Exam 23: Intellectual Property

Rick wrote a song entitled "Wonderful." At the bottom of the first page of music he wrote "©2008 by Rick Reed." Four months later a local band was playing his song at a bar.Rick felt that the bar was an inappropriate setting for his music.What is his remedy?

The term "patent," if used by itself,refers to a design patent,but utility and plant patents are also available and should be designated as such.

Sam buys a CD,but decides he does not like most of the songs on it.Under copyright law:

Ernest invents a novel,useful,nonobvious product.He:

Southern Bar-B-Q owns a special,secret recipe for sauce which it guards because it gives the restaurant a competitive advantage.If Mort willfully misappropriates the recipe,a court may hold him liable to Southern for double damages.

A U.S.firm seeking international trademark protection:

What permits trademark owners and famous people to sue anyone who,in bad faith,registers the trademark or the famous name as a domain name?

AVCO used a famous registered trademark of BNC,Inc.in a manner that reduced its value.This is a violation of the:

Under the fair use doctrine,educational institutions cannot be liable for copyright violations.

On the morning of class Monic,a college professor,reads and makes 30 photocopies of a magazine article and passes the article out to her students.The students are assigned to read the article and write an opinion paper about it.Has Monic violated copyright law?

If a trademarked name acquires a generic meaning,the owner of the trademark loses protection.

A college professor copies seven chapters from a book called "How to Get Better Grades-A Creative Approach to College Success!" There are ten chapters in the book.She incorporates this material into a packet of material that is printed in her college's copy center.The packet is then placed in the local book store and is placed on the required materials list for students to purchase.The author of the book on getting better grades believes the professor has violated his copyright.The author is:

Provisional patents are good for two years and allow inventors an opportunity to show their ideas to potential investors without incurring the full expense and time of a patent application.

Richard wrote a song called "College Days." He copyrighted the composition and had it professionally printed.A couple years later he was attending a business meeting about 1500 miles from his home.While sitting in a nightclub,he heard a small local band perform a song called "College Memories." The music and words were extremely similar to his song.The composer of "College Memories" claims he never heard of Richard's song and that she is offended he would accuse her of stealing his work.If Richard wishes to sue for copyright infringement,he must prove:

Unlike patents,the ideas underlying copyrighted material need not be novel.

The Basic Books,Inc.v.Kinkos Graphic Corp.case held:

A company's trade secret lasts for ____________,and a trademark lasts for ____________.

A copyright is valid for 28 years after it is obtained and can be renewed for another 28 years.

Explain what a domain name is.Discuss if and how a domain name can be registered as a trademark or if a trademark can be registered as a domain name.

McDonald's famous golden arches and other marks used by the company illustrate a: