In approximately 150-300 words (in your own words), please thoughtfully respond to ONE of the following prompts--whichever one you prefer (if you choose to do the first prompt, you can find a relevant news article on many sites, including through searching on https://news.google.com/ or HTTP://www.abajournal.com/topics/):

Find a recent story/article in the news or elsewhere online from a reliable source, post a link to the story/article, and then relate the story/article--or some aspect of the story/article-- to the lessons you learned this week in the reading and Module.  How does the story/article relate to the reading for the week?  How did the story/article help you better understand the lesson(s) for the week?  Please discuss any comments or opinions you have about how this week's lesson(s) played out in the story/article (e.g., address why the concept is important or not, or explain why the concept should be changed).

Define what is meant by no-fault automobile insurance. Discuss the pros and cons of these types of policies.

Selamwit went to San Joaquin Delta (SJDC) Book Store to buy her college textbooks. She became absorbed in glancing at some bestsellers and lost track of the time. Suddenly, she realized she had to leave quickly in order to meet her date for dinner. She hastily departed from the store, inadvertently leaving her backpack on a sales counter. Melissa, a sales clerk, noticed the backpack on the counter but left it there, expecting Selamwit to return it. Later, when Selamwit returned to retrieve the backpack, it was gone. Selamwit sued SJDC Book Store for the loss of her backpack. How would this property be classified? Will she be able to recover?

Read this story and watch this video related to copyright laws: http://abcnews.go.com/Business/hangover-tattoo-lawsuit-shines-light-copyright-laws/story?id=13669298.  Do you think that the Fair Use defense is applicable here? Why or why not? (in case you are interested, the case was eventually settled before being decided: https://www.law360.com/articles/252614/warner-artist-settle-hangover-tattoo-copyright-suit ).

A trademark is a word, phrase, symbol, or design, or a combination of words, phrases, symbols, or designs, that identifies and distinguishes the source of the goods of one party from those of others. A service mark is the same as a trademark, except that it identifies and distinguishes the source of a service rather than a product (SM). Trademarks are registered and protected under federal law.  In order to be legally protected it must be used in the context of business/commerce. Visit the Department of Commerce's Trademark and Patent Office website: http://www.uspto.gov/.  Design a trademark for a fictional business you would like to create, then describe what you must do to register it.

One controversial issue in trademark law in relatively recent history is the controversy surrounding the former name of Washington's professional football team. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office originally canceled the team's trademark because the Lanham Act did not permit the registration of trademarks that disparage individuals or groups. http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/us-patent-office-cancels-redskins-trademark-registration-says-name-is-disparaging/2014/06/18/e7737bb8-f6ee-11e3-8aa9-dad2ec039789_story.html.  

More recently, in 2016, the Supreme Court refused to hear the case: http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/03/politics/supreme-court-washington-redskins-trademark/ but did agree to hear a related case involving an Asian-American rock band: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/courts_law/supreme-court-to-review-case-important-to-redskins-trademark-fight/2016/09/29/acf63382-8638-11e6-a3ef-f35afb41797f_story.html?utm_term=.5cc595e0102c.  The outcome of that case determined "whether a federal law that bars the registration of disparaging trademarks violates free speech" under the First Amendment.  Fast forward to June 19, 2017, and the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the rock band and First Amendment protection (see http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/06/19/533514196/the-slants-win-supreme-court-battle-over-bands-name-in-trademark-dispute).  

The case, Matal v. Tam, might have helped legally resolve the question related to Washington's professional football team, too (see http://www.cbsnews.com/news/justice-department-drops-fight-over-redskins-name/); however, the name was changed regardless (see https://www.si.com/nfl/2022/02/02/washington-football-team-name-change-announcement-commanders and https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/washington-football-team-will-unveil-new-name-and-logo-in-early-2022-per-report/). In essence, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the trademark law barring disparaging, "offensive" terms was unconstitutional because it violated free speech (see http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/supreme-court-strikes-down-rule-disparaging-trademarks-1006208; but also see http://www.natlawreview.com/article/three-questions-supreme-court-s-decision-offensive-trademarks regarding the repercussions of the decision).  Do you agree with the Supreme Court's opinion?  Explain.

Buddy, in a benevolent mood, wants to give his car to his daughter, Claire, but he needed it for a trip first. He said to Claire, "I want you to have this car as a gift from me when I get back from my trip." Buddy had a second daughter, Brenda to whom he wanted to give his checking account. He wrote out a check to Brenda's order for the amount in the account and handed it to Brenda. To a third daughter, Maggie, Buddy told her to keep the carpet cleaner he loaned her a week ago as a gift. Has Buddy made any effective gifts? Explain.

A pharmaceutical manufacturer enjoys patent protection for its drugs and processes. But there is certain information, like batch records, which contain critical information relating to the manufacture of the drugs and could be used in the development of similar drugs, that must be protected as a trade secret. What steps should the company take to ensure that such information is protected under trade secret law?