bus law ch 6-9

unintentional tort

negligence

To receive a patent a patent, the applicant must demonstrate that the invention, discovery, or design is

nonobvious, NOT totally brand new to the market.

Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (Trips)

protects patents, copyrights, trademarks each member of WTO signs this

The purpose of tort law is to

provide remedies when various protected interests have been invaded.

Lanham Act of 1946

spells out what kinds of marks (including brand names) can be protected and the exact method of protecting them

Liability without fault is also referred to as:

strict liability

Copyright

the exclusive legal right, given to an originator or an assignee to print, publish, perform, film, or record literary, artistic, or musical material, and to authorize others to do the same.

trade dress

the image and overall appearance of a product

Fiona invents a new deep-sea fishing net, which she names "Great Catch." She also writes the operating manual to be included with each net. Fiona could obtain copyright protection for:

the manual. Only the manual is a creative work fixed in a tangible medium of expression.

Goodwill

the value of all favorable attributes that relate to a company that are not attributable to any other specific asset

The process behind the production of "Fast Pace," a racecar video game, is protected by:

trade secrets law

Victor uses the trademarked name "Wal-Mart" as a meta tag for his business's Website in order to increase the likelihood that his site will be included in search engine results. Victor's actions constitute:

trademark infringement.

an artisan's lien, such as one a mechanic would have on a car, if unpaid for repairs made to it, is a defense to a charge of :

trespass to personal property

The right to privacy is guaranteed by the United States' Bill of Rights.

true

Jay drops a bowling ball on Kyla's foot. Jay is liable for negligence if he acted:

unreasonably

Acme Computers, a computer store, takes unethical steps to divert the customers of Cyber Goods, an adjacent competing store. Acme may be liable for:

wrongful interference with a business relationship.

intentional tort

A tort committed by one who intends to do the act that creates the harm.

U.S. Safe Web Act

Allows the FTC to cooperate and share information with foreign agencies in investigating and prosecuting those involved in spamming, spyware, and various Internet frauds and deceptions

Copyright Registration

Although copyright protection begins when the "idea" is put in tangible form, the copyright can be registered with the U.S. Copyright Office (fill out the forms) and more rights accrue to the copyright holder. protects against 1) reproduction 2)development of derivative works 3) distribution 4)public display

Disparagement of Property

An economically injurious false statement made about another's product or property. A general term for torts that are more specifically referred to as slander of quality or slander of title.

Defenses to Product Liability

Assumption of risk Product misuse Comparative negligence Commonly known dangers

If a U.S. citizen writes a book, the U.S. author's copyright in the book must be recognized by all countries that signed the:

Berne Convention.

The international law that prohibits member nations from discriminating against foreign owners of intellectual property rights is the:

TRIPS

Which of the following would constitute real property?

a house and a stone wall

Copyright Act of 1976

a law that recognizes the rights of an individual creator (in any medium) from the time he or she has created a work and that protects a creative work for the lifetime of that author plus 70 years

Berne Convention

a multilateral agreement offering protection of literary and artistic works among member countries

Typosquatting

a problem that occurs when someone registers purposely misspelled variations of well-known domain names

If a company that makes laundry detergent calls its product Pommo, the name "Pommo" would be considered:

a strong mark

If a company that makes laundry detergent calls its product Pommo, the name "Pommo" would be considered:

a strong mark.

Trademark

a symbol, word, or words legally registered or established by use as representing a company or product.

Special damages compensate the plaintiff for things such as:

costs of repairing damaged property.

patent

exclusive rights over an invention -14 years for a design patent or 20 years after patent period -must be novel, useful, and not obvious in light of current technology

When a user or consumer is injured as a result of a manufacturer's or seller's misrepresentation, the basis of the liability may be the tort of:

fraud

License (trademark)

gives the right to use of a trademark

Two justifications are generally offered in why manufacturers should be strictly liable for product defects.

he manufacturer is making a profit from its activities and should bear the cost of injury as an operating expense. The other justification is that the manufacturer can better bear the cost of injury because it can spread the cost throughout society via higher prices.

Criminal penalties for copyright violations can be imposed:

if unauthorized copies were exchanged, regardless if the exchange was made for profit.

