Ch8 Intellectual Property And Unfair Competition Test Bank

Business Law, 17e (Langvardt)

Chapter 8 Intellectual Property and Unfair Competition

1) United States has adopted a "first-to-file" approach to patent law.

2) Even though no one else had developed an invention like that of the patent applicant, the application will be denied if, at the time of the invention, the invention would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skills in the area.

3) Patent law is always an area of exclusive federal jurisdiction.

4) A patent granted on September 2, 1997, will be valid for 17 years from that date unless the patent was for an ornamental design.

5) A patent can be transferred through an assignment to another party.

6) Patent infringement may occur even if the defendant's use did not involve a literal reproduction of the patented item.

7) One may challenge a patent's validity without first being sued for infringement by filing a declaratory judgment action that seeks a court ruling of invalidity.

8) Unlike the inventions protected by patent law, copyrightable works need not be novel.

9) Copyright protection is a state government action.

10) Copyrights and patents cannot last forever and only have limited legal lengths.

11) The basic recovery for copyright infringement is only the owner's actual damages.

12) Ms. Green is a teacher at a high school. She is teaching a class on civics and photocopies a chapter about government ethics by Mr. Blue. Ms. Green uses the photocopy to prepare a class discussion for her students, and after the class, she destroys the photocopy. Ms. Green is not guilty of a copyright violation.

13) A trademark is any word, name, symbol, device, or combination thereof used by a seller to identify its products from the competition.

14) Trademark protection in the United States is for 30 years.

15) There is no international copyright that automatically protects a copyrighted work everywhere in the world.

16) The World Intellectual Property Organization is a leading provider of conciliation for "bad faith" actions.

17) Customer lists are not patentable but may be subject to trade secret protection.

18) Under the Restatement's fault requirement for injurious falsehood cases, the plaintiff must prove that the defendant possessed ill will or spite motives toward the plaintiff.

19) There is usually no liability for injurious falsehood for false statements that are made negligently and in good faith.

20) Although the Lanham Act is the federal trademark statute, section 43(a) of the statute may be invoked in various situations that do not involve trademark rights.

21) Which of the following recognizes a civil cause of action for misappropriation of trade secrets?

A) Defend Trade Secrets Act

B) Economic Espionage Act of 1996

C) America Invents Act

D) Patent Act

22) Which of the following statements about the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) is false?

A) The DTSA preempts state trade secrets law.

B) The DTSA defines trade secrets and the elements of a misappropriation claim.

C) Those whose trade secrets have been violated can seek redress under either the DTSA or the applicable state law.

D) The DTSA was the first federal statute to recognize a cause of action for misappropriation of trade secrets.

23) A patent can be viewed as a contract between the inventor and who?

A) The federal government

B) The state government

C) The consumer

D) The International Office of Intellectual Property

24) Which of the following is true of patents?

A) Patents fall under the jurisdiction of state laws.

B) Naturally occurring things are patentable.

C) Abstract ideas are not patentable.

D) U.S. patent laws have changed since the mid-1990s.

25) The patent application must include a(n) ________ describing the invention with sufficient detail and clarity to enable a person skilled in the relevant field to make and use the invention.

A) specification

B) drawing

C) proposal

D) idea

26) How can a patentee transfer ownership of the patent to another party?

A) Specification

B) Assignment

C) Delegation

D) Infringement

27) How long is the legal temporary monopoly that present patent laws provide to the inventor after the filing of the patent application?

A) Ten years

B) Seventeen years

C) Twenty years

D) The lifetime of the inventor.

28) Patent ________ occurs when a defendant, without authorization from the patentee, usurps the patentee's rights by making, using, or selling the patented invention.

A) assignment

B) licensing

C) infringement

D) violation

29) Which of the following allows a defendant to be held liable for infringement even though the subject matter he used contained elements that were not identical to those described in the patentee's claims of invention, but nonetheless, may be seen as equivalent to those of the patented invention?

A) Literal infringement

B) Double jeopardy clause

C) Strict liability

D) Doctrine of equivalents

30) The damages recoverable in a patent infringement case cannot be less than:

A) court costs and interests.

B) reasonable royalty for the invention by the creator.

C) reasonable royalty for the use of the invention by the infringer.

D) three times the damages actually suffered, and to be decided by the court.

31) Which of the following distinguishes a copyright from a patent?

A) Copyrightable works need not be novel.

B) Copyright law gives exclusive rights to the creator of a work.

C) Copyright laws prevent others from using the work originally created by someone.

D) There are proper copyright laws in the U.S.

32) Which of the following is least likely to fall within the scope of what is protected by the copyright on the work in which it appears?

A) The physical arrangement and ordering of pieces of factual information on pages in a reference book.

B) The melody of a song.

C) The dialogue spoken by actors in a TV commercial.

