Law Quiz Intellectual Property

Patent

A property right granted by the government to protect a person's invention from others being able to make, use or sell the product

Trade Secret

Any formula, pattern, device, or compilation of information which has economic value to a business because it is not generally known or easily discoverable by observation and for which efforts have been made to maintain secrecy

Fair Use Doctrine

Copyrighted material may be reproduced without permission in certain cases. Amount and use must be reasonable and not harmful to copyright owner. Research

Copyright is secured automatically when the work is created. A work is "created" when it is fixed in a copy or phonorecord for the first time. A copyright can be registered with the US Copyright Office

How is a copyright obtained?

Ask a judge to issue an injunction to prevent further disclosure. File a civil complaint seeking damages for economic injury suffered. Plaintiff must prove: information alleged to be confidential provides a competitive advantage. the information is maintained in secrecy. the information was improperly acquired or disclosed by the defendant

How to Enforce Rights if Trade Secret is Stolen

Ways to protect intellectual property

Patent, trademark, copyright, and trade secret

Useful. New or novel. Non-obvious

Requirements for the subject of a patent

20 years from the date on which the application for the patent was filed

Term (Duration) of a Patent

10 years. May be renewed for an indefinite number of 10-year periods

Term (Duration) of a Trademark

Author's life plus 70 years

Term of a copyright

Indefinitely, as long as the item(s) is kept secret.

Term of a trade secret

Utility, design and plant

Types of patents

Restrict access. Lock-up the information. Mark the information "Confidential" Have any party that may come into contact with the trade secret sign a non-disclosure agreement.

Ways to protect a trade secret

Works that have not been fixed in a tangible form of expression. Listings of ingredients or contents. Works consisting entirely of information that is common property and containing no original authorship

What is not protected in Copyright?

Copyright protects "original works of authorship" that are fixed in a tangible form of expression. The fixation need not be directly perceptible so long as it may be communicated with the aid of a machine or device.

What is protected in Copyright?

United States Patent and Trademark Office

Who issues patents?

United States Patent and Trademark Office (T)

Who issues trademarks?

Intellectual Property

an original work fixed in a tangible medium of expression

Copyright

form of protection provided to the authors of "original works of authorship," including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works. Available to both published and unpublished works.

Plant

invents or discovers and asexually reproduces any distinct and new variety of plant

Utility

new and useful process, machine, article of manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof

Design

new, original, and ornamental design for an article of manufacture

Example: Cannot simply change the color or size of an object

non-obvious

Trademark

word, phrase, symbol, or design, or a combination that identifies and distinguishes the source of the goods of one party from those of others.