Final answer:
It is true that a business failing to protect its intellectual property may have its ideas taken with impunity by a competitor, as intellectual property laws safeguard a firm's inventions and concepts, which if unprotected can adversely affect the company's competitive advantage and market position.
Step-by-step explanation:
A business that neglects to protect its intellectual property may indeed have its ideas taken by competitors without legal repercussions. This is true because intellectual property laws, such as patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secret laws, provide legal protection for ideas, concepts, or images. Without proper protection, a company's unique inventions or business methods might be copied by others, thus losing their competitive edge and possibly leading to a decrease in profits or even the risk of going out of business. This also poses a risk to workers who might lose income or jobs due to increased competition from firms leveraging the unprotected ideas.
Furthermore, trade secrets, like the famous formula for Coca-Cola, are protected by law, even without copyright or patent, provided the company keeps this information secret. However, competitors are not permitted to steal these secrets. The concept of intellectual property is crucial in the context of global commerce, with organizations like the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) working to harmonize laws internationally to respect intellectual property rights across borders.