D) The theme of a short story.

33) Which of the following is protected by copyright laws in computer programs?

A) Organization

B) Structure

C) Source code

D) Presentation of information

34) A copyright comes into existence upon the:

A) creation and fixing of a protected work.

B) creation of an idea.

C) creation of a protected work.

D) creation of a message.

35) Carlos has written a novel. He wants to protect his intellectual property with a copyright. What must he do first?

A) He must apply to the U.S. Copyright Office for a copyright.

B) He must produce a certificate that he is the original author.

C) He must put the novel in some tangible form, like a hard copy or a compact disc.

D) He must certify that his story is original and novel.

36) Which of the following statements is true of copyright?

A) Copyrights and patents last forever.

B) There are different copyright rules for pre and post 1978 works.

C) Congress enacts copyright rules under the World Intellectual Property Organization.

D) Copyrights for a work-for-hire last for 50 years.

37) According to the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act (CTEA), the protection period for pre-1978 works is:

A) 50 years.

B) 65 years.

C) 75 years.

D) 95 years.

38) Eleanor Rigby is an employee of Strawberry Fields Music, Inc., a firm that specializes in the preparation of original music for possible use by advertisers in TV and radio commercials. In January 2000, Rigby wrote a song that is protected by copyright. She wrote the song as part of her regular duties as a Strawberry Fields employee. Rigby and Strawberry Fields did not have a written agreement concerning ownership of the copyright on the song. In February 2000, Rigby and Strawberry Fields published the song by making large numbers of copies available to the public. Statements A through D deal with ownership of the copyright on the song and with the duration of the copyright. Which statement is legally accurate?

A) Rigby owns the copyright, which will expire 50 years after her death.

B) Rigby owns the copyright, which will expire in 2100.

C) Strawberry Fields owns the copyright, which will expire in 2075.

D) Strawberry Fields owns the copyright, which will expire 50 years after Rigby's death.

39) Which of the following characterizes copyright transfer?

A) Oral transfers are valid and recognized.

B) Ownership can be retained while licensing part of the work.

C) It leads to a transfer of ownership for that period of time.

D) It allows everything except the performance of the work.

40) What is the basic recovery for copyright infringement?

A) Only the owner's actual damages

B) Only the attributable profits received by the infringer

C) Owner's actual damages and the attributable profits received by the infringer

D) Punitive damages

41) What can the plaintiff usually elect to receive in lieu of the basic remedy in a case of copyright infringement?

A) Punitive damages

B) Liquidated damages

C) Special damages

D) Statutory damages

42) Any word, name, symbol, device, or combination thereof used by a manufacturer or seller to identify its products and distinguish them from the products of competitors is called a:

A) copyright.

B) trademark.

C) signature.

D) patent.

43) Which section of the United States Constitution empowers Congress to promote progress of science by enacting copyright and patent laws?

A) Article I, § 8

B) Article I, § 15

C) Article 2, § 5

D) Article 3, § 1

44) Which of the following would have an argument for being exempt from using materials that were copyrighted?

A) A business owner attempting to make money off the materials

B) A news organization transmitting information to the public

C) A consumer attempting to avoid paying for the materials

D) An author who copies the materials to make money without permission

45) Which type of marks are most likely to be registered for trademark protection?

A) Suggestive

B) Arbitrary

C) Descriptive

D) Generic

46) Which of the following characterizes a trademark?

A) It includes generic terms.

B) It is easier to transfer trademark rights compared to patent rights.

C) Federal registration of a trademark lasts for 10 years.

D) Descriptive marks are protected on the basis of their primary meaning.

47) Which of the following kinds of marks are denied placement on the Principal Register?

A) Those which are geographically descriptive

B) Those containing fanciful names

C) Those consisting of surnames

D) Those consisting of government insignia

48) Which of the following characterizes the transfer of trademark rights?

A) It is much easier than transferring patent interests.

B) They may only be assigned to another person.

C) They cannot be sold unless it involves a sale of goods.

D) An uncontrolled license is generally not advised.

49) Goods lawfully bearing trademarks or using patents and copyrighted material but entering the American markets without authorization are called ________.

A) counterfeit goods

B) Shanzai goods

C) black market goods

D) gray market goods

50) As demonstrated in the case in the text, Kibler v. Hall, most of the court's attention in trademark infringement cases is concerned with the:

A) dispute over profits made by the defendants.

B) likelihood of confusion over the trademark.

C) time period of the trademark rights.

D) generic nature of the disputed trademark.

51) A trademark is considered to be abandoned when:

A) the owner fails to use it.

B) it acquires a generic meaning.

C) it has been obtained by fraud.

D) it is suggestive or arbitrary.

52) A trademark owner who wins an infringement suit may obtain a(n) ________ against uses of the mark that are likely to cause confusion.

