Chapter 8 Business Law Study Guide

3) A ________ is a product formula, pattern, design, compilation of data, customer list, or other covert business information.

trade secret

4) A closely guarded formula for a recipe protected by a soft drink manufacturer is a ________.

trade secret

15) A ________ patent protects the functionality of an invention.

utility

17) When does a patent enter the public domain?

when the patent term expires

10) Congress enacted the federal ________, which makes it a federal crime to steal another's trade secrets.

Economic Espionage Act

13) Which of the following is a key function of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit regarding patents?

It helps promote uniformity in patent laws.

19) Which of the following is true of a patent application?

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office can grant priority to patent applications for products that are important to the national economy.

18) Which of the following statements is true of the patent period in the United States?

The patent term begins to run from the date the patent application is filed.

20) Which of the following types of patents is valid for only 14 years?

a design patent

14) What is a patent number?

a number assigned to a patent once the patent is granted

1) Which of the following is an example of intellectual property?

a patent

12) How do patent laws help an inventor?

by providing protection for patented inventions from infringement

2) Intellectual property falls into a category of property known as a(n) ________.

intangible property

9) According to the Economic Espionage Act, ________.

it is a federal crime to steal another's trade secret

7) In addition to recovering profits made by the offender and damages, a successful plaintiff in a misappropriation of a trade secret case can also ________.

obtain an injunction prohibiting the offender from divulging the trade secret

11) A ________ is a grant by the federal government to the inventor of an invention for the exclusive right to use, sell, or license the invention for a limited amount of time.

patent

6) A competitor can lawfully use a rival's trade secret if the competitor discovers the trade secret by means of ________.

reverse engineering

8) What federal statute was enacted by the U.S. Congress to protect trade secrets?

the Economic Espionage Act

16) Which of the following statements is true of patenting a scientific principle?

A scientific principle can only be patented if it is a part of the tangible environment.

5) If a competitor reverse-engineers a trade secret, then the competitor is ________.

allowed to use the trade secret but not its original trademark