Question 1

The Lanham Act (also known as the Trademark Act) defines the use of a trademark, the process for obtaining a trademark, and the penalties associated with trademark infringement.

Accepted Answer

The statement is true. The Lanham Act is a federal statute that governs trademarks in the United States. It provides regulations for the registration, use, and infringement of a trademark.

Question 2

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty of 1996 eliminated many of the original copyright protections for electronic media.

Accepted Answer

The WIPO Copyright Treaty of 1996 actually strengthened copyright protections for electronic media. It was created to address the challenges posed by digital technology to traditional copyright laws.

Question 3

The Fair Use Doctrine is a defense often employed by the defendant in trademark infringement cases.

Accepted Answer

The Fair Use Doctrine is a defense often employed in copyright infringement cases, not trademark infringement cases.

Question 4

Defining and controlling the appropriate level of access to intellectual property are complex tasks.

Accepted Answer

This statement is true. Intellectual property can include various forms such as patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets. Each type of intellectual property may require different levels of access control and protection, making it complex to define and manage. Additionally, intellectual property rights may vary depending on jurisdiction, further complicating the task of controlling access to this type of property.

Question 5

Two software manufacturers could conceivably develop separate programs that perform the same functions in a
nearly identical manner without infringing each other's copyrights.

Accepted Answer

As long as the two software manufacturers independently develop their programs without copying code or design elements from each other, they have not infringed each other's copyrights. However, if one program is a direct copy or contains significant elements of the other program, it could be considered infringement.

Question 6

Software, video games, multimedia works, and Web pages can all be copyrighted.

Accepted Answer

Copyright protection can be applied to various forms of creative works, including software, video games, multimedia works, and Web pages.

Question 7

Copyright law protects authored works such as art, books, and film.

Accepted Answer

Copyright law does protect authored works such as art, books, and film.

Question 8

The World Trade Organization (WTO) developed the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights to establish the minimum levels of protection that each government must provide to the intellectual property of all WTO members.

Accepted Answer

The statement is true. The Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) was established by the World Trade Organization (WTO) to set the minimum standards of protection for intellectual property of all WTO members.

Question 9

A copyright is the exclusive right to distribute, display, perform, or reproduce an original work in copies or to prepare derivative works based on the work.

Accepted Answer

This is a correct definition of copyright.

Question 10

The Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property (PRO-IP) Act of 2008 increased trademark and copyright enforcement and substantially increased penalties for infringement.

Accepted Answer

The Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property (PRO-IP) Act of 2008 is designed to increase trademark and copyright enforcement and to enhance penalties for infringement.

Question 11

Copyright infringement is the act of stealing someone's ideas or words and passing them off as one's own.

Accepted Answer

Copyright infringement involves using someone's copyrighted work without permission, not necessarily stealing ideas or words, which could be more accurately described as plagiarism.

Question 12

Formulas, inventions, and processes are not considered forms of intellectual property.

Accepted Answer

Formulas, inventions, and processes are considered forms of intellectual property and can be protected through patents.

Question 13

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) was signed into law in 1998 and implements two 1996 WIPO treaties.

Accepted Answer

The DMCA was signed into law in 1998 and implements two WIPO treaties from 1996 - the WIPO Copyright Treaty and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty.

Question 14

Industrial espionage and competitive intelligence are essentially the same.

Accepted Answer

While both involve gathering information about a competitor, industrial espionage typically involves illegal or unethical methods such as theft, blackmail, or sabotage. Competitive intelligence, on the other hand, uses legal and ethical methods such as analyzing public information or conducting surveys to gain insights into a competitor's strategy.

Question 15

A trademark is business information that represents something of economic value, has required effort or cost to develop, has some degree of uniqueness or novelty, is generally unknown to the public, and is kept confidential.

Accepted Answer

A trademark is a recognizable sign, design, or expression which identifies products or services of a particular source from those of others, rather than business information that is kept confidential. The description provided fits more closely with the definition of trade secrets.

Question 16

Cross-licensing agreements between organizations allow each party to sue the other over patent infringements.

Accepted Answer

Cross-licensing agreements generally involve companies agreeing not to sue each other for patent infringement, or allowing each other to use specific patented technologies. Therefore, such agreements typically do not include provisions that allow each party to sue the other over patent infringements.

Question 17

A trademark permits its owner to exclude the public from making, using, or selling a protected invention, and allows for legal action against violators.

Accepted Answer

The statement describes a patent, not a trademark. A trademark pertains to a word, phrase, symbol, or design that identifies and distinguishes the source of a product or service. Trademarks can help prevent confusion among consumers and protect the reputation of a brand, but they do not provide the same level of exclusive rights as a patent.

Question 18

The fair use doctrine denies portions of patented materials to be used without permission under any circumstance.

Accepted Answer

The fair use doctrine applies to copyrighted material, not patented materials.

Question 19

The term of copyright has been extended several times from its original limit of 25 years to 35 years.

Accepted Answer

The original copyright term in the United States, as established in the Copyright Act of 1790, was 14 years with the possibility of renewing for another 14 years, totaling 28 years. Over the years, copyright terms have been extended multiple times, but not from 25 to 35 years. The most recent significant change was the Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998, which extended the term to the life of the author plus 70 years for individual works, and for works made for hire, anonymous and pseudonymous works, it is 95 years from publication or 120 years from creation, whichever is shorter.

Question 20

The main body of law that governs patents is contained in Title 35 of the U.S. Code.

Accepted Answer

Title 35 of the U.S. Code contains the majority of federal patent law in the United States.

Quiz 6: Intellectual Property