A) license

B) assignment

C) injunction

D) writ

53) Which of the following sometimes serves as an alternative to claims of trademark infringement?

A) Trademark abandonment

B) Trademark dilution

C) Trademark protection

D) Trademark disparagement

54) Which of the following permits a firm to register a trademark in all its signatory nations simultaneously by filing an application for registration in any signatory nation and was joined by the United States in 2003?

A) The Berne Convention

B) The Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property

C) The Madrid Protocol

D) The Kyoto Protocol

55) A trade secret differs from a patent in that a trade secret:

A) grants a monopoly to the creator.

B) stimulates creative activity.

C) is guarded by the creator.

D) is nonpublic by definition.

56) To qualify as a trade secret, it must:

A) be developed through research.

B) be known to the general public.

C) be the work of a company.

D) possess sufficient value or originality.

57) A firm claiming a trade secret must show that it:

A) took reasonable measures to ensure secrecy.

B) gave adequate compensation for the work.

C) has a license to produce the product.

D) has enough research to back the product.

58) Susan was hired by Teddy & Co. as a sales woman. However, management, upon seeing her intelligence and capabilities allowed her to use the office library and research facility to create an inventive product. Susan now wants to patent the product in her own name. This is not permissible under the:

A) doctrine of equivalents.

B) respondeat superior doctrine.

C) shop right doctrine.

D) doctrine of assignment.

59) What is the main aim of commercial torts?

A) To enable product creation for commercial purposes

B) To provide immunity in cases of fraud

C) To maintain standards of commercial morality

D) To ensure smoother commercial negotiations

60) In case of conflict of ownership between employee and employer over a trade secret, the employer is normally held to be the owner when:

A) the employee agreed to divulge or use trade secrets.

B) other employees had no contribution in the work.

C) the employee was hired to do work related to it.

D) the employee was not given adequate compensation for the work.

61) Which of the following is also termed slander of title or a trade libel?

A) Defamation

B) Injurious falsehood

C) Copyright infringement

D) Plagiarism

62) The ________ that the plaintiff is required to prove are his usual—and typically his only—remedy in injurious falsehood cases.

A) special damages

B) statutory damages

C) compensatory damages

D) punitive damages

63) Which of the following is true of an injurious falsehood case?

A) It is the same as a tort of defamation.

B) The degree of fault required for liability is unclear.

C) Damages for emotional distress are not recoverable.

D) There is liability for false statements made in good faith.

64) In a lawsuit for intentional interference with contractual relations, the existing contract includes:

A) void bargains

B) illegal contracts

C) contracts to marry

D) unenforceable contracts

65) In a case of intentional interference, a defendant generally escapes liability when his contract interference:

A) was guided by public interest.

B) was defamatory in nature.

C) was regarding prospective competitive advantage.

D) was guided by a void bargain.

66) Which of the following characterizes section 43 (a) of the Lanham Act?

A) It is a consumer remedy.

B) It addresses everything except advertisements.

C) It is available only to commercial parties.

D) It creates a state law of unfair practices.

67) Which of the following can be defined as any secret formula, pattern, process, program, device, method, technique, or compilation of information used in the owner's business, if it gives its owner an advantage over competitors who do not know it or use it?

A) Patent

B) Trademark

C) Copyright

D) Trade secret

68) Which of the following is not likely to be considered a trade secret?

A) Famous cookbook recipes

B) Chemical formulas

C) Computer software

D) Detailed customer lists

69) Information that is reasonably discoverable by proper means may not be protected as a trade secret. Which of the following would not constitute "proper means"?

A) Independent invention of the secret

B) Observation of a publicly displayed product

C) Reverse engineering of an illegitimately acquired product

D) Published literature

70) Which of the following statements about the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA) is true?

A) The ACPA authorizes a criminal action in favor of the trademark owner.

B) Many cases in which a trademark owner complains about another party's registration of a domain name have been submitted to arbitration, rather than to a court, in recent years.

C) Under the ACPA, the trademark owner's only remedy is to recover his/her actual damages.

D) The World Intellectual Property Organization is a leading provider of litigators for actions under the ACPA.

71) Which of the following exists when the owner of a trade secret retains title but allows the transferee certain uses of the secret?

A) Assignment

B) License

C) Delegation

D) Injunction

72) Which of the following is not a remedy for misappropriation of a trade secret?

A) Recovery of the plaintiff's actual losses

B) Recovery based on the defendant's unjust enrichment

C) Injunctive relief

D) Specific performance

73) Which of the following statements about noncompetition agreements is false?

A) Without a noncompetition agreement, the ex-employee is normally free to compete with her former employer on the basis of trade secrets and skills obtained during the employment relationship.

