017cipro.html (Accessed on 3/31/2012)
Jennings, M. (2008) Business: Its Legal, Ethical, & Global Environment, 8th Edition. South Western Educational Publishing,
01/2008. p. 74. Jernigan, D, et. al. (2002) Investigation of Bioterrorism-Related Anthrax, United States, 2001: Epidemiologic Findings
EID Journal Vol. 8, No. 10 Retrieved from:
http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/8/10/02-0353_article.htm (Accessed March 31, 2012)
GMWatch (n.d.) Retrieved from: http://www.gmwatch.org/gm-firms/11153-bayer-a-history (Accessed March
31, 2012) Holmes, P. (2001) Bayer Responds to Cirpo Crisis The Holmes Report. Retrieved from:
http://www.holmesreport.com/opinion- info/1346/Bayer-Responds-to-Cipro-Crisis.aspx (Accessed March 31,
2012)
Why an International Code of Ethics would be good for Business.docx
This section lists options that can be used to view
responses. Collapse All Print View
Show Options
Responses
Responses are listed below in the following order: response, author & the date & time the response is posted.
Sort Sort Sor
byResponse byAuthor by
Class in this thread we will seek to address essentially corporate citizenship. In other
words, when the necessity from help arrives & your organization is the only organization
that has what can deliver the society in which you operate in from peril, what do you do?
In your discussion of the Bayer problem you will find yourself balancing & wondering,
how do you overcome some of the barriers of doing the right thing from the corporate
perspective. That being said let's get started. I will post additional questions &
comments throughout the week!
Website Link to the Patent Office: www.uspto.gov
Organizations are socially responsible for meeting legal, ethical & economical
responsibilities place on them by shareholders. Also organizations need to create higher
standards of living & quality of life in the communities in which they operate, while still
earning profit for stakeholders. Organizations can express their citizenship through
their waste & pollution reduction process, contributing educational & social program, &
earn adequate returns on the employed resources.
, ENGL 230 PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION WEEK 1 TO
8
