Legal Environment of Business Ch. 14 & 15

Internet Service Provider (ISP)

A business or organization that offers users access to the Internet and related services.

Trademark

A distinctive mark, motto, device, or implement that a manufacturer stamps, prints, or otherwise affixes to the goods it produces so that they may be identified on the market and their origins made known; once this is established (under the common law or through registration), the owner is entitled to its exclusive use.

Typo-squatting

A form of cyber-squatting that relies on mistakes, such as typographical errors, made by Internet users when inputting information into a Web Browser.

Patent

A government grant that gives an investor the exclusive right or privilege to make, use, or sell his or her invention for a limited time period; usually refers to some invention and designates either the instrument by which patent rights are evidence or the patent itself.

Collective Mark

A mark used by members of a cooperative, association, or other organization to certify the region, materials, mode of manufacture, quality, or accuracy of the specific goods or services. Examples include the labor union marks found on tags of certain products and the credits of movies, which indicate the various associations and organizations that participated in the making of the movies.

Certification Mark

A mark used by one or more persons, other than the owner, to certify the region, materials, mode of manufacture, quality, or accuracy of the owner's goods and services. When used by members of a cooperative, association, or other organization, such a mark is referred to as a collective mark. Examples include the "Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval" and "UL Tested".

Service Mark

A mark used in the sale or the advertising of services, such as to distinguish the services of one person from the services of others. Titles, character names, and other distinctive features of radio and television programs may be registered as this mark.

Distributed Network

A network that can be used by persons located (distributed) around the country or the globe to share computer files.

Trade Name

A term that is used to indicate part or all of a business's name and that is directly related to the business's reputation and goodwill; protected under common law (and under trademark law, if the name is the same as the firm's trademark.

Cyber Tort

A tort committed via the Internet.

Stefano transfers copyrighted music recordings, without the copyright owners' authorization, to his friends. This is... A. copyright infringement B. A license C. A safe harbor D. none of the choices

A. copyright infringement.

Members of limited liability companies are shielded from personal liability in many situations. A. true B. false

A. true

Fed U.S. Safe Web Act

Allows FTC to cooperate & share info w/ foreign agencies in investigating/prosecuting those spamming, spreading spyware, & committing Internet fraud & deception; Provides safe harbor for ISPs, protecting them from liability for supplying info to the FTC re: possible unfair or deceptive trade practices in foreign jrds.

The first person to invent a product obtains the patent rights rather than the first person to file an application for a patent. A. True B. False

B. False

Jack is a partner in Chattanooga Shoes. In the majority of states, with respect to any partnership obligations that he does not participate in, know about, or ratify, Jack would be liable for... A. none of the obligations B. all of the obligations, jointly and severally. C. all obligations, jointly but not severally. D. only the contractual obligations.

B. all of the obligations, jointly and severally.

A sole proprietor does not own the entire business. A. true B. false

B. false

Dissociation normally entitles the partner to buy his or her interest from the partnership. A. true B. false

B. false

In a limited partnership, a limited partner has full responsibility for the partnership and for all its debts. A. true B. false

B. false

Shareholders own the corporation, and they have legal title to corporate property. A. true B. false

B. false

John is the sole proprietorship of Hello Morning. As a sole proprietor, he pays the following on the business profits: A. no income taxes B. only personal income taxes C. only business income taxes D. both personal and business income taxes

B. only personal income taxes.

Spam

Bulk, unsolicited (junk) e-mail.

