ENTR 304 - Final Exam

How many years after the first patent law was signed in 1790 did it take for the U.S. to surpass Britain in the number of new inventions being patented?

13 years

By what percentage are filing fees reduced if the applicant is on Universities, non-profits, and small businesses with fewer than 500 employees.

50%

Copyrights for U.S. citizens last for what term?

Life-plus 70 years.

One of the four factors considered in whether the copying or use of a copyrighted work is considered to be Fair Use is "the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes." Which of the following would likely be considered fair use?

A profit-making magazine like Vanity Fair publishes a book review that quotes several thousand words of the copyrighted book being reviewed.

If the copyright lasts for 95 years from first publication, that copyright is for

A work for hire.

Which of the following are NOT one of the types of damages that copyright owners may receive if their work is infringed?

Compensatory.

Which of the following is the definition of inequitable conduct?

Deceiving or misleading the Patent Office to grant a patent.

Which of the following are NOT patentable?

Electricity (natural thing) OR E=MC² (equation)

The Marvin Gaye case has already made musicians and producers more cautious. In what way?

1) Singers are more willing to license the work of previous artists from whom they gain "look and feel" ideas and inspiration. 2) Sam Smith granted Tom Petty songwriting credit and royalties to Smith's song "Stay With Me," which bore a resemblance to Petty's hit "I Won't Back Down."

What were the three Supreme Court's "software-eligibility trilogy" cases?

1) Diamond v. Diehr, 2) Parker v. Flook, 3) Gottschalk v. Benson.

Patent infringement suits can take years and cost millions of dollars. Which of the following is another option patent owners have in seeking redress for infringement?

1) Seek out of court license and royalty settlements. 2) Seek contingency lawyers to take their case for a share of any damages. 3) Seek litigation financing in exchange for a share of any damages.

Changes to copyright law in the future are likely to focus on which issues?

1) Shortening copyright term. 2) Reducing or eliminating DRM. 3) Adjusting to new advances in digital technology. 5) Enabling and regulating a secondary market for digital content.

What is other four things a copyrighted work must be.

1) Authored or creatively compiled. 2) Not a fact or abstract idea. 3) Expressed or fixed on a tangible medium that can be seen or copied. 4) Original.

Which public policy goals are served by granting patent rights?

1) By protecting the property rights of inventors, the wellsprings of creation do not dry up for lack of incentive. 2) The public interest is served by disclosing the details of the invention and thereby promoting the progress of the nation.

In a second or subsequent examination, if the examiner finally rejects some or all of the claims, what can the applicant do at that point?

1) Cancel the rejected claims, leaving only allowed claims. 2) File what's called a "continuation application." 3) Appeal to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.

Fair use allows for the copying and use of copyrighted material for what specific purposes?

1) Criticism and comment. 2) News reporting. 3) Teaching or research.

Which of the following is a reason the defendant may file a Motion to Dismiss once a suit is filed with the Clerk in the federal court you select?

1) Improper jurisdiction. 2) Improper venue. 3) Failure to state a proper claim.

Which of the following WERE unique features of the U.S. patent system?

1) It had simplified application procedures. 2) It was affordable by the common man. 3) It allowed for the sale and licensing of patent rights. 4) It had an examination system to determine patent validity. 5) It required full disclosure of the details of the invention.

What is the advantage of a provisional patent application, which lasts only one year?

1) It is less expensive. 2) It is not subject to examination. 3) Grants an early filing date while the inventor continues working on the invention.

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 made it a crime to circumvent digital rights management (DRM) measures that control access to digital music and ebooks as a means of preventing piracy. So why are so many listeners, readers and book and music publishers voluntarily abandoning DRM measures?

1) It prevents people from sharing their digital music and ebooks with friends and family, like they can with regular music CDs and printed books. 2) DRM measures alienate consumers and limit their choices. 3) The elimination of DRM measures will grow the market for digital books and music much more rapidly.

