Deck 8: Patents

Question 1

A study by Edwin Mansfield showed that, on average, one-third of new products can be imitated in six months or less.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

It is illegal to hire employees from one company as a way to learn what they know about your products and processes.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

A utility patent is a government-granted monopoly that precludes other form using an invention for 15 years in exchange for the inventor's disclosure about how the invention works.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Because they are not embodied in physical form, most services are difficult to patent.

Question 5

You cannot patent laws of nature or any substances that appear naturally such as chemical element.

Question 6

In order for the USPTO to view an invention as useful, it has to have commercial value.

Question 7

The United States awards patents to the first party to invent something, not to the first inventor to file for a patent.

Question 8

In some cases, showing an invention to your friends might constitute public disclosure and negate your chances of receiving a patent.

Question 9

Due to the expansion of what is patentable, the process of getting a patent is more efficient than it used to be.

Question 10

A design patent is given only for engineered plants that are reproduced asexually.

Question 11

The specification of a patent identifies a particular feature or combination of features that are protected by the patent.

Question 12

Patents with very broad claims are often more difficult for the patent holder to enforce.

Question 13

If an examiner disallows an initial patent application, the inventor can ask the Board of Examiners to consider the issue

Question 14

Only inventors can apply for, and be awarded patents.

Question 15

Building a picket fence of patents is the process of keeping an inventor from using his or her invention by patenting around it.

Question 16

Patent infringement occurs if another invention does substantially the same thing, in the same way with the same result as a patented invention.

Question 17

If a patent infringement is deemed to be willful, the court will impose triple damages.

Question 18

Patent trolls are start-up companies whose business model is to buy up patents and seek royalties through licensing.

Question 19

Under certain circumstances, patents can be an important barrier to imitation and a powerful mechanism to capture the return to innovation.

Question 20

Blocking others is the main reason given by companies why they patent their inventions.

Question 21

Sometimes other firms can invent around someone else's patent by coming up with something that accomplishes the same goal as the patented invention without violating the claims of the patent.

Question 22

Patents tend to be more effective in industries in which the core technology is mechanical or electrical and less effective in industries in which the core technology is biological or chemical.

Question 23

The study completed by Richard Levin and his colleagues showed that, about half the time the average unpatented new product can be duplicated at what percent of the cost of the original development?

A) around 90 percent
B) around 75 percent
C) around 60 percent
D) around 50 percent

Question 24

Which of the following is a typical way companies can figure out how to imitate your new product?

A) reverse engineering
B) hiring your employees
C) looking at public documents
D) all of these can be used

Question 25

How long do utility patents protect an invention?

A) 7 years
B) 10 years
C) 20 years
D) 25 years

Question 26

When were patents first used?

A) 1200s
B) 1800s
C) 1900s
D) 1950s

Question 27

Which article of the Constitution of the U.S. protects the right of citizens to apply for patents?

A) Article 1
B) Article 3
C) Article 13
D) Article 21

Question 28

What has happened to the number of patents granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office since 1983?

A) decreased by 5.7 percent
B) increased by 5.7 percent
C) decreased by 12.5 percent
D) increased by 12.5 percent

Question 29

Approximately how many patent applications are made to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office each year?

A) 50,000
B) 200,000
C) 350,000
D) 500,000

Question 30

Approximately how many patents are awarded each year?

A) 50,000
B) 200,000
C) 350,000
D) 500,000

Question 31

Approximately how much is spent each year to obtain U.S. patents?

A) less than $2 million
B) around $5 million
C) around $1 billion
D) over $5 billion

Question 32

Approximately what percentage of patent applications get awarded?

A) less than 20 percent
B) around 40 percent
C) around 60 percent
D) over 75 percent

Question 33

Which of the following cannot be patented?

A) mechanisms for exploiting ideas
B) services
C) laws of nature
D) none of these can be patented

Question 34

You can't get a utility patent for new or improved products and process for which of the following things?

A) a chemical reaction
B) a machine
C) an article of manufacture
D) laws of nature

Question 35

What is required for a patent to be granted?

A) it must be novel
B) it must be obvious
C) it must be of commercial value
D) all of the above are required

Question 36

Why was J.M. Smucker Co. patent application for its method of applying filling to its Uncrustables sandwich denied?

A) it wasn't novel
B) it wasn't unobvious
C) it wasn't useful
D) for all of these reasons

Question 37

The first-to-invent rule applies to which situation?

A) patents are awarded to the first inventor to file for a patent
B) patents are awarded to the first party to invent something
C) patents are awarded to the first inventor to file once commercial value of something is demonstrated
D) patents are warded to the first party to demonstrate the commercial value of something

Question 38

What need to be done to preserve nondisclosure of a patent application?

A) the product can not be advertised
B) the product can not be included in a press release
C) showing your invention to a friend
D) all of the above would violate nondisclosure

Question 39

Which of the following can be patented?

A) genetically engineered mice
B) human genetic sequences
C) mathematical formulas applied to a structure
D) all of the above can be patented

Question 40

What has occurred because of the expansion in what is patentable?

A) the expansion into genetically engineered organisms has raised questions about whether patents block follow-on research
B) the process of getting a patent has become more efficient
C) there has been a decrease in the amount of overlapping patents
D) the expansion into business method patents has reduced questions about the degree to which innovation is being hindered by property rights

Question 41

Which type of patent protects the appearance of a product?

A) utility patent
B) design patent
C) plant patent
D) the appearance of a product can not be patented

Question 42

Which type of patent protects engineered plants that are reproduced asexually?

A) utility patent
B) design patent
C) plant patent
D) engineered plants cannot be patented

Question 43

Which type of patent would be used to patent the idea of fast-food restaurant drive-through window?

