Exam 17: Intellectual Property

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

Carlos, a baseball fanatic, has spent most of his adult life in a workshop, trying to invent a better baseball bat.Finally, after having spent many years and most of his savings, Carlos succeeded in creating a bat out of an aluminum alloy that results in sending the baseball further than if the ball was hit with a standard bat.Ecstatic, Carlos decides to hire a patent agent to help him secure a patent.But he contacts you for advice about his options for exploiting his patent, and to discuss the risks and benefits of each potential avenue.

T-Bone Steak, a Canadian pop act, just finished writing a new song.The band does not need to register their copyright ownership in order to protect their copyright.

Distraught after losing his cat, Jimmy Corpini drew up some designs for the "Kitty Caller Collar." The collar was designed so that when its wearer strays beyond certain limits, a signal is sent to a receiver, which pinpoints the location of the collar.In anticipation that one day he would get another cat, Jimmy printed off a copy of his design and emailed a copy to himself.A year later, Jimmy moved, and Takashi moved into his home.While cleaning the house, he came across the design.An engineer by trade, and cat lover by nature, Takashi copied the designs and took them to the Patent Office, where he applied for a patent on the collar, which he renamed the "CatchMeow." In due course, the patent was granted.Six months later, on the advice of an entrepreneur friend, Jimmy produced 100 Kitty Caller Collars, and began selling them at pet shows.He was unaware that Takashi had patented his invention.The collars sold quite well, and Jimmy became something of a local star in the community newspapers.Soon thereafter, Jimmy received a letter from a stern lawyer informing him that he had to stop selling his Kitty Caller Collars, because by so doing he was infringing the patent for the CatchMeow.Which of the following is the most accurate assessment?

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

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 ©.

A group of engineering students set themselves 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?

A distinguishing guise

Olga and Simon are involved in patent litigation.Olga's arguments are based on the idea of "the patent bargain." That phrase refers to a contract under which a person pays a patent holder for the right to use an invention.In this instance, Simon broke his promise to pay a fee to Olga in exchange for her permission to use her patented invention.

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 remedy is not available to her?

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?

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 problems until the mega-shoe corporation showed up.NewMensShoes has started an action claiming trademark infringement.Which of the following is most accurate?

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 16-year-old 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.Truman therefore 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?

Willa successfully sued Mike for a violation of her copyright.A court was able to reach that conclusion because