Ethical Dilemma Rubric will be used to evaluate your responses to

Ethical Dilemma Rubric will be used to evaluate your responses
to the ethics assignments.
Criteria
Unacceptable
Up to 12 points
Acceptable 13 to 17 points
Outstanding
18 to 20 points
Score
Identifies Dilemma(s)
Has no idea or only a vague idea of the ethical dilemma(s).
Identifies the ethical dilemma or dilemmas.
Describes the dilemma(s) in detail, including most or all
pertinent facts. Clarifies why it is an ethical dilemma.
Evaluate
Stakeholders
Is unsure about who the stakeholders are or does not identify
any stakeholders.
Accurately identifies at least one important stakeholder who
would be affected by the decision.
Accurately identifies several important stakeholders who would
be affected by the decision and describes how they would be
affected.
Analyzes Alternatives
and Consequences and impact on stakeholders
Does not identify alternatives and consequences or suggests

alternatives that are not reasonable.
Identifies at least one reasonable alternative and its possible
consequences.
Identifies at least two reasonable alternatives and their possible
consequences.
Analysis of ethical schools of thought
Has no idea or only a vague idea of the ethical schools of
thought
Has some idea of the ethical schools of thought
Explains thoroughly the ethical schools of thought and its
application to the scenario.
Recommends a
decision
Provides a rationale for the decision
Does not recommend a decision or recommends a decision that
does not reflect careful thought.
Provides no rationale or an inadequate rationale for the
decision.
Recommends a decision that demonstrates some careful thought.
Provides an adequate rationale for the decision.
Recommends a well thought
out, coherent, logical decision. Provides a strong rationale for
the decision.
Total Points
Total Points Overall Evaluation
0-69
Unacceptable

70-79
Acceptable
80-89
Good
90-100
Outstanding
Ethics assessment
“Poker4u”
Professor Wendy Gelman
Last year, Mark and Jason started a business called Poker4u,
based in the British Virgin Islands, through which they run a
gambling website called Poker4u.com. For a fee, visitors to the
website can play poker and other card games against players
from around the world. Game winners earn cash prizes.
Poker4u accepts all major credit cards. This website has
become very popular with players from across the globe and, as
a result, Poker4u has become a very profitable business.
Before playing on Poker4u.com, all players must sign a
document stating that they are over 18 years of age and agreeing
to assume full responsibility for their debts incurred while
playing on the site. Many adults have visited this website,
played cards and have lost thousands of dollars. However,
despite warnings on the site to discourage underage players,
Alan, a 14 year old in Cincinnati, Ohio visited this website and
used his father’s credit card to play and lost $20,000. In
addition, Roger, a 12 year old in Thailand, and Jacob, a 16 year

old in Australia, committed similar offenses. The website is
now demanding full payment from Alan, Roger and Jacob and
each of their parents.
Instructions
1) Identify the ethical dilemmas
2) Evaluate who are the stakeholders in this scenario.
3) What are the alternative courses of action. Please discuss the
pros and cons of each possible course of action. Make sure you
include how the stakeholders will be impacted by the various
solutions you are proposing.
4) Discuss the ethical schools of thought in evaluating your
decision.
5) Recommend a decision. Make sure to provide the rationale
for your decision.

P a g e | 1
Wanda M. Ramirez
A Textbook Case of Charity
1. Identify the ethical dilemmas.
lemma in this case is the
copyright infringement
of the Great American Literature textbook (written by Dr. C.R.
Breach) made by three
professors from the Humongous State University (HSU).
Copyright infringement is
illegal, and unethical because it refers to the reproduction,
display, and distribution
of a product that does not belong to the individuals infringing
it. Eastlane, Inc. had a
corporate policy to prohibit the resale of used textbooks and
avoidance of the resale
of the book to online retailers.
significance. How can the
accused professors be able to commit this tortious act in plain
sight of university
management? What safeguards did the university had put in
place to prevent or even
monitor this type of misconduct? Does HSU have any
documentation to prove that
the professors in question attended an Ethical Training at the
university?
Furthermore, can university management demonstrate that

