INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

1.Ace Widget Company created a product it called the Wizzo brand of widget, and began selling it around the nation, but its attorney forgot to register that trademark.The following year Barrett Widget Company began to sell a product it called the Wizzzo widget.Ace sues for infringement of its trademark.Most likely:

a.Ace will lose because it did not register the mark.

b.Ace will lose because the two names are not identical.

c.Both b and c are reasons for Ace to lose.

d.Ace will win because it was the first user and the second mark was similar enough to cause confusion.

2.Charlie Corrigan owned a restaurant, and wanted to choose a good service mark for his restaurant.Which of these is the strongest mark?

a.Corrigan's, because it is his own proper name.

b.Charlie's Place, because it is a more generic name.

c.CCs Chow, because it is more distinctive.

d.There is no way to get a service mark for a restaurant.

3.Ace Widget Company's "Wizzo" widgets become so popular that, over the years, consumers have begun to call all widgets "wizzos."At times, other companies have used the name "wizzo" in their advertising, saying things like "our products work like wizzos," but Ace did not seek legal relief against that advertising as it was too expensive to do so.Ace is:

a.The owner of a very powerful mark.

b.In danger of losing protection for that mark as it becomes a generic term.

b.Lucky that people think of its product first.

c.Not in danger of losing the mark as long as they register it.

4.David bought a handbag for his wife for her birthday, thinking it was a Donatello original handbag.In fact, it was a carefully made copy, down to the distinctive Donatello markings on the bag.David reported this copy to the authorities.The store selling the copy might:

a.Be required to give restitution to Donatello for lost profits.

b.Possibly be fined or go to prison.

c.Both a and b.

d.Be required to give David his money back.

5.Edward wrote a book describing a famous battle from the Revolutionary War that was fought in the area where he lives. He spent years looking for a publisher without success.One day, while in a bookstore, he saw a book about that very same battle, published by one of the publishing companies to which he sent his manuscript.When he looked at that book, he saw that the author described the book from the standpoint of one particular soldier, a real historical figure.This was exactly the same technique Edward used.Edward sues for copyright infringement.Assume he can prove that he wrote his book at the time he claims he wrote it.Edward will likely:

a.Win because he had a common law copyright in his book and the second book described the same facts.

b.Win because he had a common law copyright in his book and the second book copied his way of arranging the facts.

c.Lose because he failed to register his copyright.

d.Lose because it is never possible to copyright a set of facts.

6.Edward published his book.The book inspired someone else to make a movie about that battle.Edward sued for copyright infringement.The evidence showed that the movie's makers commissioned a historian to do research into the battle, and a screenwriter who used that research as his basis for the movie.Edward will likely:

a.Win because the movie is a derivative work based on his book.

b.Lose because the movie is not a derivative work based on his book but is based on independent research.

c.Win because the movie failed to give him credit for his inspiration of the film.

7.Frank worked for Gigantic Corporation, which paid him to write a manual for using its products.The copyright:

a.does not exist, because this is simply a set of facts.

b.exists in the way those facts are described and belongs to Frank as the author.

c.does not exist because Frank was simply doing a work for hire.

d.exists in the way those facts are described and probably belongs to his employer, Gigantic Corporation.

8.Helen Hopper develops a great idea for a new way to make widgets, and files for a patent on that widget.Unfortunately, she does not have the money or other resources to actually manufacture those widgets.Therefore:

a.She will not be granted a patent.

b.She probably will need to license the rights to make the widgets to a manufacturer so that she can exploit her patent.

c.She will have to wait until the patent expires to license the patent.

d.The Patent and Trademark Office will supply her with a grant to make her widgets.

9.Irene Gomez discovered a gene sequence in bacteria that could prove useful in making medicines.She wants to patent that discovery.She most likely:

a.will get her patent because her discovery is useful and novel.

b.will get her patent because she is the first to discover it.

c.both a. and b.

d.will fail to get a patent because natural phenomena are not patentable.

10.Java Corporation paid an employee of Kola Corporation to tell them the secret formula for Kola's soft drink, despite that employee's agreement with Kola to keep this secret.Kola knows it can sue its own employee (or former employee, as it fired him when it learned what he had done), but it wants to sue Java as well.Kola:

a.has no claim against Java, only the former Kola employee, because only the former employee was bound by the non-disclosure agreement.

b. has a claim under the Uniform Trade Secrets Act against Java.

c.has a claim against Java under the common law of torts, as described in the Restatement of Torts.

d.both b and c.

11.A musical group, the Crayons, wrote and performed a song on a record with a very recognizable and catchy "riff."Fifteen years later, another artist, Geoffrey Harrrelson, wrote another song that had a "riff" that had the same intervals and the same rhythm as the Crayons' song, though it was in a different key.In other words, that "riff" sounded a lot like the "riff' in the Crayons' song.The Crayons sued. They alleged:

a.Patent infringement, saying their idea was stolen.

b.Trademark infringement, saying their identifying sound was copied.

c.Copyright infringement, saying that a substantial portion of their song was copied.

12.A company creates new technology to streamline the way companies run cash management accounts. Which kind of intellectual property protection should the company seek for the new technology?

a.Trademark

b.Trade secret

c.Copyright

d.Patent