B) Noncompetition agreements often go well beyond the important and legally recognized interest in preserving trade secrets.

C) Noncompetition agreements that strike the court as too broad may be ruled unenforceable.

D) Noncompetition agreements that extend beyond trade secret protection will be enforced if they have narrowly defined terms of duration, geographic area, and a relationship to legitimate business interests of the employer.

74) In Coleman v. Retina Consultants, P.C., the case in the text, the court held that:

A) the noncompetition clause in the Software Agreement was enforceable as a matter of law.

B) Retina could only prohibit Coleman from marketing the program with a noncompetition agreement.

C) the plain language of the injunction exceeded the scope required of Coleman pursuant to the terms of the Software Agreement.

D) the software was not a trade secret because it's coding was available to the public.

75) Which tort involves the publication of false statements that disparage another's business, property, or title to property, and thus harm her economic interests?

A) Defamation

B) Injurious falsehood

C) Misappropriation

D) Fraudulent misrepresentation

76) Which tort would be appropriate for a plaintiff-businessperson to sue under if the defendant made a statement that impugns the plaintiff-businessperson's character or conduct?

A) Misappropriation

B) Defamation

C) Injurious falsehood

D) Fraudulent misrepresentation

77) When one party to a contract claims that the defendant's meddling with the other party's performance of the contract wrongly caused the plaintiff to lose the benefit of that performance, the plaintiff has a cause of action for:

A) interference with contractual relations.

B) injurious falsehood.

C) interference with prospective advantage.

D) misappropriation.

78) In the case in the text, Lewis-Gale Medical Center, LLC v. Alldredge, the court held that the trial court erred because:

A) Lewis-Gale's actions did not demonstrate tortious interference with contract.

B) Lewis-Gale's actions fell so far outside the accepted practice of that "rough-and tumble" world as to constitute improper methods.

C) Tyson's statements, such as her use of the term "organizational terrorist" to describe Dr. Alldredge, were independently tortious and therefore rose to improper methods.

D) Lewis-Gale's actions were improper in that it used intimidation, duress, and undue influence based upon Lewis-Gale's ability to bring "financial ruin" on SWEP by canceling its contract to provide emergency room services to Lewis-Gale, which was SWEP's principal source of revenue.

79) Which of the following creates civil liability for a wide range of false, misleading, confusing, or deceptive representations made in connection with goods or services?

A) Economic Espionage Act of 1996

B) America Invents Act

C) Section 43(a) of the Lanham Act

D) Defend Trade Secrets Act

80) Which type of claims involve false representations that are likely to induce third parties to believe that the defendant's goods or services are those of the plaintiff?

A) Trade dress infringement claims

B) Commercial appropriation of name

C) False advertising claims

D) Passing-off claims

81) Jackson, Inc. sells bleach in containers that are similar in size, shape, and color to a well-known competitor's containers for the same product. Jackson may face liability under section 43(a) of the Lanham Act based on a(n):

A) passing-off claim.

B) trade dress infringement claim.

C) false advertising claim.

D) infringement of a registered trademark claim.

82) Patents issued on a process, defined as a mode of treatment of certain materials to produce a given result, is classified as:

A) utility patents.

B) design patents.

C) plant patents.

D) functional patents.

83) Which of the following gives certain exclusive rights to creators of original works of authorship?

A) Patent law

B) Trademark law

C) Trade secrets law

D) Copyright law

84) What is the modern day rule for how long a copyright will last?

A) 50 years form its first publication

B) 75 years from its first publication

C) Life of the creator plus 70 years

D) Life of the creator plus 50 years

85) Which of the following doctrines recognizes that the social purposes present in certain uses of copyrighted works may be important enough to excuse defendants' uses of the works without permission?

A) Dilution doctrine

B) Fair use doctrine

C) First sale doctrine

D) Doctrine of equivalents

86) What is the first-to-invent rule?

87) When does a patent infringement occur?

88) Discuss a criticism of the first-to-file policy.

89) Why does the law disfavor noncompetition agreements?

90) CW, Inc. publishes Consumer Watchdog, a magazine whose articles consist of the writers' personal experiences with and reactions to a variety of products. In the June 1997 issue of Consumer Watchdog, a review included this statement: "Fungus Co.'s ‘Fungo' brand athlete's foot powder doesn't cut the mustard in comparison to most athlete's foot powders on the market--and I've tried them all, sports fans. Fungo fails to attack athlete's foot with enough force because the product doesn't contain AF88, the active ingredient in any decent athlete's foot powder." In fact, Fungo contains as much AF88 as any other athlete's foot powder on the market. Fungus Co. has filed suit against CW on the theory that the above statements violated section 43(a) of the Lanham Act. On these facts, should Fungus win the section 43(a) case? Why or why not? Would Fungus have success under any other claims?