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Noise Pollution

Being the social animals that they are, humans need to be comfortable in all situations. The fact is that people can’t enjoy their lives fully, because the resources of the planet are depleting, as a consequence of the war between the environment and men. Noise pollution is a huge problem these days, as technology evolved to a point where a city might have millions of cars in it.

Noise pollution happens when sounds that are irritating and distracting can be heard clearly and end up causing harm to humans or disturbing natural processes. They can affect both human and wild life in a negative way. Noise is actually an unwanted sound by itself, no matter what its source is. For example, the best kind of music will sound divine for someone, but will annoy a person that wants to sleep and can’t because of it. Depending on what the circumstances are, any type of sound can be considered noise.

Pollution by noise affects all kinds of life, from birds, to animals and humans. Noise can cause a number of problems for humans, like digestive or cardiovascular problems, blood pressure, hypertension, annoyance, headaches, insomnia or hearing loss.

Studies say that the level of noise that a human can usually tolerate is between 40 and 50 dB, and if you are exposed to more than 90 dB of noise, you are in danger of suffering from hearing loss. That is why noise pollution is regulated through laws and there are limits that can’t be surpassed by anyone.

There are areas where noise is less tolerated than in others, and these zones are around educational institutions, religious places, hospitals or other areas indicated by the local law. If the noise pollution laws are not respected, action can be taken against the offenders, from giving fines to worse punishments.

Counterfeit

As technology advances with speed and the Indian economy is liberalized, a market that is ideal for those that want to promote brands, which are nurtured and cultivated over a longer period of time. Counterfeiting has a negative effect in such a market. Both those that buy counterfeit products and those that make them are punished by the law, sometimes with legal actions and other times with fines. Money laundering is often associated with counterfeiting.

A counterfeit is a fake created so it can represent deceptively another brand or product, making people think that they are the same. Besides forging documents or currencies, this term can describe pharmaceuticals, software, clothing, watches and even motorcycles and cars.

1925 Bank Note Crisis of Portugal
In 1925, Water low and Sons made notes similar to those created by Banco de Portugal, but having an identical series on them. The total value of those notes represented 0.88% of the Portugal’s GDP.

1926 Hungary Counterfeit Scandal
1000 Franch bills were made in Hungary during those times and a few people got caught while trying to buy bills worth 10 million francs. 3 years later, the counterfeiting industry had collapsed. The reasons why Hungary did that was as a revenge for the losses in territory that they suffered as a consequence of WW I. They also wanted to promote their military role by using that fake currency.

World War II German Counterfeit Bills
The Nazis tried using counterfeit bills during the second World War, in the Bernhard Operation. The operation was done with the help of Jewish artist. They made both American dollars and British pounds and the quality was so good that it was extremely hard to tell them apart from real bills. Since they didn’t manage to get their plans to a conclusion, they threw away the bills in a lake.

Intellectual Property Rights

IP, or Intellectual Property, describes the inventions, ideas, artworks, technologies, literature and music, which are intangible in the beginning, but as products they gain a form that is tangible. They are generally a product of the mind: literary, inventions and works created by artists. Commerce designs, names and symbols are also part of Intellectual Properties. The main idea behind them is that inventive ideas should be rewarded and encouraged.

They are well integrated in the knowledge economy and they offer plenty of challenges to governments, industries, researchers and scholars.

Overall, these IP rights include a number of independent Intellectual Property right, like: Copyrights, Patents, IC layout design protection, Registered Trademarks and Geography indications.

Usually, IP rights are territorial. The exception is usually the copyright. The copyright has a global nature, in all the countries that signed the Berne Convention. The state is the one that gives these rights and the person or company that registers them is the only one that has the right to use those rights. They can be used by others only if they have the consent of the entity that holds the rights. These rights need to be renewed on a regular basis, so that they remain active.

The main problem of IP rights is that they increase the price of entry for medicine that saves lives and that of technologies that are critical. For example, patented medication carries with it a higher price, since the IP rights holder is the only one that has the right to make them. In lots of developing countries, where IP rights aren’t as respected, there are entire industries built around copying and using goods that they’re not authorized for. In time, every country upgrades their laws and IP rights are enforced in more countries around the globe. This is usually a consequence of outside pressure and economic development.