BSAD 486

If a court reforms a covenant not to compete so as to make it reasonable and enforceable, the practice is referred to as

?

Process that could be used to add an inventor who was omitted

Certificate of correction

Process used to cancel an invalid claim

Disclaimer

A company is required to undertake extreme measures to protect its trade secrets.

False

Alex has changed the size of a computer screen by one-eighth inch. The new computer screen should be patentable.

False

All issued patents are subject to maintenance fees.

False

All patented inventions must include a notice of patent.

False

An assignment of a patent may be oral.

False

An invention for a design whose purpose is entirely functional cannot be patented.

False

For persons to be joint inventors, each must make some contribution to each claim.

False

For persons to be joint inventors, the contribution of each must be equal.

False

Just as trademark rights arise from use, so do patent rights.

False

Patent applicants are required by law to conduct a search before filing a patent application.

False

Products of nature can be patented.

False

The statute of limitations for bringing a patent infringement action is six years.

False

To be patentable, an invention must result from a "flash of genius" or an inventor's "aha!" moment.

False

To prevail in an infringement action, patent owners must prove that every claim in a patent was infringed.

False

Trade secrets can only be protected by written agreement.

False

Unless a patent is infringed "literally," there can be no infringement.

False

Until the USPTO grants a patent, all patents are kept confidential throughout the patent application process.

False

Process that could be used to enlarge claims in an issued patent

Reissuance

Process used to immunize a patent owner against a later claim of inequitable conduct

Supplemental examination

A specification for a utility patent must include at least one claim.

True

A trade secret obtained through independent creation may be used by its creator; such independent creation is not misappropriation.

True

All patent infringement actions must be brought in federal court.

True

Generally, one cannot patent an insignificant or trivial alteration of something already known.

True

If an employee is specifically hired to solve a certain problem and an invention results, the employer will be the owner of the invention, even if the parties had no agreement regarding ownership of the invention.

True

If properly protected, trade secrets can last indefinitely.

True

If the USPTO has lost an applicant's file, causing delay in the grant of a patent, the term of the patent will generally be adjusted one day for each day of the delay.

True

In many cases, a single experimental use of a patented device is considered de minimis and is thus not infringement.

True

Liability for patent infringement can occur even if the accused did not know of the existence of the patent.

True

Licenses of patents are not usually recorded with the USPTO.

True

Once information is known to the public at large, it loses its status as a trade secret.

True

Only human-made inventions can be patented.

True

Recording of a patent assignment is not required.

True

The Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 was passed to allow parties to bring civil actions for trade secret misappropriation.

True

Trade secrets can consist of nearly any type of information, so long as it provides its owner with a competitive advantage.

True

Plants may be patented if they are ____________ reproduced.

asexually

Patent applications owe a duty of _____________ to the USPTO during the application process and must therefore disclose any information relevant to patentability.

candor

The paragraphs of the application that define the scope of the invention are called the

claims

Under the AIA, interference practice has been replaced with ________________ proceedings.

derivation

The principle of ___________________ prohibits issuance of more than one patent for the same invention. If this objection is raised by the USPTO, an inventor may overcome it by inserting a ______________ in the second application, so that both patents expire at the same time.

double patenting, terminal disclaimer

Owen will allow Lauren to use Owen's patented invention west of the Mississippi. No other party will be given rights to use the invention in this territory. This arrangement is called a(n)

exclusive license

Under the ______________, once you buy a patented object, you may later resell it to another or give it away.

first sale doctrine

Design patents expire 15 years from the date they are

granted

Under the doctrine of ______________, employees have been prevented from working for other companies, on the basis that it is natural that they will ultimately share information learned at their previous employer's place of business.

inevitable disclosur

The doctrine of prosecution history estoppel (also called file wrapper estoppel) provides that in an _______________ action, one cannot take a position __________ with one taken during the process of obtaining the patent at the USPTO.

infringement, inconsistent

ABC has obtained X's valuable trade secret by placing one of its employee's at X's place of business. Such an act will render ABC liable for _________ of the trade secret.

misappropriation

To be patentable, an invention must be ________________ to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the invention pertains.

nonobvious

Design patents are not required to show usefulness. Instead, they must show

ornamentality

A _____________ patent represents a significant breakthrough or advance and thus may be given a wide range of equivalents, so protection for it is broader than for other patents.

pioneer

The process of moving a patent application through the examination procedure to issuance is called

prosecution

A ________________ application is less formal than a full utility application, need not include any claims, and is an expeditious way of embarking on patent protection.

provisional

If a patent application claims two or more independent and distinct inventions, the examiner will issue a ______________ requirement, which will limit the application to one invention.

restriction

In patent law, nontechnical and objective factors considered in determining whether an invention is nonobvious, such as its commercial success and copying of it by others, are called

secondary consideration

Companies or individuals that purchase patents not to use them or exploit them but solely for the purpose of pursuing potential infringers are called patent ___________ or non-practicing ___________.

trolls, entities