legal final exam chapter 5 patents Flashcards
any property resulting from intellectual, creative processes- the products of an indviidual’s mind
intellectual property
information contained in books and computer files is
intellectual property
a distinctive word, symbol, sound, or design that identifies the manufacturer as the source of particular goods and distinguishes it products from those made or sold by others
trademark
statutory protection of trademarks and related property is provided at the…
federal level by the Lanham Act of 1946
this act was enacted in part to protect manufacturers from losing business to rival companies that used confusingly similar trademarks
the lanham act
in 1995, congress amended the lanham act by passing the federal trademark dilution act, which allowed trademark owners to
bring suits in federeal court for trademark dilution
where famous trademarks are protected from certain unauthorized uses of the marks, regardless of a showing of competition or a likelihood or confusion
dilution
under the TDRA, to state for a trademark dilution, a plaintiff must prove the following
- plaintiff owns a famous mark that is distinctive
- defendant has begun using a mark in commerce that allegedly is diluting the famous mark
- similarity between the defendant’s mark and the famous mark gives rise to an association between the marks
- association is likely to impair the distinctive of the famous mark or harm its reputation
a famous mark may be diluted not only by the use of an identical mark but also by the use of a
similar mark, provided that it reduces the value of the famous mark
trademarks may be registered with the state or with the
federal government
to register for protection under federal trademark law, a person must file an
application with the U.S patent and trademark office in washington D.C, a
registration of a trademark with the U.S. patent and trademark office gives notice on a nationwide basis that the trademark belongs exclusively to the
registant
whenever someone else uses the trademark in its entirety or copies it to a substantial degree, intentionally or unintentionally, the trademark has been
infringed (used without authorization)
to succeed in a lawsuit for trademark infrigement, the owner must show that the defendant use of the mark created a liklihood of
confusion about the origin of the defendant’s goods or services
The owner doesn’t have to show that the person who copied their trademark did it on purpose, or
that the trademark was officially registered (though having it registered does prove when it started being used).
the remedy most commonly granted for trademark infringement is an
injunction to prevent further infringement
under the lanham act, a trademark owner that successfully proves infringement can recover actual damages,
plus the profits that the infringer wrongfully received from the unauthorized use of the mark
the central objective of the lanham act is to
reduce the likelihood that consumers will be confused by similar marks
only trademarks that are deemed sufficiently distinctive from all competing trademarks will be
protected
a trademark may not be
derogatory, or falsely suggest a connection with persons, living or dead, beliefs or national symbols
fanciful, arbitrary, or suggestive trademarks are generally considered to be the
most distinctive trademarks, bc they are normally taken from outside the context of the particular product
strong marks provide the best means of
distinguishing one product from another
fanciful trademarks include invented works like
arbitrary trademarks are common words that would not ordinarily be associated with
the product, such as dutch boy for paint
suggestive tradearks bring to mind something about a product
without describing the product directly
an example of suggestive trademark would be dairy queen it suggests an association between
its products and milks but does not directly describe the icecream
a secondary meaning arises when customers begin to associated a
specific term or phrase like “london fog”
generic terms are terms that refer to an entire
class of products, like bicycle and computer
a trademark that is used to distinguish the services of one person or company from those of another
service mark
other marks protected by law include certification marks and
collective marks
used by one or more persons, other than the owner, to certify the region, materials, mode of manufacture, quality, or other characteristic of specific goods or services
certification mark
when used by members of a cooperative, assocation, labor union, or other organization, a certification mark is referred to as a
collective mark
refers to the image and overall appearance of a product
trade dress
broad concept that can include all or part of the total image or overall impression created by a product or its packaging
trade dress
congress has enacted statues against couterfeit goods, the US cannot prosecture foreign counterfeiters because
our national laws do not apply to them
one effective tool that U.S officials are using to combat online sales of counterfeit goods is to obtain a court order to
close down the domain names of web sites that sell such goods
this act made it a crime to intentionally traffic in or attempt to traffic in, counterfeit goods or services, or to knowingly use a counterfeit mark on or in connection with goods or services
stop counterfeiting in manufactured goods act (SCMGA)
Persons found guilty for violating the SCGMA may be fined up to
2 million or imprisoned for up to ten years
if court finds that the statute was violated, it must order the defendant to forfeit the counterfeit products as well as
any property used in the commission of the crime
used to indicate part or all of a business’s name, whether the business is a sole proprietorship, a partnership, or a corporation
trade name
trade names may be protected as trademarks if the trade name is the
same as the company’s trademarked product, like coca-cola
one way to make use of another’s trademark or other form of intellectual property, while avoiding litigation, is to obtain a
license
in this context is an agreement permitting the use of a trademark, copyright, patent, or trade secret for certain limited purposes
A license
Grant from the government that gives an inventory the exclusive right to make, use, and sell an invention for a period of twenty years
patent
patent for designed, opposed to inventions, are given for
40 year period
the first person to file an application for a patent on a product or process will
recieve patent protection
the period of patent protection begins on the date when the patent application is
filed, rather than when the patent is issued
significant development relating to patents is the
availability online on the world’s patent databases
the website of the U.S patent and trademark office (www.uspto.gov) provides searchable
databases covering U.S patents granted since 1976
the website of the european patent office (www.epo.org) provides online access to
50 million patent documents in more than 70 nations through a searchable network of databases
because patents are valuable assets, businesses may need to
perform patent searches to list or inventory their assets
to be patentable, an invention must be
novel, useful, and not obvious in light of current technology
almost anything is patentable, except for laws of nature, ____, and ___
natural phenomena, and abstract ideas
if a firm makes, uses, or sells another’s patented design, product, or process without the patent owner’s permission, it commits the tort of
patent infringement
patent infringement may occur even though the patent owner has
not put the patented product in commerce
companies that specialize in developing new technology stand to lose significant profits if someone
makes, uses, or sells devices that incorporate their patented inventions
The patent holder can seek an injunction against the infringer and can also request
damages for royalties and lost profits
according to the supreme court, a patent holder must prove that is has suffered irreparable injury and that the
public interest would not be disserved by a permanent injunction
