Module #5 - Property Law

Question 1

What is property?

Answer 1

a relationship between people with respect to things

aka a certain right towards things

Question 2

Property Laws and what they determine

Answer 2

who is wealthy/who has power

Question 3

property=claim to have a certain right towards things

House example of a owners rights

bank, city, neighbours

Answer 3

bank can have the right to someones house (mortgage), city can prevent someone from running a restaurant in their house, neighbours can discuss lawn issues with me

Question 4

Real property

Answer 4

land and buildings and anything attached to them

FIXED AND NOT MOVEABLE

Question 5

Personal Property

Answer 5

Evertything that is not real property - tangible (laptop, jacket) and intangible (patents, trademarks)

Question 6

Fixtures

Answer 6

goods that are attached to real property

example: shingles on a roof

Question 7

How to determine what is a fixture

Answer 7

degree of permanence and degree of damage if removed

Question 8

Two big property questions

Answer 8

who has rights to the property? and what rights do they have?

Question 9

Possessory interests - fee simple

Answer 9

ownership of land and buildings

Question 10

Possessory interests - life estate

Answer 10

a perosn has right to possession during their lifetime, but not after they die

Question 11

Non-Possessory Interests: Easements

Answer 11

basically a service company being allowed access to your property but not to live in it

Question 12

Non-Possessory Interests: Rights of Way

Answer 12

owner grants rights for another to pass over their land

entering and exiting a property

Question 13

Non-Possessory Interests: Licenses

Answer 13

a right to profit from land

Question 14

Non-Possessory Interests: Restrictive Convenants

Answer 14

clauses that prevent, prohibit, restrict, or limit the actions of a person named in a contract.

think avoiding the unusual or unattractive

Question 15

Non-Possessory Interests: Mortgages

Answer 15

give the bank the right to enforce the mortgage

interest applied, you give bank the mortgage

Question 16

Aspects of Joint Tenancy (joint ownership)

think equality

Answer 16

-right of survivorship (one person dying=rights transferred)
-always equal

Question 17

Aspects of Tenancy in Common (co-ownership)

Answer 17

no right of survivorship and potential unequal interests

Question 18

Aspects of a Condominium

Answer 18

commbo of fee simple (apartment/unit) and co-ownership (common areas)

Question 19

is it absolute?

Finders-Keepers

Answer 19

a person who finds personal property has a right to claim it against anyone except the true owner

not absolute

Question 20

Two types of Private Property

Answer 20

publicly accesible vs not publicily accessible

Question 21

Bailment

Answer 21

a bailment is when one person (the bailee) is in the possession of goods that belong to another person (the bailor)

Question 22

Bailement Standard of care depends on what

Answer 22

the value and nature of the goods
who the bailment benefits
the terms of a contract

Question 23

Intellectual Property

Answer 23

protects creations of the mind…but not ideas

Question 24

What type of law do IP Laws fall under?

Answer 24

federal rights

Question 25

Trademarks

Answer 25

words, logos or symbols that distinguish goods or services

Question 26

Unregistered Trademark

Answer 26

enforceable mark created by a business or individual to signify or distinguish a product or service. It is legally different from a registered trademark granted by statute.

Question 27

Color vs Sound - trademark or not

Answer 27

color - cannot be trademarked, sound can be

Question 28

3 things (think terms of trademark)

Registered Trademarks Provide

Answer 28

1. rights of use across Canada
2. protection against a challenge based on prior use after 5 years
3. 15 years of protection (renewable)

Question 29

Trademark infringement: passing off

Answer 29

1. goodwill or reputation in the mark
2. misrepresentation to the public
3. damages

Question 30

Remedies for trademark infringement

Answer 30

damages
injunctions (stopping the offensive activity ordered by court)
accounting of profits (turn over money made unlawfully using a trademark)
delivering up (making sure knockoffs/products are all delivered to me so that they can’t sell things anymore)

Question 30

Trademark Infringement: Trademark Dilution

Answer 30

→ using a mark in a non-confusing manner that tarnishes another mark or diminishes its value
→ intentional tort
→trademark used not in a way that is not competitive
→ using someone else’s logo means you have to emphasize differences

Question 30

Copyright

Answer 30

protects against unauthorized copying

Question 31

Copyright Arises Automatically - how long does it last?

Answer 31

lasts for life of the author + 50 years

Question 32

Copyright Criteria

Answer 32

original (skill and judgment)
fixed medium (storage)
connected to Canada
copyrights can be registered but then usually aren’t
performances can be connected to copyright

Question 33

Fair Dealing

Answer 33

an exception to copyright protection / allows you to do something that otherwise would not be allowed under copyright

Question 34

Examples of fair dealing

Answer 34

review - movie reviews
criticism
news reporting
private study
parody or satire

Question 35

Moral Rights

Answer 35

rights of the author or artist to be associated with the work and not to have the work disparaged or humiliated

Question 36

Patents

Answer 36

provide exclusive rights to “practice” an invention

Question 37

Patent Criteria

Answer 37

an invention must be new (within one year), useful (provide set of drawings, how the invention will be used exclusively) and not obvious

Question 38

Remedies for Patent Infringement

Answer 38

1. damages
2. injunctions
3. accounting of profits
4. delivering up

Question 39

Industrial Designs

Answer 39

protect the visual appearance of a product (shape/pattern)

Question 40

Industrial Design Criteria

Answer 40

protect against manufacture, sale, rent or importation
must be registered for protection
must be registered within 1 year of initial use
last for 10 years
more than 10 year protection - would have to try trademarking

Question 41

Does industrial design extend to functional components?

Answer 41

No, only design or appeareance