Give examples of 19th century technological changes that eventually forced copyright law to adapt.

1) It took Congress 32 years after Edison's invention of the phonograph in 1777 to amend copyright law and grant composes first mechanical reproduction rights. 2) Even 38 years after photography could be copyrighted, a lower court invalidated Edison's copyright of a motion picture (although that decision was later reversed).

Which of the following practices were common in early patent systems?

1) Patent fees were exorbitantly high. 2) Limited or no disclosure of the details of the invention. 3) No examination for patent validity.

For an invention to be considered novel, what must it never have been?

1) Patented before. 2) Described in a patent application, even if never granted. 3) Explained in a printed publication domestic or foreign. 4) Offered for sale or publicly known.

Which of the following IS true of the U.S. patent system?

1) Patents are freely-transferable and tradable property rights. 2) Patent holders are not required to make or sell products based on their inventions. 3) Novelty, non-obviousness, and utility determine patent validity, not the identity or business model of the inventor.

Which of the following demonstrate the incentivizing impact of the U.S. patent system?

1) The U.S. had 4 times the per capita patenting rate of Britain. 2) Americans produced 5 times as many inventions each year as the British did. 3) Helped create the strongest economy in the world. 4) The U.S. led the industrial revolution.

There is an extensive examination system for getting a patent approved. Why is there not a similar system in place for copyrights?

1) The merit of an artistic or literary work is a wholly subjective determination. 2) Merit has nothing to do with whether or not a creative work is copyrightable. 3) Patent examiners can all agree that an invention is novel, non-obvious and useful, but art critics can never all agree that any one painting is beautiful.

Which of the following are possible defenses in a defendant's Answer to a Claim?

1) The patent is invalid. 2) The patent is not infringed. 3) The plaintiff waited too long to file suit.

Opponents of software patenting make what arguments?

1) The software industry is too iterative and patents should only be for big advances. 2) Software is intangible and abstract, so shouldn't be patented. 3) Patents stifle innovation in the software industry.

What do trademarks share with other intellectual; property rights?

1) They encourage and reward creative enterprise. 2) The marshal the benefits of this creativity to the public good. 3) They protect the consumer from deception.

Which of the following effects did early patent systems tend to have on the overall economy?

1) They limited innovation to a small sector of the population. 2) Biased towards incumbent industries rather than disruptive change. 3) Reinforced the wealth of elites not the productive capacity of society.

Which of the following is true of trademarks? (select all that apply)

1) They protect the public by preventing confusion or deception about the source of goods and services. 2) They protect the market reputation and good-will of the producers of goods. 3) They protect consumers from poor-quality products and services. 4) They are excellent marketing and advertising tools.

Through which of the following means do patents also promote knowledge sharing?

1) To get a patent, inventors must disclose the secrets of his invention. 2) Patents represent the world's greatest library of technical knowledge. 3) Innovators keep up with technical trends by reading others inventors' patents.

The main tasks of the patent examiner are to determine if your invention _____.

1) meets the statutory requirements for patentable subject matter 2) is novel and non-obvious based on a review of all available prior art 3) meets the requirement for utility

How often do plaintiffs win at trial?

60%-75% of the time.

What percentage of entrepreneurs say that patents are vital to securing venture funding?

67%

By what percentage are filing fees reduced if the applicant is on those with gross income less than three times U.S. median household income.

75%

Which court case most severely limits software patentability?

Alice v. CLS Bank.

The patent system was designed to tap the creative and productive potential of which of the following?

An enterprising population with a "universal ambition to go forward."

Defendant

An individual or group being sued or charged with a crime. in this case, the one potentially infringing on a patent.

What does the term "prior art" refer to?

Any previous patent, publication, or public use of an invention.

How did early copyrights evolve from business monopolies into instruments of censorship and surveillance?

Books had to be read and approved by a censor before a permit was granted to print the book.

What is the most critical pre-trial phase of every patent infringement case?

Claims construction (or Markman) hearings.

