Chapter 6: Intellectual Property

Question 1

Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)

Answer 1

An agreement of the World Trade Organization that requires member governments to ensure that intellectual property rights can be enforced under their laws and that penalties for infringement are tough enough to deter further violations.

Question 2

Copyright

Answer 2

The exclusive right to distribute, display, perform, or reproduce an original work in copies or to prepare derivative works based on the work; granted to creators of original works of authorship.

Question 3

Copyright Infringement

Answer 3

A violation of the rights secured by the owner of a copyright; occurs when someone copies a substantial and material part of another’s copyrighted work without permission.

Question 4

cybersquatter

Answer 4

A person or company that registers domain names for famous trademarks or company names to which they have no connection, with the hope that the trademark’s owner will buy the domain name for a large sum of money.
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Question 5

Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016

Answer 5

An act passed in 2016 that amended the Economic Espionage Act to create a federal civil remedy for trade secret misappropriation.

Question 6

design patent

Answer 6

A type of patent that permits its owner to exclude others from making, using, or selling the design in question.

Question 7

Economic Espionage Act (EEA) of 1996

Answer 7

An act passed in 1996 to help law enforcement agencies pursue economic espionage. It imposes penalties of up to $10 million and 15 years in prison for the theft of trade secrets.

Question 8

fair use doctrine

Answer 8

A legal doctrine that allows portions of copyrighted materials to be used without permission under certain circumstances. Title 17, section 107, of the U.S. Code established the following four factors that courts should consider when deciding whether a particular use of copyrighted property is fair and can be allowed without penalty: (1) the purpose and character of the use (such as commercial use or nonprofit, educational purposes), (2) the nature of the copyrighted work, (3) the portion of the copyrighted work used in relation to the work as a whole, and (4) the effect of the use on the value of the copyrighted work.

Question 9

industrial espionage

Answer 9

The use of illegal means to obtain business information not available to the general public.

Question 10

intellectual property

Answer 10

Works of the mind—such as art, books, films, formulas, inventions, music, and processes—that are distinct and owned or created by a single person or group. Intellectual property is protected through copyright, patent, trade secret, and trademark laws.

Question 11

Leahy-Smith America Invents Act

Answer 11

An act that changed the U.S. patent system so that the first person to file with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office will receive the patent, not necessarily the person who actually invented the item first.

Question 12

noncompete agreement

Answer 12

Terms of an employment contract that prohibit an employee from working for any competitors for a specified period of time, often one to two years.

Question 13

open source code

Answer 13

Any program whose source code is made available for use or modification, as users or other developers see fit.

Question 14

patent

Answer 14

A grant of a property right issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to an inventor; permits its owner to exclude the public from making, using, or selling a protected invention, and allows for legal action against violators.

Question 15

patent infringement

Answer 15

A violation of the rights secured by the owner of a patent; occurs when someone makes unauthorized use of another’s patent.

Question 16

plagiarism

Answer 16

The act of stealing someone’s ideas or words and passing them off as one’s own.

Question 17

prior art

Answer 17

The existing body of knowledge that is available to a person of ordinary skill in the art.

Question 18

Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property (PRO-IP) Act of 2008

Answer 18

An act that created the position of Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator within the Executive Office of the President. It also increased trademark and copyright enforcement and substantially increased penalties for infringement.

Question 19

reverse engineering

Answer 19

The process of taking something apart in order to understand it, build a copy of it, or improve it.

Question 20

trademark

Answer 20

A logo, package design, phrase, sound, or word that enables a consumer to differentiate one company’s products from another’s.

Question 21

Uniform Trade Secrets Act (UTSA)

Answer 21

An act drafted in the 1970s to bring uniformity to all the United States in the area of trade secret law.

Question 22

utility patent

Answer 22

A type of patent “issued for the invention of a new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or a new and useful improvement thereof, it generally permits its owner to exclude others from making, using, or selling the invention for a period of up to 20 years from the date of patent application filing, subject to the payment of maintenance fees.”

Question 23

nondisclosure clauses

Answer 23

Terms of an employment contract that prohibit an employee from revealing secrets.