BUS 200, Chapter 8: Intellectual Property Rights

False

Foreign firms can not apply for or obtain US patent protection on items that they sell within the US, and vice versa.

A trademark can be registered if

(1) it is currently in commerce or (2) the applicant intends to put the mark into commerce within six months.

Counterfeit Goods

- Copy or otherwise imitate trademarked goods but are not genuine - Present serious public health risks - The US cannot prosecute foreing counterfeiters because our national laws do not apply to them - US officials obtain court orders to shut down the domain names of counterfeit websites to prevent these goods from entering the US

Section 102(copyright) Exclusions

- It is not possible to copyright an idea - copyright protection does not include any "idea, procedure, process, system, method of operation, concept, principle, or discovery, regardless of the form in which it is described, explained, illustrated, or embodied." - When an idea and an expression are inseparable, the expression cannot be copyrighted.

The first sale Doctrine

- Section 109 provides that "the owner of a particular copy or phonorecord lawfully made under the copyright act or any person authorized by such owner is entitled to, without the authority of the copyright owner, to sell or otherwise dispose of the possession of that copy or phonorecord." - Once a copyright owner sells or gives away a particular copy of a work, the copyright owner no longer has the right to control the distribution of that copy.

Generic Terms

- Terms that belong to an entire class of products such as bicycle and computer. - Receive no protection, even if they acquire secondary meanings

Remedies for infringement

- The patent holder can seek injunction against the infringer and can request damages for royalties and lost profits - In some cases the court may grant the winning party reimbursement for attorney's fees and costs

Copyright infringement

- The reproduction does not have to be exactly the same as the original, nor does it have to reproduce the original in its entirety.

Remedies for copyright infringement

- Those who infringe copyrights may be liable for damages or criminal penalties. Ranging from actual damages to statutory damages.

Patent Infringement

- When a firm makes, uses, or sells another's patented design, product, or process without the patent owner's permission - May occur, even though the patent owner has not put the patented product in commerce. - May also occur, even though not all features or parts of an invention are copied

Patents

- a grant from the government that gives an inventor the exclusive right to make use, and sell an invention for a period of twenty years

Trade Names

- indicates part or all of a business's name, whether the business is a sole proprietorship, a partnership, or a corporation. - may be protected as trademarks if the trade name is the same as the company's trademarked product. - cannot be registered with the federal government - protected under the common law

Section 102 of the copyright act explicitly states that it protects original works that fall into one of the following categories:

1. Literary works 2. Musical works and accompanying words 3. Dramatic works and accompanying music 4. Pantomimes and choreographic works 5. Pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works 6. Motion pictures and other audiovisual works 7. Sound recordings 8. Architectural works

Copyright owners are protected against the following:

1. Reproduction of the work 2. Development of derivative works 3. Distribution of the work 4. Public Display of the work

To determine what is included in The "fair use" exception , the following factors should be considered:

1. The purpose and character of the use, including, whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes 2. The nature of the copyrighted work 3. The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole 4. The effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work

Service Mark

A trademark that is used to distinguish the services of one person or company from those of another

Copyrights

An intangible property right granted by federal statute to the author or originator of certain literary or artistic productions

What is intellectual property?

Any property resulting from intellectual, creative processes - the products of an individual's mind.

Forms of intellectual property

Information contained in books + computer files, apps for iphone/ipad, movies + music.

True

No patent infringement occurs under US law when a patented product is made and sold in another country.

Penalties for Counterfeiting

Persons found guilty of violating the SCMGA may be fined up to 2 million, of impfixoned for up to ten years

The "fair use" exception

Section 107 of the Copyright Act provides that for purposes such as criticism, comment, new reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research is not an infringement of copyright.

Stop Counterfeiting in Manufactured Goods Act

The act made it a crime to intentionally traffic in counterfeit goods or services, or knowingly use a counterfeit mark on or in connection with goods or services.

How does the law protect patents?

The first person to file an application for a patent on a product or process will receive patent protection. The new law established a nine-month limit for challenging a patent on any ground. The period of patent protection begins on the date when the patent application is filed.

False

The first person to invent/create/establish a product or process will receive patent protection.

How to prove infringement

The owner must show that the defendant's use of the mark created a likelihood of confusion about the origin of the defendant's goods or services.

True

The period of patent protection begins on the date when the patent application is filed.

Under the Trademark Dilution Revision Act (TDRA), to state a claim for trademark dilution, a plaintiff must prove the following:

The plaintiff owns a famous mark that is distinctive The defendant has begun using a mark in commerce that allegedly is diluting the famous mark The similarity between the defendant's mark and the famous mark gives rise to an association between the marks The association is likely to impair the distinctiveness of the famous mark or harm its reputation

Why is the protection of trademarks important?

a business could lead customers to believe that its goods were made by the other business.

What is Protected Expression?

a work must be "fixed in a durable medium" from which it can be perceived, reproduced, or communicated. Protection is automatic. Registration is not required.

License

an agreement permitting the use of a trademark, copyright, patent, or trade secret for certain limited purposes

If court determines that the infringement was willful, the court can double the amount of damages awarded

false

Works created after January 1, 1978, are automatically given statutory copyright protection for the life of the author plus 80 years under the Copyright Act.

false

Strong Marks

fanciful, arbitrary or suggestive marks are considered the most distinctive

Suggestive Marks

marks that bring to mind something about a product without a direct description, ex: "dairy queen"

Trade Dress

the image and overall appearance of a product that is protected by trademark law, + is subject to the same protection as trademarks

An injunction

the remedy most commonly granted for trademark infringement.

For companies, copyright expires 95 years from the date of publication or 120 years from the date of creation, whichever is first.

true

The Lanham Act

under this act, a trademark owner who successfully proves infringement can recover actual damages, plus the profits that the infringer wrongfully received from the unauthorized use of the mark. A court can also order the destruction of any goods bearing the unauthorized trademark.

Collective Mark

used by members of a cooperative, association, union, or other organization to certify the region, materials, mode of manufacture, quality, or other characteristic of specific goods or services.

Certification Mark

used by one or more persons, other than the owner, to certify the region, materials, mode of manufacture, quality, or other characteristics of specific goods or services.