Exam 18: Knowledge-Based Businesses and Intellectual Property

Which of the following is most closely associated with the notion of moral rights?

Raoul Newmen has been operating a shoe store, Newmen's Shoes, in Ottawa for the past 10 years. His business is registered in Ontario as an Ontario Corporation. His store sign reads: NEWMEN'S SHOES™. In 1999, a mega- shoe chain from the US, NewMensShoes, opened up its first Ottawa location. NewMensShoes has been operating in Canada since 1989, at which time it had registered its Canadian trademark: NewMensShoes®. NewMensShoes is irritated because it spends a fortune on advertising, yet people inevitably make the mistake of going to Raoul's store for shoes. Raoul is irritated because he had been running his store without hassle until the mega- shoe corporation showed up. NewMensShoes has started an action claiming trademark infringement. Which of the following is most accurate?

A distinguishing guise

Jaime has been hired as a screenplay writer by a television production company. Although he is a very creative individual, Jaime has recently started suffering from writer's block. In order to unblock himself, Jaime picked up a collection of Shakespeare's works and began combing it for ideas. He finally drafted a screenplay about a young couple from feuding families whose love, though strong, ends in tragedy. Which of the following is TRUE of Jaime with respect to the authorship requirements of copyright law?

Achmed has invented a mechanism for building barbwire fences. It consists of a motorized machine that stretches the barbwire between two fence posts. It then wraps the barbwire around the post, ensuring that the fence is stable. The beauty of the mechanism is that at no point must a person touch the wire, thus drastically reducing the fear of injury. However, there are still a few glitches in the system. For example, the machine stretches the wire too much, causing the wire to snap before the fence is complete, and flail about until the operator turns off the machine. This increases the potential safety hazard, as the broken barbwire swings about dangerously until the machine is turned off. Additionally, if the operator does not turn it off in time, the loose barbwire ends up damaging the machine. Achmed is convinced that with a bit of tinkering, he can get it working better. Which of the following is TRUE of Achmed's invention?

Which of the following statements about trade secrets is true?

A government official has appointed you to a committee that is responsible for suggesting improvements to the government's own intellectual property legislation. Which of the following statements is TRUE?

Whitemud Toothpaste has been recognized by the Canadian Dental Association as preventing tooth decay. As a result, its manufacturer put the Association's logo on its tubes of toothpaste. The correct symbol to place next to the certification mark is ©.

Hearty Meat Sandwiches is a large- sized chain of hamburger and sandwich shops. Although they have been operating in western Canada for 10 years, they had never managed to crack the Quebec market. A few years ago, on the advice of their lawyer, they had registered several trademarks, including their name, their logo (a cartoon heart shape between two pieces of bread), and their slogan "Smarties eat at Hearty's". When Hearty's opened their first Quebec store in Montreal last year, they ran a huge advertising campaign, including bilingual radio spots and ads on television. When opening day arrived, they were surprised that the number of new customers they managed to attract was far less than in other, smaller towns. Only later did they discover that Montrealers appeared to be flocking to another hamburger joint in town, Hardy's Burgers, owned and operated since 1997 by Jacob Hardy. Needless to say, the owners of Hearty's are miffed. They admit that they probably should have done better research before the opening, but still think it's unfair that their ads are working to their competitor's benefit. They have come to you for advice regarding any recourse relating to their trademark. Advise them of any action they may wish to pursue, remedies they may seek, and the benefits and detriments of pursuing their case.

Which of the following statements is TRUE with respect to registration of intellectual property rights?

Softwear Inc is a company that develops "smart clothes"-clothes that change in temperature depending on a number of factors such as the weather and the amount of activity the wearer is engaging in. Although Softwear owns several patents from which it generates much of its revenue, it is constantly developing new products. Recently, due to a downturn in the economy, Softwear has had to lay off many of its workers. Its executives are worried about disgruntled workers using the knowledge they have of products still in development at Softwear to obtain jobs with Softwear's competitors. Suggest an avenue that Softwear may wish to pursue in order to protect its information- based assets.

Zitsaway is the ultimate miracle cream for teenagers. Using a special combination of chemicals, Zitsaway is able to clear up the worst cases of acne. Truman, a sixteen- year- old nerd with particularly bad acne thought that he had finally found the answer to all his social problems when he began using the cream. Although the cream worked like a charm, at $25 a bottle the cream took up most of his allowance. Being the nerd that he was, Truman took the cream to his chemistry lab where he and his teacher managed to identify all the components of the cream. Fortunately, all the components were easily procured and easily combined. Which of the following is TRUE?

Trevor is a struggling, but very talented, musician. Over the years, he has written many great songs, but has yet to receive any media attention for his good work. Frustrated that he has never been able to achieve commercial success, he recently began to explore the idea of selling or licencing his work to other, already established, pop artists. He comes to your record label seeking to sell certain parts of his copyright. How do you foresee being able to exploit Trevor's work? Illustrate how Trevor's work could be unbundled and exploited. Does Trevor run any risks in transferring his rights?

Amicus is an artist whose sculptures have made him a household name around the world. Recently, he has tried exploring different themes, thinking that his religious sculptures were becoming too common. In a moment of inspiration he had the idea to make a sculpture of 100 doves, symbolizing his hopes for world peace. Upon completion he sold the work to his hometown in Ontario. Years later, and facing budgetary cuts from the provincial government, the city decided to auction the work off, dove by dove. Amicus was furious when he heard the news, stating that the work is a unity and selling it off in pieces ruins its meaning. He has come to you for advice. Brief Amicus on moral rights and how he may be able to benefit from them.

Double Burger is a musical sensation in the local rap world of Moosejaw. His shows are always sold out and he is on the verge of being signed to a record label. Double Burger's songs tend to incorporate samples from other songs, mostly cheesy pop songs from the fifties. His friends tell him that it is okay to use the samples because he does not use the songs in their entirety, but only short excerpts. He comes to you for a second opinion on copyright infringement. Advise Double Burger on how to proceed.

Explain the meaning of the following statement: "Industrial designs cannot be registered for designs that are purely functional in nature." Using a running shoe as an example, describe an element that can be registered as an industrial design and an element that cannot.

Siesta Inc owns and operates a chain of Mexican- food restaurants across Canada. The restaurants have become wildly popular, largely because each restaurant is carefully designed and decorated to evoke an authentic Mexican feel. The company is, however, worried that competitors may begin to emerge and draw away customers. Siesta Inc therefore wants to protect itself as much as possible under trademark laws. Which of the following statements is TRUE?

Explain what is meant by the following statement: "Intellectual property law is a set of rules that aims to balance the rights of a creator against the public interest."

Explain what is meant by the novelty requirement in patent law. Is it sufficient for a product to be the first one on the market?

Which of the following is TRUE of a breach of confidence?