Trade secrets are:

important ideas or knowledge that cannot be copyrighted or patented

Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA)

makes it illegal for a person to "register, traffic in, or use" a domain name (1) if the name is identical or confusingly similar to another's trademark and (2) if the person registering, trafficking in, or using the domain name does so with the bad faith intent to profit from its similarity to the other's trademark.

assult and battery

assault includes a threat or attempt to injure, and battery includes the unlawful touching of another person without consent

Compensatory Damages

A monetary award equivalent to the actual value of injuries or damage sustained by the aggrieved party.

Misrepresentation

A false statement or lie that can render the contract void.

trade secret

A formula, device, idea, process, or other information used in a business that gives the owner a competitive advantage in the marketplace.

What act did Congress pass in 1998 to provide additional protection to copyright holders?

Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)

General Damages

In a tort case, an amount awarded to compensate individuals for the nonmonetary aspects of the harm suffered, such as pain and suffering; not available to companies.

Under the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), border officials of member nations must get a warrant from an international governing body before searching commercial shipments of imports and exports.

Incorrect. The ACTA allows border officials to search commercial shipments of imports and exports on their own initiative. It neither requires nor prohibits random border searches.

Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement

Member nations are required to have border measures to prevent the import and export of counterfeit goods. an international treaty to combat global counterfeiting and piracy

Kevin has a vast inventory of music downloaded from file-sharing websites for free. He wants to share his inventory on a peer-to-peer network, and believes that as long as he doesn't charge anyone, he is not violating copyright laws. Is he correct?

No, because these files were obtained for free, without payment of royalties to the artists.

Federal CAN-SPAM Act

Permits the sending of unsolicited commercial e-mail, but prohibits certain types of spamming activities

Trademark Registration

Registered with the government (state or fed.) Can be registered if currently in commerce or will be within 6 months (extendable to 30 months) The registrant is also allowed to use the symbol ® to indicate that the mark has been registered.

Product liability claims may be based on which of the following tort theories?

Strict liability, negligence, and misrepresentation

ICANN

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers is responsible for governing the development of DNS policy.

Cybersquatting

The act of registering a domain name that is the same as, or confusingly similar to, the trademark of another and then offering to sell that domain name back to the trademark owner.

America Invents Act

The first person to file an application for a patent on a product or process will receive patent protection.

product liability

The legal liability of manufacturers, sellers, and lessors of goods to consumers, users, and bystanders for injuries or damages that are caused by the goods.

Strict Liability

The legal responsibility for damage or injury even if you are not negligent

Trademark Dilution

The unauthorized use of a distinctive and famous mark in a way that impairs the mark's distinctiveness or harms its reputation plaintiff must prove -ownership of famous mark -defendant used mark in commerce and it dilutes said famous mark -similarity btwn marks gives rise to an association btwn them -association impairs distinctiveness and harms famous mark

Market Share Liability

a court can hold each manufacturer responsible for a percentage of the plaintiff's damages that is equal to the percentage of its market share

A trade secret might include which of the following?

a customer list

The international law that prohibits member nations from discriminating against foreign owners of intellectual property rights is the:

Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights agreement.

Meta Tags

Words inserted into a Web site's key-words field to increase the site's appearance in search engine results.

Madrid Protocol (2003)

You're selling in the U.S. but someone in another country wants to start using your brand name If you register your brand name you are protected in other countries Reduces costs of international trade avoid trade discrimination

Digital Millennium Copyright Act

a 1998 US law intended to update copyright law for electronic commerce and electronic content providers. It criminalizes the circumvention of electronic and digital copyright protection systems.

the plaintiff's negligence is a defense that may be raised in a product liability suit based on strict liability. This is referred to as:

comparative negligence

To protect its customers and other business invitees, Supreme Retail Corporation must warn them of:

concealed danger

To protect its customers and other business invitees, Supreme Retail Corporation must warn them of:

concealed dangers.

The term for a tort that arises from online conduct is:

cyber tort

Punitive Damages

damages exceeding simple compensation and awarded to punish the defendant.

Negligence Elements

duty, breach, causation, damages

FTC (Federal Trade Commission)

prevents the unfair, false, or deceptive advertising of consumer products and services