copyright infringement
was one of the topics covered on the training presentation?
professors were trying to
aid impoverished students, why selling the book half-price? If
their intentions were
legitimate, why were the professors obtaining a profit? Why not
place the book online
for free?
lawsuit against all the
students who have accessed the professors’ website may not be
suitable in court.
How can the plaintiff demonstrate that those students accessing
the website knew
that the professors were committing a copyright infringement?
In anyone’s eyes,
these three professors could have been acting with the support
of the Fair Use
Exception. Without previous knowledge, some individuals may
see the selling of the
book half-priced as a generous gesture but may not see it as
unethical.
attended English
literature survey courses and was sold at $210 each copy. The
book is only sold
through university stores and used textbooks cannot be resold or
bought online. As
stated in the case, the publisher enforced these practices to
sustain the price of the
textbook. In my opinion, the publisher has created a monopoly
with the product and

I believe that is morally and ethically wrong to impose this
hardship in individuals that
are still studying to obtain a degree.
2. Evaluate how stakeholders would be affected by various
solutions to
your dilemma (s).
the first dilemma: Property rights were granted by federal
statute were violated.
It was clearly stated in the case that the publisher forbidden the
reselling of used
books and avoided the online retail selling. In that regard, it can
be assumed that the
textbook was not copyrightable. If sued, the three professors
will be liable for
damages or perhaps may face criminal penalties. It may be
considered as actual or

P a g e | 2
Wanda M. Ramirez
statutory damages which are imposed at the court’s discretion
(even criminal
proceedings for willful violations may be placed). The statutory
damages are capped
at $150,000. The court may grant an immediate injunction
against the infringers
(Business Law Today, 11th Edition, Ch. 6, Pg. 151). If a clause
in the contract made with
Eastlane, Inc., included the forbiddance of reselling used
textbooks or selling to online
retailers, not only the three professors will be in jeopardy of a
lawsuit but also the
university may face criminal charges. The publisher may claim
that HSU breached the
contract. The publisher, as well as the book writer may be
affected with financial
repercussions from the fewer book sales. This may affect
Eastlane, Inc. profits as well
as, Dr. C.R. Breach’s royalties. Nowadays, new technology
allows individuals to save
documents on a device or online; therefore, augmenting
possibilities of a third-party
reproduction of a textbook. A third-party piracy may be subject
to another set of
individuals reproducing the textbook. These acts would be
unethical for those

individuals that play a role in obtaining the textbook (either
online or printed).
to determine if faculty
staff is unethical or committing a tort without the help of a
whistleblower, it is of great
importance to have systems in place to establish preventing
measures. HSU must
prove that faculty staff received training on ethical behavior.
The university may need
to provide sign-in sheets that evidence that the three professors
attended an Ethical
Training. Moreover, HSU will need to provide a copy of
PowerPoint presentation or
handouts that demonstrate that copyright infringement was one
of the topics
discussed at the presentation.
In the third dilemma: If sued, the three professors may
contend that there was not an
intend of copyright infringement. The professors may claim that
reproduction of the
textbook was intended to assist students in financial need.
However, by making a
profit, it placed the professors in a questionable situation. These
professors may face
legal charges against them, and a remedy may be imprisonment
or a fine.
-
Action Lawsuit. As dictionary
defines it, a Class-Action Lawsuit occurs when a group of
people is sued for an specific
tort. In this case, the students accessing the website and/or
buying the online

textbook may have legal charges against them, and as a remedy
they may face
imprisonment or a fine.
and efficient because it is
viewed as the fastest way of communicating news. Due to the
high-priced books, both
the Eastlane, Inc., and Dr. C.R. Breach may be victims of the
proliferation of bad
propaganda.
3. Discuss the pros and cons of alternative courses of action.
the professors, the defense
attorney can claim that the professors acted on the First Sale
Doctrine of the Copyright
Act. As indicated in section 109(a) of the First Sale Doctrine of
the Copyright Act, once
a copyright owner sells or gives away a particular copy of a
work, the copyright owner
no longer has the right to control the distribution of that copy
(Business Law Today,

