Graded Homework

The following is a case with four questions. Please give me
a sound basis for the answer to each question.

Ellen Carson is the author and illustrator of a successful
series of children’s books that chronicle the adventures of Ellasaurus, a
four-year-old orange dinosaur. Ellen has done well with the books, but her
business advisors have told her that she could earn considerably more money by
creating a merchandising business around the Ellasaurus character. Following
this advice, she has created Ellasaurus Products Enterprises (EPE), a company
that has begun developing and marketing Ellasaurus toys, stuffed animals,
coloring books, pajamas, and Halloween costumes.

EPE has had some success in its attempts to get major
retailers to stock the Ellasaurus product line, but Ellen is concerned that
retailers might not be willing to take on a new and unproven product. She would
like to create a Web site through which EPE could sell its merchandise directly
to customers. She also sees the Web site as a way to build customer loyalty.
Ellen envisions a site with a number of portal features in addition to the
product sales. For example, she would like to offer online games, chat rooms,
e-mail accounts, and other activities that would promote EPE products and her
books.

The Ellasaurus book series appeals to children that are
between four and six years old. Ellen expects the EPE product line to appeal to
children in about the same age range. Ellen has visited sites such as Hello
Kitty and Nick Jr., which appeal to similar age groups to get ideas for the
site. She would like the site to be appealing to her main audience, but she
would like to obtain registration information from site visitors so EPE can
send e-mails with information about new products and Web site features to them.

Ellen plans to limit the Web site’s merchandise sales to
U.S. residents at first, but she hopes to begin selling internationally within
a few years. The site will allow visitors from any country to register and
participate in the online portal features.

My questions are:

a. Describe the Intellectual property issues that might
arise in the operation of the Web site

b. The ethical issues that Ellen faces because of the ages
of her intended audience members

c. The laws with which the site must comply when it
registers site visitors under the age of 13 and how Ellen can best comply with
those laws

d. The sales tax liabilities to which the Web site will be
exposed. Assume that Ellen will operate the site from her home office in
Michigan and that EPE will manufacture the merchandise in Texas. The merchandise
will be warehoused at EPE distribution centers in New Jersey, Ohio, and
California.