Exam 18: Knowledge-Based Businesses and Intellectual Property

The capital letter D appears inside of a circle signifies that a product is

Which of the following is an example of a registrable industrial design?

Hector Journale is the publisher of a major national newspaper. Following a string of political scandals, Hector comes up with an excellent idea for a weeklong series of articles on the moral shortcomings of politicians before they entered politics. Hector is worried that if his competitor, Linda Laprinte, catches wind of the series, she will scoop him. In order to protect his idea, Hector could do which of the following?

Novelty is one of the criteria for copyright protection.

Thomas recently patented a process for vacuum- packing t- shirts in cellophane. The process is such that the t- shirts are compressed into a tight cube, then sealed. The benefits for this are numerous, since the unique shape of the packaging attracts customers, allows for creative displays, etc. In addition to the patented process, Thomas is wondering if he can maintain exclusivity over other aspects of the shirts. Can trademark law help Thomas? How? Advise Thomas on any steps he ought to consider taking in order to protect himself, should a competitor try to imitate his product.

Unbundling copyright means breaking the copyright down into several discrete rights.

Avery and Bolton are two gifted architecture students at the University of the Outaouais. Both have been involved in a competition to come up with a design for a particularly immense structure. In class one day, one of their professors exposes them to a formula which, when applied in a particular manner to the competition, leads to a new, never- before- thought- of design for particularly immense structures. Independently, both students develop virtually identical designs for the competition. Avery is so enthused by his new discovery that he registers his copyright in the design. Tanner, a slightly lazier student, was considering entering into the same competition. Snooping around Bolton's desk one day, Tanner saw Bolton's design for the super structure. Tanner copied the design, and sold it to an architecture firm. Which of the following is TRUE?

CobeCola develops a line of sugar- free colas and plans to market it towards people on diets and to people who are worried about tooth decay. Which of the following best illustrates a certification mark that may appear on its can?

Remi is a musician who is involved with a charitable organization that helps to fight poverty. In addition to a wide variety of other activities, the charity puts on performances at schools to teach youngsters about poverty. Remi recently heard an anti- poverty song on the radio that he began incorporating into his performances. The song was such a hit that he began incorporating it into his commercial performances at local bars and music halls. At no point has Remi sought any permission to perform the song. The copyright holder recently saw one of Remi's performances on MuchoMusico and has decided to take action. Which of the following is most accurate?

Silken Inc manufactures a wide range of bath products. Its best- selling item is the one litre bottle of "Silky Soak" water softener. A large part of the reason for that success is the distinctive and easily recognized bottle in which "Silky Soak" has been sold for many years. Silken Inc recently applied to protect the rights that are connected with the appearance of the "Silky Soak" bottle. That application was, however, rejected. As a matter of law, that rejection may be due to the fact that

Louisa is a lemonade manufacturer in Ottawa. Since 1985, she has marketed her juice under the trademark: FreshSqueeze. Late last year, a less expensive lemonade began appearing in grocery stores bearing a remarkably similar label. When examined closely, the label for the new lemonade actually says Fresh- n- Squeeze, but the 'n' is so small that it is hardly noticeable. The rest of the label, including colours and fonts, appears to be nearly identical. Louisa is upset because her lemonade sales have fallen drastically since it appeared on the shelves. Louisa decides to sue for passing- off. If Louisa is successful, what might she be able to force her competitor to do?

Accounting for profits might be an appropriate award in which of the following cases?

For many years, George Blake worked for the Canadian spy agency. The authorities eventually discovered, however, that he was actually working as a double agent, and that he was passing government secrets to countries that are unfriendly towards Canada. He was convicted and sent to prison, but he managed a daring escape, and fled out of the country. Because he is now well- known, and therefore cannot work as a spy, he has written a book in which he reveals several pieces of information that the Canadian government still considered secret and enormously important. A court could, among other things, order George to pay his profits from the book over to the Canadian government.

A group of engineering students set themselves to the task of creating a motor powerful enough to run a car using solar power rather than gasoline. Two years into the project the students managed to create a prototype vehicle that was functional and environmentally friendly. The media was called, and several newspapers ran stories about the students, and how the students were going to try to sell their idea to a car manufacturer. Soon after, the students received a letter from an oil company informing them that it already owned the patent for the solar motor and that the students' motor, if sold, would be infringing the oil company's patent. Is the oil company correct? It turns out that the oil company held the patent, but was not marketing it for fear of losing profits on its oil sales. What does this situation say about how patent law balances private rights with the public good?

Of the following, which are only protected if they are registered?

A manager at a textile factory suspects his employees are feeding his competitors information about new textiles he is developing. In order to make them aware that this is unacceptable, he reminds them all that any information about his textiles is confidential and must not be disclosed. This is sufficient to ensure that the information is considered confidential.

When a party succeeds in showing that another party has been unjustly enriched, the appropriate remedy is an injunction.

The Enerstretch is an exercise device whose trademark has been registered, although the device itself has not been patented. Sales had been going well, until the Enerstretcher came along. A cheaper copy of the Enerstretch, the Enerstretcher is made with less resilient springs. As a result, the Enerstretcher was prone to snap, injuring its user. The media ran several stories about the victims, and as a result of the bad press, the makers of the Enerstretcher pulled their products off the market. Because of the bad press, the makers of the Enerstretch quickly saw their sales drop as well. You are a risk manager for Enerstretch. Does your company have a case? If so, what kind of remedies can they avail themselves of? Support your answer.

Knock- offs and trademark depreciations are two examples of trademark infringement. How do the two differ? Provide an example of each.

Intellectual property law aims to balance the rights of creators against the public interest. Which of the following statements best exemplifies a benefit to the public interest?