Why would combining a camera with a cellphone in a smartphone pass the test for non-obviousness, whereas putting wheels from a chair onto an office cart would not?

Combining a camera and a cellphone produced an unexpected result.

If someone willingly infringes your copyrighted work, what may he or she also face?

Criminal penalties of up to five years in prison for a first offense, 10 years for a second.

The jury's decision (Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams being guilty of copyright infringement of soul singer Marvin Gaye's "Got to Give it Up.") also drew criticism from many copyright and music experts. Why?

Critics said that although Marvin Gaye may have been the Prince of Soul, he didn't own a copyright to the whole genre.

Other than being one of the eight broad categories of creative content, which is NOT one of the other four things a copyrighted work must be.

Culturally worthwhile.

Which of the following is the best strategy in drafting claims in a patent application?

Draft them as broadly as the specifications and the prior art allows, then back up those broad claims with successively-narrower claims as backup.

Why are patent trials often thought of as morality plays?

Each party casts itself as in the right and its opponent as doing them wrong.

What does it mean to say that infringement is a "strict liability tort" or violation?

Even if you don't know you are infringing, you are still liable.

If you invent a starship warp drive, Star Trek would be considered prior art and your invention would be ineligible for a patent.

False

If you believe your patent is being infringed, you have how many options for recourse?

Four: You can sue the infringer, demand he stop infringing and pay monetary damages, offer the infringer a license in return for royalties, or ignore it.

If attorneys could demonstrate in court that Kanye West "sampled" or used pieces of Sly Johnson's son "Different Strokes in a song called "The Joy," this would be evidence of what kind of copyright infringement?

Fragmented literal similarity.

In 2015, a federal jury found Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams guilty of copyright infringement of soul singer Marvin Gaye's "Got to Give it Up." They found that their song "Blurred Lines" demonstrated what form of copyright infringement?

Fragmented literal; similarity.

When might a software be patentable?

If it Uses algorithms in a GPS navigation system.

Which of the following is the legal definition of patent infringement?

If one or more of the patent's claims match (or "read on") the features and functions of a device or process, that device or process is infringing.

The "bargain" theory is a theoretical justification for patents. What does it argue?

In exchange for inventing something useful, society gives the inventor the exclusive right to his invention for a limited time.

A copyright gives authors, artists, dramatists, architects, and other artistic creators the exclusive right to control what?

How their work is published, reproduced, performed, or displayed.

What is often the most serious damage that a court can impose upon an infringer?

Injunctive relief barring further sales of the infringer's products.

How was America's emphasis on widespread public access to learning evident in the concept of "Fair Use" developed by Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story?

It allowed others to use a limited portion of a copyrighted work so long as it served the public interest.

In addition to the $7.3 million jury award, why was the Thicke and Williams copyright infringement case considered to be so significant within the music industry?

It challenged the growing practice in music of incorporating elements, features, themes and even the "feel" and "mood" of the work of other artists and genres.

What did the 1709 Statute of Anne do to copyright practices?

It enabled anyone to get a copyright lasting 14 years with the right to renew.

Why was the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998 so controversial.

It extended copyright an additional 20 years to the life of the author plus 70 years.

Sometimes the copyright owner's most important remedy for infringement will be an injunction. Why?

It immediately stops the infringer from continuing to make money from work that infringes your copyright.

Why is computer software eligible for copyright?

It is considered to be a literary work, which the courts define as a work expressed in words, numbers or other symbols that is creatively compiled.

What is the "first-sale" doctrine?

It terminates your distribution rights after you (or your publisher) sells your work to a bookstore, art gallery, etc.

Can you patent an idea for a better mousetrap?

No, you can't patent a mere idea. But yes, so long as you develop the idea into a new, non-obvious and useful machine, manufacture, process or composition of matter that can actually catch mice.

Of the three criteria for patenting, which is the most difficult to surmount?

Non-obviousness.

To qualify for a patent, an invention must be which of the following?

