Deck 33: The Intersection of Law and Science

Question 1

Until recently, a business system was also considered unpatentable because it was not a "process, machine, manufacturer, or composition of matter."

Answer 1

True
Explanation: The decision involved a computer system for analyzing information about a group of mutual funds that was declared patentable by a federal court. The decision culminated in a slow erosion of the business systems category of unpatentable subjects. Even so, a computerized business system must still consist of some nonobvious, new, and useful feature not known or understood before the invention of this system. It must also be so specific that people who are educated and experienced in the field can recreate the system on their own.

Question 2

In the "obvious-to-try" standard, if a challenger can show that anyone of ordinary skill can show the obviousness of the innovation, the invention would not be patentable.

Answer 2

True
Explanation: The Supreme Court recently reintroduced a variation on the TSM test called the obvious-to-try standard, a test that had been outlawed by previous precedent. Under the newly reinstated obvious-to-try standard, if the challenger can demonstrate that anyone of ordinary skill could see that it would have been obvious to try such an innovation, the innovation would be labeled as obvious, and the invention would not be patentable.

Question 3

NIOs with entity status are completely dependent upon the nation states that make up their membership.

Answer 3

False
Explanation: NIOs with entity status act independently because they are not at the mercy of the member states.

Question 4

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is responsible for making certain that, on a global basis, nuclear energy is used only for peaceful purposes.

Question 5

In the Opening Case regarding the Ebola outbreak, the plaintiff claimed the hospital did not provide her proper care.

Question 6

The general welfare clause has been used over the last two centuries to give Congress the power to create a national police force and the FBI.

Question 7

Police power is the state's authority to promote public health, safety, welfare, and morals.

Question 8

The No Electronic Theft Act (NET Act) refers to a federal law that makes it illegal to use technological means to bypass or override programs designed to prevent access to a copyrighted work.

Question 9

Statutory law regulates the social system by telling people what they can and cannot do.

Question 10

"Hard Power" is waged at the emotional and psychological level.

Question 11

A copyright protects the idea itself rather than the expression of an idea.

Question 12

The national science court would have exclusive jurisdiction over issues involving scientific, engineering, medical, and technological cases.

Question 13

The UNEP, which has its central offices in Bangladesh, was the first UN institution located in a developing nation-state.

Question 14

A trade secret agreement occurs when the producer of a product allows a purchaser to use the product only if the purchaser agrees to respect the producer's desire for secrecy.

Question 15

The government can interfere in a woman's right to have her child if it has a compelling interest to do so.

Question 16

International power depends upon the type of international institution that is charged with oversight responsibilities.

Question 17

The Copenhagen Accord actually operates outside the jurisdiction of the United Nations.

Question 18

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) granted limited immunity to persons who duplicate copyrighted works on the Internet, as long as those users do not profit from the copying process.

Question 19

Computer programs are expressly excluded from the Copyright Act of 1980.

Question 20

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is a private agency, funded primarily by private companies and universities.

Question 21

Permits issued under the Clean Water Act relate to the:

A) use of river water for agricultural purposes.
B) use of potable water for industrial purposes.
C) use of water by industries beyond permissible limits.
D) release of pollutants into the waterways within legal limits.

Question 22

The three issues that author Robert Heilbroner thought would challenge the existence of the human race are: (1) ____________, (2) the challenge of uncontrolled population growth, and (3) the destruction of the environment.

A) terrorism
B) nuclear war
C) incurable communicable diseases
D) death of the sun

Question 23

Which of the following statements holds true for a patent?

A) A patent application cannot be accessed by the general public.
B) A patent expires at the end of a 20-year period.
C) A patent is subject to "first-to-invent" patent process, rather than the "first-to-file" process.
D) A patent is a process used in a business and disclosed only to those employees who need to know it to do their jobs.

Question 24

The primary job of the Chief Technology Officer of the United States is to:

A) build an integrated technology policy especially designed to meet the needs of the national government.
B) support scientific research, to stimulate the national economy, and to safeguard national security.
C) conduct research into all aspects of human life and health and to apply that understanding to cure illnesses, to alleviate disabilities, and to lengthen human life.
D) coordinate advances in technology that will help improve the American economy.

Question 25

In the Opening Case, the plaintiff-nurse alleged the defendant-hospital did (did not) do all of the following except:

A) did not properly train the nurse for the task of dealing with such cases.
B) did not provide her with proper protective gear.
C) did not train her in the gear she was given, inadequate though it was.
D) provide her with effective assistance of counsel.

Question 26

The ____________ is responsible for regulating the transportation and the wholesale price of natural gas and electricity sold for use in interstate commerce.

A) National Transportation Safety Board
B) Federal Trade Commission
C) Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
D) Federal Communications Commission

Question 27

In the case of ____________, the United States Supreme Court decided that it was possible to define and patent a life-form.

A) Diamond v. United States
B) Diamond v. Chakrabarty
C) Roe v. Wade
D) Carey v. Population Services International

Question 28

The ____________ clause has been interpreted to mean that the Supreme Court has the legal authority to short-circuit any state statute that contradicts the U.S. Constitution.

A) necessary and proper
B) general welfare
C) commerce
D) supremacy

Question 29

____________ is aimed at understanding the laws of nature and the principles of the physical universe without any practical goals in mind.

A) Pure research
B) Juriscience
C) The motivation test
D) Applied research

Question 30

The ____________ clause of the U.S. Constitution reads that Congress is empowered to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises, and to pay the debts of the United States.

A) necessary and proper
B) general welfare
C) commerce
D) supremacy

Question 31

A ____________ is a property right granted by the federal government to an inventor.

