Ch 11 Intellectual Property

Give example of the little risk of confusion concept?

"Coming to America" movie. Comparing McDonalds to McDowells

What are the current issues in patent law?

(1)Patents on genetically modified plants and animals and (2) Pharmaceutical and gene patents

How long do design patents last?

14 yrs from issue date

What year did the Diamond v. Chakrabarty case occur and what was it about?

1980. Chakra, the scientist, took naturally occurring bacteria and altered its DNA so that the bacteria could eat hydrocarbons (oil eating bacteria). He tried to get a patent on these bacteria. Government declined the patent and Chakra sued the government and took case up to the US Supreme Court and Court sided with him.

How long do utility and design patents last?

20 yrs from filing date

What is a patent?

A monopoly (exclusive right) of limited duration in the manufacturing and marketing of a new invention. Associated with inventive act and conveys a exclusive right to exclude others from making, using, selling or importing the covered invention.

The U.S. PTO's issuance of a patent provides a what?

A presumption of a valid property right.

What is a trademark?

A word, phrase, logo, or design identifying the source of goods or services

What is a trade secret and what are its requirements for it to be protected?

Any form of knowledge or info that has (1) economic value from not being generally known to, or readily ascertainable by proper means by, others and (2) has been the subject of reasonable efforts by the owner to maintain secrecy.

"The Congress shall have power ... 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." What part of the U.S. constitution does this quote come from and what is it describing?

Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution. Describing Intellectual Property and how it can protect Intellectual Property.

How long does the trademark last?

As long as trademark user keeps using it and every 10 yrs files renewal paperwork, they can use the trademark.

What does useful mean?

Beneficial useful value

How long do trade secrets last?

Can last forever

What is a license patent?

Can let others use your invention

Give an example of products of nature

Can't own bald eagles or nuts, etc.

Give an example of laws of nature (fundamental rules)

Can't patent how universe works

Give an example of abstract ideas

Can't use abstract ideas that exist solely in our head

What is an example of the pharmaceutical and gene patents?

Cancer fighting drugs and AIDS fighting drugs

What are trademarks more receptive to?

Celebrities

What was the unfortunate truth about Chakrabarty's invention?

Chakra's bacteria didn't actually work in reality.

What are the 2 types of enforcement that can occur if trade secrets are violated in any way?

Civil and Criminal Enforcement

What is a copyright?

Copyright deals with original expression. It's the monopoly over the right to exclude others from copying and marketing for a limited period of time. Copyright law grants property in certain creative expressions that keeps others from reproducing it without the owner's permission.

How long does a copyright last for an individual? For a work by a company?

Copyright runs for author's lifetime plus 70 yrs for an individual. 95 yrs from publication or 120 yrs from creation for a work by a company.

Describe the trade dress for a product?

Design, packaging/pretty unique to identify a specific company. Can be trademarked.

What's an example of the owner of a trade secret trying to maintain the secrecy of the trade secret?

Example is where employers make employees sign contract where they promise not to reveal any secrets. Also, this can be seen when supposedly there were only 2 employees and CEOs of KFC that knew all the herbs but they're just playing it off on keeping it secret.

Trade dress can apply to what 2 things?

For a product: design and packaging and for a business: design and décor

The Diamond v. Chakrabarty case was the case that made what?

GMOs patents

Describe civil enforcement for trademarks

If a person or business starts using a trademark that is confusingly similar to an existing trademark. This is called infringement.

How can a trademark become generic?

If the owner does not defend against unauthorized use and if the public begins to use the mark to refer to a general class of goods/services rather than a specific producer of goods/services.

Give example of a trade dress for a business?

If you were blindfolded and taken to restaurant where cartoonish mushrooms and pizzas were on the wall. You know you're at Mellow Mushroom.

What does fair use include?

Includes copying for "criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research"

What does it mean by little risk of confusion?

Infringer is going to say that the public understands that what they're buying is completely different from another similar company.

Who is copyright intended to protect?

Intended to protect authors rather than inventors

What does nonobvious mean?

Invention produces surprising/unexpected results.

Is it not easy or is it easy to establish information as a trade secret?

It's easy

If there'a civil enforcement of trade secrets, what can a judge do?

Judge can do an injunction which is an order either to do something or to refrain from doing something

What are the defenses to infringement of a trademark?

Little risk of confusion, fair use, mark is not distinctive

What is an example of the patents on genetically modified plants and animals?

Local analyses and public health

What is the digital millennium copyright act

Makes illegal the effort to get around devices used by copyright owners to keep their works from being infringed.

Trademark protection is intertwined with what 2 things?

Marketing and branding.

A utility patent must what?

Must show that the invention is eligible for a patent, explain how to make and use the invention, and describe the particular aspects of the invention sought to be patented (i.e. identify the "claims").