Novel. Non-obvious. Useful.

When is a work considered copyrighted?

Once it is expressed in a tangible form that allows it to be seen or copied.

Which of the following alternative forms of copyright never allow users to change, modify or re-use original content?

Open access.

What are design patents granted for?

Ornamental designs for items of manufacture, like the fabric design of a chair.

Which of the following was NOT a unique feature of the U.S. patent system?

Patentees were required to make or sell products based on their inventions.

Fair use allows for the copying and use of copyrighted material for but one of the following specific purposes. Which one does it NOT cover.

Political organizing.

At the time of America's first copyright laws, publications in America were mostly focused on which of the following?

Practical guides, newspapers and almanacs.

Which of the following does a patent give an inventor the exclusive right to?

Prevent others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling the invention.

Initially, to whom were copyrights given:

Printers and publishers.

In a "first office action," the examiner usually does which of the following?

Rejects some claims and/or requests further information.

What's the standard for proving willful infringement, leading to enhanced damages?

Selling a product despite an objectively-high likelihood that it infringed a valid patent and that this risk was known or should have been known to the infringer."

Historically speaking, patent litigation has served to which of the following?

Settle disputed rights to new technology so commercialization can proceed.

If you think multiple parties are infringing, the best strategy is usually to do what?

Sue them all simultaneously, and let them sort out their differences.

Who is responsible for enforcing a patent?

The Patentee holding the patent.

On December 16, 2015, the Copyright Royalty Board changed the royalty rates paid by music services like Pandora. What change was made?

The board raised the rate to 17 cents per 100 songs played.

What is the main disadvantage of a provisional patent application?

The claims in a later non-provisional application must be completely consistent with the early description contained in the provisional application.

What is the most critical part of a patent application that determines both the inventor's rights and an infringer's liability?

The claims.

Which of the following illustrates the "doctrine of equivalents"?

a) If a device performs substantially the same function in substantially the same way as your patent claim, infringement exists if any differences are insignificant. b) A patent calling for an "adhesive" connection (describing glue as the preferred adhesive) may be infringed by a device using a Velcro® fastener.

What is the so-called "Alice paradox"?

The highest-value new software products and services are also hardest to patent.

Plaintiffs

The ones holding the patent being infringed on

Patent owners have what rights under the law?

The right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, selling, or importing the invention covered by the patent throughout the United States.

As an alternative to litigation, mediation is different from arbitration in what way?

a) Mediations result in settlements only if both parties agree. b) In arbitrations, the parties are bound by the decision of the arbitrator.

Given America's more utilitarian focus in publishing, what was the emphasis placed in the drafting of our first copyright laws?

To ensure widespread public access to knowledge and information.

What is the purpose of the intellectual property right we call a trademark.

To indicate the origin of goods or services.

The Founding Fathers created the U.S. patent system with which overarching goal in mind?

To rapidly stimulate the growth of domestic industry.

The Statute of Monopolies in 1624 ended the practice of granting patents for which of the following?

Trade in staples such as salt or soap rather than for actual inventions.

Responsibility for legally enforcing patents rests with which of the following bodies?

U.S. federal courts.

What is NOT true of the U.S. patent system?

You can't infringe a patent if you honestly don't know that it exists.

Which was NOT one of the Supreme Court's "software-eligibility trilogy" of cases?

Williams & Wilkins v. United States.

To meet the requirement for utility, which of the following must an invention do?

Work or function as intended.

Should you alert an infringer beforehand that you intend to file suit?

Yes, but only if you file suit simultaneously or shortly afterwards.

Explain the difference between ideas and their expression under copyright law.

You cannot copyright an idea for a space opera, but you can copyright Star Wars — the original expression of a space opera idea put to paper or film.

What role does discovery play in an infringement case?

a) Through production of documents and interrogatories, either side may discover information that may be decisive in confirming or rebutting infringement claims. b) Discovery is often an endless fishing expedition that escalates the costs to both parties exponentially