Exam 17: Intellectual Property

Woody has invented a method for instantly analyzing perfume, breaking it down into its component chemicals and reproducing the scent.He is so excited about his invention, he wants to tell the world.Which of the following examples of disclosure would be potentially fatal to a patent claim?

Explain the difference between natural scarcity and artificial scarcity.How can intellectual property laws affect the scarcity of a particular asset? Illustrate with an example.

Thierry is a successful artist, known across Canada for his marvelous portraits of famous Canadians.His work has been exhibited in the National Gallery, and he is beginning to acquire an international reputation.Recently, Thierry sold one of his paintings to the GuerillaGallery, not realizing that the owners of the GuerillaGallery had nothing but scorn for famous artists, insisting that they have sold out their creativity for the sake of the almighty dollar.The owners promptly took a large black felt marker and added a moustache to the painting's subject and drew an arrow poking through its head.When Thierry discovered the "act of these vandals" and further discovered that these "vandals were actually exhibiting the work," he was incensed.Despite his own disdain for lawyers, Thierry has decided to take legal action.His action ought to take the form of which of the following?

While visiting his parents in Toronto, Egon went to a see a local band at a bar.He purchased the compact disk they had for sale, and took it back to his hometown in Victoria, Bc.Once there, Egon made copies of the compact disk onto tapes and sold them at his record store for $5 each.Which of the following is TRUE?

Which of the following statements is TRUE?

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.

Big and Bad Motors has come out with its newest line of SUV.They market the line under the slogan, "Enjoying the countryside has never been so easy®." A group of guerrilla environmentalists, angry about increased exhaust emissions from the SUVs, has started up a billboard campaign with a photo of an SUV in a diseased forest, surrounded by pollution and sick animals.Beneath the photo reads the caption "Destroying the countryside has never been so easy." The owners of Big and Bad Motors decide to take legal action.Which of the following claims is Big and Bad most likely to use?

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?

Marika spends her days in the lab trying to create new and useful inventions.She would like to protect her monopoly over her inventions but only has time to submit one patent application at this time.She would like your advice on which of her following creations is the most likely to be granted a patent in Canada?

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.

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?

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

Exclusive possession can be distinguished from non-rivalrous possession in that exclusively possessed assets

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.

Which of the following is not a requirement for a patent?

Which of the following statements about trade secrets is true?

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.

Roula, a law professor, recently read a fascinating article about online privacy in Canadian Science and Technology Weekly, a Canadian magazine.She was so impressed with the article that she clipped it for future reference.Later in the term, a scandal erupted at the university when it was discovered that professors' emails were being surveilled.Incensed, Roula photocopied the article and slipped a copy of it under every professor's door in the faculty.There are 50 professors in the faculty.Which of the following is most likely TRUE?

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

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.