Legal Environment of Business - Ch 8 Intellectual Property Rights

Copyright Act Section 109a

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 - known as the first sale doctrine p.154

licensee

party obtaining the license p.149

licensor

party that owns the intellectual property rights and issues the license p.149

trademark infringement

whenever the trademark is copied to a substantial degree or used in its entirety by another, intentionally or unintentionally, the trademark has been infringed upon p. 146

dilution

with respect to trademarks, a doctrine under which distinctive or famous trademarks are protected from certain unauthorized uses of the marks regardless of a showing of competition or a likelihood of confusion. Congress created a federal cause of action for dilution in 1995 with the passage of the Federal Trademark Dilution Act. p.145

Copyright Act of 1976

works created after January 1, 1978, are automatically given statutory copyright protection for the life of the author plus 70 years. - this includes art, music, pictorials, motion pictures, etc. but ideas are not protected p.151

patent

a grant from the government that gives an inventor the exclusive right to make, use, or sell his or her invention for a period of twenty years - patents for design are for 14 years - design must be novel, useful, and not obvious p.149

trademark registration

a person must file an application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in Washington, DC - a mark can be registered if 1) it is currently in commerce or 2) the applicant intends to put it into commerce within six months p.146

service mark

a trademark that is used to distinguish the services (rather than the products) of one person or company from those of another. for ex. an airline has a particular mark or symbol associated with its name p.147

compilation of facts

a work formed by the collection and assembling of preexisting materials or data that are selected, coordinated, or arranged in such a way that the resulting work as a whole constitutes an original work of authorship - ex. the Yellow pages but not the White pages p.152

license

agreement, or contract, permitting the use of a trademark, copyright, patent, or trade secret for certain purposes p.149

trade secret

any information that a business possesses and that gives the business an advantage over competitors (including formulas, lists, patterns, plan, processes, and programs) p.156 or 157

intellectual property

any property that results from intellectual, creative processes - the products of an individual's mind p.144

Paris Convention of 1883

consists of about 173 countries and allows parties in one country to file for patent and trademark protection in any of the other member countries. p.157

Computer Software Copyright Act

copyright extends to those parts of a computer program that can be read by humans such as the "high-level" language of a source code, etc. p.154-155

trademark

distinctive mark, motto, device, or implement that a manufacturer stamps, prints, or otherwise affixes to the goods it produces so that they can be identified on the market and their origins made known - a source indicator p.144 or 157

The Stop Counterfeiting in Manufactured Goods Act (SCMGA)

enacted to combat counterfeit goods. act makes it a crime to traffic intentionally in or attempt to traffic in counterfeit goods or services, or to knowingly use a counterfeit mark on or in connection with goods or services p.148

Berne Convention of 1886

if a U.S. citizen writes a book, every country that has signed the convention must recognize the U.S. author's copyright in the book p.157

patent infringement

if a firm makes, uses, or sells another's patented design, product, or process without the patent owner's permission, that firm commits this tort p.150

Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement

in 2011, Australia, Canada, Japan, Korea, Morocco, New Zealand, Singapore, and the U.S. sign this international treaty to combat global counterfeiting and piracy. p.159

protections for copyright owners

includes 1) reproduction of the work 2) development of derivative works 3) distribution of the work 4) public display of the work p.152

suggestive trademarks

indicate something about a product's nature, quality, or characteristics, without describing the product directly p.147

trade name

indicates part or all of a business's name, whether the business is a sole proprietorship, a partnership, or a corporation - for ex. Safeway p.149

The Madrid Protocol

international treaty that provides a U.S. company wishing to register its trademark abroad can submit a single application and designate other member countries in which the company would like to register its mark. p.159

Trademark Dilution Revision Act (TDRA)

plaintiff must prove the following: 1) the plaintiff owns a famous mark that is distinctive 2) the defendant has begun using a mark in commerce that allegedly is diluting the famous mark 3) the similarity between the defendant's mark and the famous mark gives rise to an association between the marks 4) the association is likely to impair the distinctiveness of the famous mark or harm its reputation p.145-146

Lanham Act of 1946

protects manufacturers from losing business to rival companies that used confusingly similar trademarks - statutory protection of trademarks and related property is provided at the federal level by this p.145

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

provides searchable databases covering U.S. patents granted since 1976 p.150

trade dress

refers to the image and overall appearance of a product - ex. the fish shape of a cracker - subject to same protection as trademarks p.148

public domain

rights to certain intellectual property, such as songs and other published works, belong to everyone and are not protected by copyright or patent laws p.158

TRIPS Agreement

standards for the international protection of intellectual property rights, including patents, trademarks, and copyrights for movies, computer programs, books, and music p.159

America Invents Act

the first person to file an application for a patent on a product or process will receive patent protection - begins on the date the patent application is filed rather than when the patent is issued. p.149

what is patentable?

the invention, discovery, process, or design is novel, useful, and not obvious (in light of current technology) - this can even include art p.150

copyright

the right of an author or originator of a literary or artistic work, or other production that falls within a specified category, to have the exclusive use of that work for a given period of time p.157

"fair use" exception

the use of the copyrighted work for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research is not an infringement of copyright p.154

fanciful trademarks

these are inherently distinctive and include invented words p.147

Restatement of Torts Section 757

those who disclose trade secrets without authorization are liable to that other party if: 1) they discovered the secret by improper means, or 2) their disclosure or use constitutes a breach of a duty owed to the other party p.156

collective mark

used by members of a cooperative, association, or other organization and appear at the ends of motion picture credits to indicate the various associations and organizations that participated in the making of the films p.148

certification mark

used by one or more persons, other than the owner, to certify the region, materials, mode of manufacture, quality, or other characteristic of specific goods or services for ex. "Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval" p.148