Legal and Ethical Consideration in Marketing, Product Safety, and Intellectual Property

In this paper I will identify three ethical issues relating to marketing and advertising, intellectual property, and regulation of product safety. I will argue against Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) marketing by drug companies. Next I will determine who regulates compounding pharmacies under the current regulatory scheme, what the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) could or should have done, and whether the FDA should be granted more power over compounding pharmacies. I will decide whether PharmaCARE's use of Colberian intellectual property would be ethical in accordance with Utilitarianism; Deontology; Virtue Ethics; my own moral and ethical compass. Afterwards, I will analyze the way PharmaCARE uses U.S. law to protect its own intellectual property while co-opting intellectual property in Colberia. Then I will suggest at least three ways the company could compensate the people and nation of Colberia for the use of its intellectual property and the damage to its environment. I will compare PharmaCARE's actions with those of at least one real-world company whose creativity in skirting legal technicalities led to ethical lapses and financial loss. I will also determine the success PharmaCARE and WellCo shareholders would have in suits against the companies. I will determine whether or not PharmaCARE lives up to its brand. Finally I will recommend at least three changes PharmaCARE can make to be more ethical going forward.