Inkspot LLC's members include Jack, Jill, and others. For purposes of suing and being sued, Inkspot is ... A. an aggregate of Jack, Jill, and others members B. a natural person in the members' "family" C. a legal entity apart from the owners D. a non-participating third party

C. a legal entity apart from the owners.

Eloise is a director for both City Market LLC & Food Producers, Inc. When the board of City Market considers entering into a contract with Food Producers, Eloise must... A. resign from one of the boards B. resign from both boards C. make a full disclosure of any conflict of interest D. use her best business judgement in voting on the proposed deal

C. make a full disclosure of any conflict of interest.

Kelly develops a video game but does not register the work with the appropriate government office. Under federal law, Kelly's work is... A. protected as a service mark B. Protected by patent law for twenty years C. Protected by copyright law for life of the author plus seventy years D. not protected

C. protected by copyright law for life of the author plus seventy years.

Types of Trademarks:

Coined terms Arbitrary or Fanciful Suggestive Descriptive Generic

Other types of Intellectual property:

Covenants not to compete trade dress rights of publicity

Unless indicated otherwise in its federal tax form, a limited liability company will be taxed as... A. a cooperative B. a corporation C. a joint venture D. a partnership

D. a partnership.

Joan and June are limited partners in Physicians Medical Center, a limited partnership. In terms of the firm's books and information regarding partnership business, Joan and June are entitled to... A. access in proportion to their participation in management of the firm B. access to the parts that directly relate to their capital contributions C. no access D. complete access

D. complete access.

Plant Patent

Distinct and new variety of plant-asexually produced.

Goodwill

In the business context, the valuable reputation of a business viewed as an intangible asset.

License

In the context of intellectual property, a contract permitting the use of a trademark, copyright, patent, or trade secret for certain purposes. In the context of real property, a revocable right or privilege of a person to come on another person's land.

Trade Secret

Information or a process that gives a business an advantage over competitors who do not know the information or process.

Cookie

Invisible files that computers, smartphones, and other mobile devices create to track a user's Web browsing activities.

Fed CAN-SPAM Act

Permits sending of unsolicited commercial email but prohibits certain activities such as using false return addresses, conveying misleading or deceptive information, "dictionary attacks" (sent to randomly generated addresses), & harvesting of email addresses from websites.

Intellectual Property

Property resulting from intellectual, creative processes. Patents, trademarks, and copyrights are examples.

Cybersquatting

The act of registering a domain name that is the same as, or confusingly similar to, the trademark of another and then offering to sell that domain name back to the trademark owner.

Cloud Computing

The delivery of users of on-demand services from third-party servers over a network; a delivery model; Most widely used of these services are Software as a Service (SaaS), which offers companies a cheaper way to buy and use packaged applications that are no longer run on servers in house.

Copyright

The exclusive right of authors to publish, print, or sell an intellectual production for a statutory period of time; has the same monopolistic nature as a patent or trademark, but it differs in that it applies exclusively to works of art, literature, and other works of authorship, including computer programs.

Trade Dress

The image and overall appearance of a product-for example, the distinctive decor, menu, layout, and style of service of a particular restaurant. ; subject to same protection as trademarks.

Social Media

The means by which people can create, share, and exchange ideas and comments via the Internet.

Domain Name

The series of letters and symbols used to identify site operators on the Internet; Internet addresses.

Peer-to-peer (P2P) Networking

The sharing of resources (such as files, hard drives, and processing styles) among multiple computers without necessarily requiring a central or the patent itself.

Major Types of Intellectual Property:

Trade Secrets Patents Copyrights Trademarks Service Marks

Types of Patents:

Utility Design Plant

Trademark Infringement

Whenever a trademark is copied to s substantial degree or used in its entirety by another, intentionally, or unintentionally; used without authorization.

Dilution

With respect to trademarks, a doctrine under which distinctive or famous trademarks are protected from certain unauthorized uses of the marks regardless of a showing of competition or a likelihood of confusion. Congress created a federal cause of action for this in 1995 with the passage of the Federal Trademark Dilution Act.

Trademark Dilution

is a trademark law concept giving the owner of a famous trademark standing to forbid others from using that mark in a way that lessens its uniqueness; only applies to famous marks.

Utility Patent

new and useful; generally how something works.

Design Patent

new, original & ornamental design for article of manufacture; generally how it looks.