Chapter 4: Intellectual Property Rights

Johnnycakes, Inc., uses Pattycake Corporation's patented formula in Johnnycakes's recipe for a similar product, without Pattycake's permission. This is

Patent Infringement

What is intellectual property?

Property resulting from intellectual and creative process, (like songs).

Intellectual Property

Property resulting from intellectual and creative processes.

Patent

A property right granted by the federal government that gives an inventor an exclusive right to make, use, sell, or offer to sell an invention in the United States for a limited time.

Service Mark

A trademark that is used to distinguish the services (rather than the products) of one person or company from those of another.

TRIPS Agreement of 1994

Forbids member nations from discriminating against foreign owners of intellectual property rights in the administration, regulation, or adjudication of such rights.

How does the law protect patents?

The law protects the patent owners right to make, use, sell, or offer to sell, the invention for a 14-20 year period. This allows patent owners to not have to worry about others stealing their invention and selling it against them or claiming rights over it.

Domain Name

The series of letters and symbols used to identify a site operator on the Internet; part of an Internet "address."

Trademark Dilution

The unauthorized use of a distinctive and famous mark in a way that impairs the mark's distinctiveness or harms its reputation.

Production techniques used to make "Grave Robbers," a computer game, are protected by

Trade Secrets Law

What are trade secrets, and what laws offer protection for this form of intellectual property?

Trade secrets are information of commercial value. In most states, trade secrets are protected by the Uniform Trade Secrets Act, however, the Economic Espionage Act made the theft of trade secret a federal crime. This is proven under Section 757 of the Restatement of Torts, those who disclose or use another's trade secret, without authorization, are liable to that other party if either of the following is true: they discovered the secret by improper means or/and their disclosure or use constitutes a breach of a duty owed to the other party.

Tech Corporation uses USA, Inc.'s trademark in Tech's ads without USA's permission. This is

Trademark Infringement

A personal name is protected under trademark law if it acquires a secondary meaning.

True

In determining whether the use of a copyrighted work is infringement under the fair use doctrine, one factor is the effect of that use on the market for the work.

True

To obtain a patent, an applicant must show that an invention is genuine, novel, useful, and not obvious in light of current technology.

True

Using another's trademark in a domain name without permission violates federal law.

True

National Media, Inc. (NMI), publishes "Opinion" magazine, which contains an article by Paula. Without her permission, NMI puts the article into an online database. This is

copyright infringement

The graphics used in "Grave Robbers," a computer game, are protected by

copyright law

Federica invents a new type of light bulb and applies for a patent. If Federica is granted a patent, the invention will be protected

for 20 years

Trademark dilution requires proof that consumers are likely to be confused by the unauthorized use of the mark.

False

Trademark

A distinctive word, symbol, or design that identifies the manufacturer as the source of particular goods and distinguishes its products from those made or sold by others.

Trade Secret

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

Collective Mark

A 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

A 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.

Trade Name

A name that a business uses to identify itself and its brand. A trade name is directly related to a business's reputation and goodwill and is protected under trademark law.

License

An agreement by the owner of intellectual property to permit another to use a trademark, copyright, patent, or trade secret for certain limited purposes. In the context of real property, a revocable right or privilege to enter onto another person's land.

Berne Convention of 1886

An international copyright agreement, if a U.S. citizen writes a book, every country that has signed the convention must recognize her or his copy- right in the book. Also, if a citizen of a country that has not signed the convention first publishes a book in one of the 168 countries that have signed, all other countries that have signed the convention must recognize that author's copyright. Copyright notice is not needed to gain protection under the Berne Convention for works published after March 1, 1989.

Madrid Protocol of 2003

An international treaty that has been signed by seventy-three countries. Under its provisions, a U.S. company wishing to register its trademark abroad can submit a single application and designate other member countries in which it would like to register the mark. The treaty was designed to reduce the costs of obtaining international trademark protection by more than 60 percent.

Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement of 2011

An international treaty to combat global counterfeiting and piracy. The members of the European Union, Mexico, Switzerland, and other nations that support the ACTA are still developing domestic procedures to comply with its provisions. The ACTA applies not only to counterfeit physical goods, such as medications, but also to pirated copyrighted works being distributed via the Internet. Under ACTA, member nations are required to establish border measures that allow officials, on their own initiative, to search commercial shipments of imports and exports for counterfeit goods. The treaty neither requires nor prohibits random border searches of electronic devices, such as laptops and iPads, for infringing content. If border authorities reasonably believe that any goods in transit are counterfeit, the treaty allows them to keep the suspect goods unless the owner proves that the items are authentic and non-infringing. The treaty allows member nations, in accordance with their own laws, to order online service providers to furnish information about (including the identity of) suspected trademark and copyright infringers.

Why is the protection of trademarks important?

Article I, Section 8, of the U.S. Constitution authorizes Congress "to promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries." Laws protecting trademarks—and patents and copyrights as well—are designed to protect and reward inventive and artistic creativity.

What laws protect authors' rights in the works they create?

Copyright law protects the rights of the authors of certain literary or artistic productions. The Copyright Act of 1976, as amended, covers these rights.

Tony owns Tonio's, a pub in a small town in Iowa. Universal Dining, Inc., opens a chain of pizza places in California called "Tonio's" and, without Tony's consent, uses "toniosincalifornia" as part of the URL for the chain's Web site. This

Does not fall under copyright infringement, patent infringement, or trademark dilution.

A copy must be exactly the same as an original work to infringe on its copyright.

False

A formula for a chemical compound is not a trade secret.

False

A trade name, like a trademark, can be registered with the federal government.

False

Only the "intentional" use of another's trademark can be trademark infringement.

False

To obtain a copyright, an author must show that a work is genuine, novel, useful, and not a copy of a current copyrighted work.

False

Data Corporation created and sells "Economix," financial computer software. Data's copyright in Economix is best protected under

The TRIPS Agreement

Copyright

The exclusive right of an author or originator of a literary or artistic production to publish, print, sell, or otherwise use that production for a statutory period of time.

Trade Dress

The image and overall appearance of a product.

Clothes made by workers who are members of the Clothes Makers Union are sold with tags that identify this fact. This is

a collective mark

Omega, Inc., uses a trademark on its products that no one, including Omega, has registered with the government. Under federal trademark law, Omega

can register the mark for protection