A) patent
B) copyright
C) royalty
D) trademark

Question 32

A ____________ is a symbol, picture, image, name, device, color, or word that a business uses to distinguish itself from its competitors.

A) patent
B) copyright
C) royalty
D) trademark

Question 33

NIOs that are completely dependent upon their member nations and would be unable to do anything without their support are referred to as:

A) entity level NIOs.
B) semi-autonomous NIOs.
C) aggregate NIOs.
D) trans-national NIOs.

Question 34

A ____________ is an intangible property right granted to authors of musical compositions, while a ____________ gives a person the exclusive right to sell an invention.

A) copyright; trade secret
B) copyright; patent
C) patent; trade secret
D) trademark; patent

Question 35

In Classic Case #2, the Venter Institute filed patent #US 2007 0264688 with the U.S. Patent Office in an attempt to patent synthetic life because Venter had produced a self-replicating ____________ completely under the control of a synthetic genome.

A) patent
B) copyright
C) amoeba cell
D) bacterial cell

Question 36

The World Intellectual Property Organization Copyright Treaty:

A) gives copyright holders the right to copy, publish, and distribute their works in any way, including by making video copies, audio copies, and encrypted copies.
B) makes it illegal to use technological means to bypass or override programs designed to prevent access to a copyrighted work.
C) guarantees that copyright holders will be allowed to use the Internet to post their works with full copyright protection.
D) grants limited immunity to persons who duplicate copyrighted works on the Internet, as long as those users do not profit from the copying process.

Question 37

In 1998, President Clinton signed the ____________, which called for the primary industrial nations to reduce carbon dioxide emissions below levels recorded in 1900.

A) United Nations Framework Conference on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
B) Copenhagen Protocol
C) Kyoto Protocol
D) Agenda 21

Question 38

The clause that gives the most power to Congress in Article I of the U.S. Constitution is the ____________ clause, which has been used over the last two centuries to empower Congress to regulate science and technology.

A) commerce
B) equal protection
C) due process
D) necessary and proper

Question 39

____________ refers to all relevant technical knowledge about the field to which the invention belongs.

A) Patent watch
B) Trade secret
C) Priority right
D) Prior art

Question 40

The NSF was created to:

A) conduct research into all aspects of human life and health and to apply that understanding to cure illnesses, to alleviate disabilities, and to lengthen human life.
B) support scientific research, to stimulate the national economy, and to safeguard national security.
C) coordinate advances in technology and engineering as they relate to the practical jobs of improving the American economy.
D) build an integrated technology policy especially designed to meet the needs of the national government.

Question 41

Lashkar-e-Taiba is one of the largest and most active, militant Islamist terrorist organizations in South Asia, operating mainly from Pakistan. The organization is banned as a terrorist organization by India, Pakistan, the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union. Lashkar-e Taiba has attacked civilian and military targets in India, most notably the 2008 Mumbai attacks and the 2001 Indian Parliament attack. While discussing the exercise of international power by nongovernmental international organizations (NIOs), how does one categorize Lashkar-e-Taiba?

Question 42

The Three Mile Island accident was a core meltdown in Unit2 (a pressurized water reactor) of the Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania near Harrisburg, United States in 1979. It let large amounts of nuclear reactor coolant escape. Which organization handles such cases and how does it ensure that they are not repeated again?

Question 43

Joan Kilney had a major car accident. She continued to be fed through a surgically-implanted gastrostomy tube for a period of five years. She expressed a wish to end the prolonged agony by taking recourse to the right to die. What difficulties are generally faced by a trial court in such cases and what could be the remedy as has envisaged by several commentators?

Question 44

Kan Lee is a U.S. citizen and an employee of MetLoc systems. He was caught stealing and handing over semiconductors to another individual, who is a citizen of a foreign country. Both individuals were arrested. Which law would be invoked in order to prosecute Kan Lee and what would be the punishment if Kan is convicted?

Question 45

In the past, infant and childhood deaths and short life spans used to limit population growth. In today's world, thanks to improved nutrition, sanitation, and medical care, more babies survive their first few years of life. The combination of a continuing high birth rate and a low death rate is creating a rapid population increase in many countries in Asia, Latin America and Africa. Which organization was formed under the United Nations auspices to deal with the problem of population increase? What are the main functions of this organization?

Question 46

Oil Down is an organization which is exploring the possibility of striking oil in the outskirts of a local county. It strikes oil and transports it with the help of pipelines running through the local creek and river. One day, due to some reason, the oil pipeline ruptures, thereby causing contamination of the local creek and river. Under which act would the organization be liable to the federal government and what would be the punishment accorded to the organization?

Question 47

Sienna runs a restaurant. The barbeque chicken that is served in the restaurant is famous and draws a large crowd. Sienna follows a special process of preparing the chicken. This process is not known to anyone except Sienna and her cook. Does this process of barbequing chicken qualify as a trade secret?

Question 48

Polio cases have decreased by over 99% since 1988, from an estimated 350000 cases then to 1349 reported cases in 2010. The reduction is the result of the global effort to eradicate the disease. In most countries, the global effort has expanded capacities to tackle other infectious diseases by building effective surveillance and immunization systems. Success hinges on financing the next steps of the global eradication initiative. The World Health Organization has played a significant role in meeting such health challenges. How does the WHO accomplish its targets?

Question 49

Hercules Steel Castings Company, Inc. manufactures steel castings. It does not follow the permissible limits with regard to the release of polluting gases in the air. It has also failed to report violations of pollutions control laws to the federal government. Which act does it violate and which agency would have the power to prosecute this organization?

Question 50

John is a mechanical engineer. He has designed a car which uses water rather than fossil fuel to run. Is John's invention eligible to be patented?