Question 1

Copyright of a "work made for hire" runs for the life of the creator of the work plus 50 years.

Accepted Answer

Copyright of a work made for hire runs for 75 years from publication or 100 years from creation, whichever is shorter, after which the work enters the public domain.

Question 2

A copyright is the exclusive right given by federal statutes to the creator of a literary or an artistic work to use, reproduce, and display the work.

Accepted Answer

This is the definition of a copyright.

Question 3

Although processes and machines are eligible for patent protection, manufactures and compositions of matter are not.

Accepted Answer

This statement is incorrect. Manufactures and compositions of matter are indeed eligible for patent protection.

Question 4

Trade dress refers to the packaging look and overall image of a product.

Accepted Answer

Trade dress is the overall appearance of a product, including its packaging, design, and branding, that distinguishes it from other products on the market.

Question 5

All types of patents available under U.S.law are entitled to the same quality and duration of protection once initial filing is perfected with the Patent and Trademark Office in Washington, D.C.

Accepted Answer

Different types of patents, such as utility, design, and plant patents, have varying durations and protections under U.S. law. For example, utility patents generally last for 20 years from the application date, while design patents last for 15 years from the date of grant, and plant patents also last for 20 years from the filing date.

Question 6

To prevail in an action for trade dress infringement, a plaintiff must prove that its trade dress is distinctive and nonfunctional and the defendant's trade dress is confusingly similar to the plaintiff's.

Accepted Answer

This statement accurately reflects the legal requirements for proving trade dress infringement. The plaintiff must establish that its trade dress is both distinctive and nonfunctional, meaning it is not an essential feature of the product or necessary for its use. Additionally, the plaintiff must show that the defendant's trade dress creates a likelihood of confusion with the plaintiff's trade dress, such that consumers are likely to believe that the defendant's product is affiliated with or sponsored by the plaintiff.

Question 7

The Berne Convention requires all works published after March 1, 1989 to contain a notice of copyright.

Accepted Answer

The Berne Convention does not require a notice of copyright for a work to be protected; protection is automatic upon creation of the work.

Question 8

An owner of a copyright may license some of his or her rights to another in exchange for royalty payments.

Accepted Answer

This is true. A copyright owner can agree to license some of their rights to another party in exchange for payment, typically in the form of royalties.

Question 9

Trade dress can be any word, name, symbol, device, or combination of these used to identify a product.

Accepted Answer

Trade dress refers to the visual appearance of a product or its packaging that signifies the source of the product to consumers, including features such as shape, color, graphics, and design, not words, names, symbols, or devices, which are typically protected as trademarks.

Question 10

Cybersquatters are individuals who register and set up domain names on the Internet that are identical or confusingly similar to existing trademarks in the hopes they can sell the name to the trademark owner.

Accepted Answer

This is the definition of cybersquatting.

Question 11

Protection for trade dress is available under the Lanham Act.

Accepted Answer

This statement is true. Trade dress is a type of trademark protection that covers the visual appearance of a product or its packaging. It is governed by the Lanham Act, which also provides protection for other types of trademarks.

Question 12

Descriptive terms such as locations and colors are never subject to trademark protections.

Accepted Answer

Descriptive terms such as locations and colors can sometimes be subject to trademark protections if they have acquired secondary meaning or have been used in a distinctive way to identify a particular brand or product.

Question 13

Once a mark is registered in accordance with federal law, the holder of the mark has the exclusive right to use the mark in perpetuity.

Accepted Answer

While federal registration does provide certain exclusive rights to the holder of a mark, these rights are not necessarily perpetual. In the US, trademarks must be renewed periodically to maintain protection, and they can be invalidated if they become generic or if the owner stops using the mark.

Question 14

A copyright owner may prohibit even limited use of copyrighted material if it is used for parody or criticism.

Accepted Answer

Actually, a copyright owner cannot prohibit the use of copyrighted material for parody or criticism under the fair use doctrine, as long as the use is considered transformative and does not harm the market for the original work. However, there may be certain limitations on the amount and nature of the use allowed.

Question 15

A copyright prevents the copying of an idea.

Accepted Answer

Copyright protects the expression of ideas, such as written works or music, but not the ideas themselves.

Question 16

If other persons are permitted to use a trademark, it will lose its exclusive character and become generic.

Accepted Answer

If a trademark becomes so common that it is used by the public to refer to a category of products or services rather than to identify a specific brand, it is said to have become generic. Allowing others to use a trademark can contribute to this happening, as it can lead to the mark being used in a broader sense by consumers.

Question 17

In order for a work to be copyrightable, it must possess a significant amount of creativity.

Accepted Answer

The answer of In order for a work to be...

Question 18

Trademarks may be used to protect the exclusive right to identify either products or services.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Trademarks may be used to protect the...

Question 19

Trademarks and service marks are recorded with the Register of Copyrights.

Accepted Answer

Trademarks and service marks are recorded with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), not the Register of Copyrights.

Question 20

The Sony Bono Copyright Extension Act of 1998 extended copyright protection to the life of the author plus 50 years.

Accepted Answer

The Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998 extended copyright protection to the life of the author plus 70 years.

Quiz 9: Intellectual Property Rights and the Internet