Virtual Business

The company I work for we will call the multi-national has a global e-commerce (e-business) environment. The product line consists of more than 30,000 goods covering medical devices, pharmaceuticals, nutritional, over the counter medications, consumer products, and health care diagnostic equipment. The global e-commerce business customers include hospitals, physicians, distributors, and original equipment manufacturers (OEM). There are no direct end customers like patients of average consumers. We provide doctor listings, not recommendations, due to the potential legal entanglements. Additionally, we provide product applications (indications) to ensure as much access as possible to safe product application. There is even a division devoted to discount offerings.

In any business environment special attention must be paid to ensure all laws are followed, but in the global e-commerce environment different law making bodies with the interest of different countries in mind compounds the legalities and rules. Some of the legal issues that face Multi-national include regulatory compliance in domestic and international manufacturing practices (FDA and international equivalencies). In accordance with FDA regulatory practices can include appropriate documentation, plant inspections, product reviews, clinical trials, and tax law. Product abuse is another major concern. This can include distributors reselling product to unauthorized parties. In addition pharmacy prescription abuse (diluting drug or improper distribution) is another example of a potential legal issue. Most commonly though is misuse of product. This happens most frequently in less wealthy countries. It is common for product malfunction when, in an attempt to save money, physician's repetitive use of a product intended for one use only.

Patent infringement is a major concern of our company not only for loss of revenue, but the safety of those receiving the fake products. At Multi-national our duty is first to our patients and then to our pocketbook. It is in our Credo that our first thought is for the patient. We spend millions and sometimes billions researching, developing, and getting FDA approval for all of our products. We can guarantee our heart stints, our medication; our other devices are safe when used properly. However, the fakes that are produced, mainly in China, cannot have their safety or sterility guaranteed. When a device is placed inside