P a g e | 3
Wanda M. Ramirez
11th Edition, Ch. 6, Pg. 153). Unless a contract with university
and Eastlane, Inc., clearly
states the banning of the reselling of the book and the online
sale, it is possible that
the use of the First Sale Doctrine of the Copyright Act may use
as a defend for the
professors.
not have any proof of
trainings on ethical behavior, the court may infer that poor
management practices
may have allowed these professors to make this copyright
infringement. On the other
hand, having proof of ethical trainings may give the university
some relieve of criminal
charges.
e professors may be
accused of malicious
intent or willful violation to obtain illegal earnings. In other

words, more than “a
textbook of charity” may be misconstrued as “a textbook of
profit.”
ult to
proof that students knew
that the three professors were committing a copyright
infringement. The students
may claim that they believed this access was totally permitted
by the publisher;
therefore, malicious intend in the students’ part would be
difficult to proof.
applications and tell the world
about their side of their story. They may portray themselves as
victims and describing
everyone else, including the publisher and author of the
textbook, as villains. In this
era, many firms and individual’s live have been destroyed due
to the creation of bad
reputation. In a blink of an eye, Word-to-Mouth information can
do much damage
and if the word is out that the publisher customarily imposes
high prices on textbooks,
the aftermath can be devasting.
4. Recommend a decision. Rationale for the decision.
should first create a written
ethical code that is expressed in clear and understanding
language. The code should
include established and specific procedures that employees can
follow if they have
questions or complaints. A well-written code might also include

examples to clarify
what the company considers to be acceptable and unacceptable
conduct copy
(Business Law Today, 11th Edition, Ch. 9, Pg. 230). Also,
university management
should provide trainings on ethical behavior not only to faculty
staff but also to their
pupils. At the end of the trainings, both faculty staff and pupils
should sign a Code of
Ethics Contract. This contract should specify all the actions that
a university staff and
a student may find as unethical.
advice of their general
counsel and gives the approval for a lawsuit against the three
professors who
committed this copyright infringement. I believe that Eastlane,
Inc., has standing to
sue and given the circumstances, it may win. In my opinion
these professors,
committed an intentional tort and acted out of malicious intent
to obtain illegal
profits. More than being enraged for the high prices of the
textbooks, I believe these
professors saw that situation as an opportunity to make a buck.
A precedence needs
P a g e | 4
Wanda M. Ramirez

to be established that when someone uses piracy (specially to
obtain profits) will need
to receive the consequences. What kind of example were these
professors setting?
To me, it is embarrassing. I would have expected this type of
behavior from high
school students but never from these type of professionals. The
court should have an
injunction on the infringement. Requesting that the website be
shutdown
immediately. These professors should go to court and a fine
should be given for this
copyright infringement.
A Textbook Case of Charity
By Wendy Gelman, J.D., L.L.M.
You are the CEO of Eastlane, Inc., a publicly traded,
multinational publisher of
educational textbooks for use in colleges and universities
throughout the world.
Eastlane’s most popular and profitable textbook is Great
American Literature, written by
Dr. C.R. Breach, the preeminent authority in modern American
writings. This text is

used in universities across the nation in heavily attended
English literature survey
courses. The text sells new for $210 a copy and is only sold
through university book
stores. Eastlane has a corporate policy to prohibit reselling of
used texts and has thus far
avoided selling on Amazon and other online book retailers, in
an effort to prop up the
price of their text.
It has come to your attention, that three professors at
Humongous State University (HSU)
have established a program to assist financially strapped
students. Upset about the high
cost and limited availability of Great American Literature, these
professors have scanned
the entire text and have set up a website where they have posted
the copied text. Before
allowing a student access to the website, the student must
demonstrate to the professors’
satisfaction their inability to pay full price for the text. The
professors charge each
student $105 for access to the website.

Your general counsel has suggested that you bring a copyright
infringement suit against
HSU, the 3 professors and against all students who have
accessed their website. Your
management team has consulted with Dr. Breach and he is in
favor of bringing the suit.
Your approval is needed to initiate the lawsuit.
Instructions:
1) Identify the ethical dilemmas
2) Evaluate how stakeholders would be affected by various
solutions to your dilemma(s).
3) Discuss the pros and cons of alternative courses of action.
4) Recommend a decision.
5) Make sure to provide the rationale for your decision.

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