A) utility patent
B) design patent
C) plant patent
D) the idea cannot be patented

Question 44

Which part of a patent describes how the invention works?

A) design
B) thicket
C) specification
D) set of claims

Question 45

Which part of a patent includes statements that identify a particular feature or combination of features that are protected by the patent?

A) design
B) thicket
C) specification
D) set of claims

Question 46

What type of patent is a basic patent in a technical areas on which a wide range of inventions are built?

A) utility patent
B) design patent
C) pioneering patent
D) plant patent

Question 47

What type of patent did NEC receive for its carbon nanotubes which are being used for fuel cell batteries in notebook computers, transistors, wide-screen televisions, and sensors?

A) utility patent
B) pioneering patent
C) design patent
D) plant patent

Question 48

Which type of patent has the lowest possible number of claims that can be filed?

A) utility patent
B) design patent
C) pioneering patent
D) all types of patents have the same number of eligible claims

Question 49

What is the first step an inventor has if a patent examiner denies a claim?

A) file a response to the examiner and have the response evaluated
B) appeal to the Board of Patent Appeals for a conference with a senior patent examiner
C) ask the Board of Examiners to consider the issue
D) the inventor doesn't have any recourse

Question 50

What are the set of patents that are obtained to offer protection around a core invention called?

A) patent trolls
B) pioneering patents
C) picket fences
D) bracketing

Question 51

What was Gillette engaged in when they obtained 22 different patents to protect the Sensor razor, including patents on the blades, the handle design, and the packaging container?

A) using patent trolls
B) developing a pioneering patent
C) building a picket fence
D) using bracketing

Question 52

What is the process of keeping an inventor from using his or her invention by patenting around it called?

A) patent trolling
B) pioneer patenting
C) picket fences building
D) bracketing

Question 53

What would you be doing if one of your competitors invented a filament for a new higher intensity light and you patented ancillary inventions, such as a new bulb, new housing, new connections, and a new shade with the intention of keeping your competitor from using their new invention?

A) patent trolling
B) pioneer patenting
C) picket fence building
D) bracketing

Question 54

What is it called with someone to whom you have not licensed your invention makes, uses, sells, or imports something covered by the claims or your patent?

A) infringement
B) patent trolling
C) bracketing
D) picket fence building

Question 55

What would it be called if you created a new bicycle wheel that was a different size than a patented wheel but performed the same function in a similar manner to the patented wheel?

A) injunction
B) infringement
C) bracketing
D) patent trolling

Question 56

What would it be called if you created a fuel cell powered car that performed basically the same function as an internal combustion engine?

A) committing an product that could be subject to injunction
B) infringing on a the previous patent
C) creating a bracket around a previous patent
D) developing a product eligible for a utility patent

Question 57

Under what circumstance can a patent be declared invalid?

A) if the invention is deemed obvious to people trained in the relevant technical art
B) if the patent holder is shown to have publicly disclosed the patent application
C) if the patent holder sold the invention more than one year before filing the patent application
D) the patent would be invalid under all of these conditions

Question 58

If an infringement is determined to be not deliberate, the penalty is typically:

A) an amount equal to what would have been paid if the product had been licensed
B) twice the amount of what would have been paid if the product had been licensed
C) three times the amount of what would have been paid if the product had been licensed
D) ten times the amount of what would have been paid if the product had been licensed

Question 59

If an infringement is determined to be willful, the penalty is typically:

A) an amount equal to what would have been paid if the product had been licensed
B) twice the amount of what would have been paid if the product had been licensed
C) three times the amount of what would have been paid if the product had been licensed
D) ten times the amount of what would have been paid if the product had been licensed

Question 60

What would you call it if a start-up company's business model was to buy up patents and seek royalties through licensing the patents?

A) pioneer patenting
B) patent trolling
C) picket fencing
D) patent infringing

Question 61

What is the main strategy of a patent troll?

A) litigation
B) bankruptcy
C) bracketing
D) building picket fences

Question 62

Which of the following is not an advantage of patenting?

A) legal protection
B) nondisclosure
C) barrier to imitation
D) value chain leverage

Question 63

What advantage of patenting is a result of a patent being a verifiable source of competitive advantage?

A) value chain leverage
B) raising funds
C) markets for knowledge
D) legal protection

Question 64

What was given as the top reason given by companies for patenting?

A) blocking others
B) preventing lawsuits
C) licensing
D) preventing copying

Question 65

Of the following, what reason did companies give as the least important for patenting?

A) blocking others
B) preventing lawsuits
C) licensing
D) preventing copying

Question 66

If a firm comes up with something that accomplishes the same goal as a patented invention without violating the claims of the patent, they are said to be:

A) inventing around
B) bracketing
C) licensing
D) picket fencing

Question 67

What is not a disadvantage associated with patenting?

A) not always effective at deterring imitation
B) facilitates markets for knowledge
C) disclosure not always work the 20-year monopoly
D) sometimes cannot be enforced

Question 68

Which industry enjoys the greatest effectiveness of product patents?

A) organic chemicals
B) inorganic chemicals
C) aircraft and parts
D) drugs

Question 69

Which industry has the lowest effectiveness when it comes product patents?

A) organic chemicals
B) inorganic chemicals
C) aircraft and parts
D) drugs

Question 70

Explain why intellectual property protection is important for companies.

Question 71

Define a patent and describe what is patentable and what is not.

Question 72

Discuss what is required in order for a patent application to be deemed novel, nonobvious, and useful.

Question 73

Describe the various parts of a patent and explain what they protect.

Question 74

Describe how to effectively use patents. Specifically discuss how picket fences, brackets, litigation, and patent trolls can be used effectively

Question 75

Explain the advantages and disadvantages of patenting.

Question 76

Explain why the effectiveness of patents varies by industry.