BLTE-10E PRACTICE QUIZ
CHAPTER 5:
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND INTERNET LAW
1. Intellectual property is defined as:
a. property such as land, that one thinks about purchasing and then does
purchase.
b. property that results from an intellectual, creative process and so is the
product of one's mind.
c. property that necessarily requires the user's mind to be engaged.
d. property that is used only by intellectuals.
ANS:
a. Incorrect. Land is physical, as opposed to intellectual, property.
b. Correct. When you use your mind to create something, such as a poem, a
book, a song, or a computer program, you are creating intellectual
property.
c. Incorrect. This property may or may not require the user's mind be
engaged, but this is not a part of the definition of the property itself.
d. Incorrect. The key issue for intellectual property is not who uses it, but how
it is created.
2. Trademark dilution laws protect against:
a. the unauthorized use of a mark by a competitor only.
b. the unauthorized use of mark regardless of whether the user is a
competitor.
c. the unauthorized use a patent.
d. the authorized use of a trade dress, in some cases.
ANS:
a. Incorrect. Trademark dilution laws protect against the unauthorized use of
a trademark even by non-competitors.
b. Correct. Trademark dilution laws protect marks against unauthorized use
by virtually anyone.
c. Incorrect. These laws do not deal with patents.
d. Incorrect. These laws do not deal with trade dress.
3. If a company that makes laundry detergent calls its product Pommo, the name
"Pommo" would be considered:
a. a trade secret.
b. a secondary meaning.
c. trade dress.
d. a strong mark.
ANS:
a. Incorrect. A trade secret is information a company wants to keep to itself,
whereas a product name is something any shopper can see.
b. Incorrect. A secondary meaning involves descriptive or geographical terms
and/or personal names that become associated with a specific product,
not invented words.
c. Incorrect. Trade dress involves the unique appearance and presentation of
a good or service.
d. Correct. A strong mark is a fanciful, arbitrary, or suggestive trademark. The
made-up name "Pommo" is a fanciful, or strong, mark.
4. Suppose that when you enter an "On the Border" Mexican restaurant, you see
a distinctive interior, a distinctive menu, and a wait staff wearing distinctive
attire. This combination of things creates a unique ambience, known in
legal terms as a:
a. trade name.
b. trade dress.
c. trademark.
d. trade secret.
ANS:
a. Incorrect. A trade name indicates part or all of a business. The words "On
the Border" may be a trade name, but the combination of words and
appearance is something different.
b. Correct. Trade dress consists of the images and overall appearance of a
product.
c. Incorrect. A trademark is a distinctive logo or other mark. The way "On the
Border" looks is something other than a trademark.
d. Incorrect. A trade secret is some information that a business wants to keep
private. "On the Border" does not want to keep its appearance secret or it
would not invite customers to come in.
5. When you cybersquat, you:
a. steal someone's meta tags.
b. register your own unique name as a domain name.
c. register someone else's mark as a domain name, then offer to forfeit the
name for a price.
d. develop a highly prized exercise video that is available for sale only online.
ANS:
a. Incorrect. You do not steal meta tags, you misuse a cybermark.
b. Incorrect. Cybersquatting does not involve your unique name, but rather
the unauthorized use of someone else's mark or name.
c. Correct. This describes cybersquatting.
d. Incorrect. Cybersquatting does not have to do with exercise.
6. Jami invents a new machine that automatically weeds small gardens. He
obtains a patent for his invention from the U.S. government. Louisa buys
one of Jami's machines, pulls it apart, copies his work, and starts
producing and selling her own version of the amazing “Weed Eater.”
Louisa:
a. has done nothing wrong--competition is a part of our market economy.
b. has infringed on Jami's patent rights.
c. has committed a wrongful appropriation.
d. has violated Jami's trade dress.
ANS:
a. Incorrect. Louisa has violated Jami’s patent rights.
b. Correct. Jami has the exclusive right to sell, or authorize others to sell his
patented “Weed Eater.”
c. Incorrect. An appropriation involves the wrongful taking of another's
likeness or image.
d. Incorrect. Trade dress involves the unique appearance of a good or
service, not a patent.
7. A trade secret might include which of the following?
a. A product name.
b. A distinctive company logo.
c. A customer list.
d. The appearance of a clothing store.
ANS:
a. Incorrect. A product name is not secret.
b. Incorrect. A logo is widely displayed, and therefore not secret.
c. Correct. A customer list might be confidential, guarded information.
d. Incorrect. Appearances are not secret.
8. The widespread use of the Internet has made the protection of trade secrets:
a. easier, because most employers monitor their employees’ online
communications and thus can know when a company trade secret is being
disclosed or used without authorization.
b. more difficult, because employee can easily transfer to competitors or
others his or her employer’s trade secrets via e-mail or a disk.
c. impossible, and the laws governing trade secrets are being repealed.
d. undesirable, so companies now readily share their trade secrets with
competitors.
ANS:
a. Incorrect. Although many employers monitor their employees’ online
communications, this is not made it easier to protect trade secrets.
b. Correct. Because of the facility with which trade secrets can be stolen in
the online environment, employers find it more difficult to protect their
trade secrets.
c. Incorrect. It is still possible to protect trade secrets, and, in fact, stricter
laws are being passed (such as the Economic Espionage Act) to further
that goal.
d. Incorrect. If companies shared their trade secrets with their competitors,
they would probably go bankrupt (if their success depended on keeping
their trade secrets from competitors).
9. Which of the following treaties provides for the international protection of
intellectual property?
a. The Geneva Accords.
b. The TRIPS agreement.
c. The TRIMS agreement.
d. The Lugano Convention.
ANS:
a. Incorrect. The Geneva Accords deal with the humane treatment of
prisoners of war.
b. Correct. The TRIPS agreement deals with the protection of intellectual
property.
c. Incorrect. The TRIMS agreement deals with foreign investment.
d. Incorrect. The Lugano Convention does not deal with intellectual property
rights.