What does novel mean?

New

Give an example of a company that has multiple trademarks

Nike has the swoosh and the "Just Do It" phrase.

Is registration required to obtain a copyright?

No

Describe trade dress for a business?

Not often. Really unique atmosphere.

To be eligible for a utility (use) patent, an invention must be what?

Novel, nonobvious, and useful.

What is misappropriation for a trade secret?

Occurs when 1 improperly acquires secret information through burglary, espionage, or computer hacking

What does it mean by mark isn't distinctive?

PTO improperly registered a generic mark or a formerly distinctive mark has become generic over time.

Give examples of celebrities with trademarks

Paris Hilton "That's hot" phrase only applies to fashion, merchandise, etc. Ryan Lochte's "Jeah": almost everything, like happy.

After the time limit of the patent, what happens to it?

Patent goes to public domain and you'll be expected to turn in your profit.

What are the strongest type of intellectual property?

Patents

To obtain a patent, what must an inventor do?

Pay a filing fee and submit a patent application to the U.S. Patent Trademark Office (PTO).

What's an example of the economic value of trade secrets?

Pizza place: mellow mushroom and little Italy. Don't want to give out their info like what kinds of ovens do they use, what their profit margin is, etc so no one will steal their ideas. All these things have value.

How often does criminal enforcement occur?

Pretty rare.

What do the non patentable subject matter include?

Products of nature, Laws of Nature, and Abstract Ideas

What does it mean by generic?

Public can't associate it with a specific manufacturer. Ex: "Used Cars" is generic. "Financial Planning" is broad and applies to whole class of services offered by financial experts. Kleenex has become so dominant, we then preceded to refer to any facial tissue as Kleenex (became generic)

What is trade dress?

Specialized form of trademark and is the overall aesthetic, image of a product/business.

What does the Copyright Act state?

That a fair use of copyrighted materials is not an infringement of the owner's property

Give examples of infringement?

The Lacoste crocodile. You have a knockoff brand ruining the image and financial monies of the real thing. Energy shot drink that is trying to use "Monster's" brand image to try and get people to buy their energy shot drinks. Monster sued against this energy shot drink.

The prices businesses charge for their products must include what 3 things?

The cost of research and design, the cost of production and distribution, and a profit.

How significant was the Diamond v. Chakrabarty case?

The outcome of this case reflected something new and the government said you can get a patent on living things.

What is an example of criminal enforcement for trade secret?

Theft. Person's info is taken and person is upset and wants government to get involved. An example was when 2 coke employees were willing to give their info to Pepsi. Pepsi called the FBI and FBI posed as Pepsi executives and met with Coke at Hartsfield airport and employees delivered briefcase and FBI arrested.

Give an example of trade dress for a product?

Tiffany and Co's blue box and white ribbon for jewelry. Autonomie sneaker looks like Converse and Converse brought lawsuit to Autonomie.

What is the point of Intellectual Property?

To incur innovations and to protect knowledge based intangible business resources.

How do you register for the trademark?

To register a trademark, you can use it in interstate commerce.

What is the weakest form of intellectual property?

Trade Secret

What are the 4 forms of Intellectual Property?

Trade Secrets, Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights

What does it mean by fair use?

Unauthorized use of another's mark for the limited purpose of criticism, parody, or comparative advertising is permissible.

What are the 3 types of patents?

Utility, Design, and Plant Patents

Give example of fair use?

Verizon talking about how crappy AT&T is. AT&T can't sue. Dumb Starbucks in LA

What does it mean by source?

Who is the provider/distributor of this good/service?

What are the 3 criteria necessary for copyright protection to occur?

Work must be original, Work must be fixed in a tangible medium of expression (book, canvas, compact disk, hard drive, etc), Work must show some creative expression

What is the standard to determine if patent is nonobvious?

Would take invention to someone pretty knowledgeable about this area, would they be shocked or not? Is this a significant leap forward?

Give an example of trademark trying to be saved cause it's at risk of becoming generic

Xerox's campaign to try and save Xerox from becoming generic (dealt with photocopy devices)

Can companies have multiple trademarks?

Yes

What is meant by presumption of a valid property right?

You do have intellectual property protection over invention but you can lose this property if you get sued (that's what is meant by presumption).

To get a patent, you have to have actually what?

You have to have actually physically made the invention.

Trademark provides ___ means for companies to let consumers know what company they're buying from

cheap

Generic marks are not ____ for trademark protection

eligible

Under copyright law, it is ____ not only to copy to make copies that violate the law but also to assist others in doing so

illegal

Companies are ____ invested in trademark and don't want ____ using their trademarks

monetarily, others

Marks at risk of becoming generic can be ___ at a price

saved