Deck 7: Internet Law, Social Media, and Privacy

Question 1

Cybersquatting is illegal only if a domain name is identical to the trademark of another, not if the name is merely confusingly similar.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

Federal law permits the sending of unsolicited commercial e-mail and does not prohibit spamming activities.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Penalties exist for anyone who circumvents encryption software or other technological antipiracy protection.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Downloading music into a computer's random access memory, or RAM, is not copyright infringement, even if it is done without authorization.

Question 5

Using another's trademark in a meta tag does not normally constitute trademark infringement, even if it is done without the owner's permission.

Question 6

Using a domain name that is identical or similar to the trademark of another is legal.

Question 7

A claim of trademark dilution requires proof that consumers are likely to be confused by a connection between the unauthorized use and the mark.

Question 8

The Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act applies to most, but not all, domain name registrations of trademarks.

Question 9

When you download an application on your smartphone, you are typically entering into a license agreement.

Question 10

In an attempt to combat spam, thirty-seven states have enacted laws that prohibit or regulate its use.

Question 11

The manufacture, import, sale, and distribution of devices or services for the circumvention of encryption software is prohibited.

Question 12

File-sharing software can be used to download others' copyrighted property without liability for any infringement.

Question 13

The law does not restrict the "fair use" of methods for the circumvention of encryption software or other technological antipiracy protection for educational and other noncommercial purposes.

Question 14

Much of the material on the Internet, including software and database information, is not copyrighted.

Question 15

A licensor might grant a license allowing a trademark to be used as part of a domain name.

Question 16

In some states, an unsolicited e-mail must include a toll-free phone number that the recipient can use to ask the sender to send no more unsolicited e-mail.

Question 17

Federal law prohibits the Federal Trade Commission from cooperating and sharing information with foreign agencies in investigating and prosecuting those involved in spamming.

Question 18

An Internet service provider is liable for any act of copyright infringement by its customer.

Question 19

Cybersquatting occurs when key words are inserted into a Web site's key-words coding to tell Internet browsers specific information about a Web page.

Question 20

No federal court has held that digitally sampling a copyrighted sound recording of any length constitutes copyright infringement.

Question 21

Social media posts have no uses in litigation.

Question 22

Employees' posts on social media may be protected under labor law.

Question 23

Federal wiretapping law covers electronic forms of communication.

Question 24

Law enforcement uses social media to detect and prosecute criminals.

Question 25

To maintain a suit for the invasion of privacy, a person must have a reasonable expectation of privacy in the particular situation.

Question 26

Employers cannot monitor employees' electronic communications made in the ordinary course of business.

Question 27

Social media users can post trademarked images or copyrighted materials without infringing the owners' rights, even if it is done without permission.

Question 28

​Sound Financials Corporation sends daily e-mail ads to its previous customers and those who have opted to receive the notices.Instable Investments, Inc., sends e-mail ads to any e-mail address that Instable can find on the Web or otherwise generate.
Refer to Fact Pattern 7-1. In those states with antispam laws, federal law

A)prohibits or regulates the use of spam.
B)requires the use of spam by business entities.
C)bans the use of spam altogether.
D)preempts the application of state law to commercial e-mail with certain exceptions.

Question 29

​Sound Financials Corporation sends daily e-mail ads to its previous customers and those who have opted to receive the notices.Instable Investments, Inc., sends e-mail ads to any e-mail address that Instable can find on the Web or otherwise generate.
Refer to Fact Pattern 7-1. One of the advertisers—either Sound Financials or Instable Investments—is acting within the bounds of federal law. Federal law permits the sending of

A)unsolicited commercial e-mail.
B)solicited commercial e-mail only.
C)commercial e-mail to randomly generated addresses.
D)commercial e-mail to addresses “harvested” from Web sites through the use of specialized software.

Question 30

Federal law prevents a provider of communication services-such as a cell phone company-from divulging private communications to certain entities and individuals.

Question 31

Rowan registers a domain name—sweetfriedpotatos.com—that is a misspelling of a popular brand—sweetfriedpotatoes.com. This is

A)cybersquatting.
B)typosquatting.
C)trademark infringement.
D)trademark dilution.

Question 32

​Sound Financials Corporation sends daily e-mail ads to its previous customers and those who have opted to receive the notices.Instable Investments, Inc., sends e-mail ads to any e-mail address that Instable can find on the Web or otherwise generate.
Refer to Fact Pattern 7-1. Sound Financials and Instable Investments are subject to the laws of the states in which they are located and do business. Thirty-seven states

A) prohibit or regulates the use of spam.prohibit or regulates the use of spam.
B) require the use of spam by business entities.
C) ban the use of spam altogether.
D) preempt the application of state law to commercial e-mail.

Question 33

​Sound Financials Corporation sends daily e-mail ads to its previous customers and those who have opted to receive the notices.Instable Investments, Inc., sends e-mail ads to any e-mail address that Instable can find on the Web or otherwise generate.
Refer to Fact Pattern 7-1. Sound Financials and Instable Investments are subject to the laws of the states in which they are located and do business. Thirty-seven states

A)prohibit or regulates the use of spam.prohibit or regulates the use of spam.
B)require the use of spam by business entities.
C)ban the use of spam altogether.
D)preempt the application of state law to commercial e-mail.

Question 34

Social media posts are routinely included in discovery in litigation.

Question 35

Federal law permits the intentional accessing of stored electronic communication even if the accessing is unauthorized.

Question 36

Cyber torts are torts that arise from online conduct.

Question 37

Federal law permits the intentional interception of any wire, oral, or electronic communication.

Question 38

An employer may have a right to terminate a person based on his or her violation of the employer's social media policy.

Question 39

It is frequently the companies rather than courts or legislatures that are defining the privacy rights of their online users.

Question 40

Online defamation is wrongfully hurting a person's reputation by communicating false statements about that person to others online.

Question 41

Employees, clients, and others with authorization use World Transport Corporation's network around the globe to share computer files. This is

A) an invasion of privacy.
B) trademark and copyright infringement.
C) digital sampling.
D) a distributed network.

Question 42

Eve and other users of Facebook and other social networking sites post trademarked images and copyrighted materials on these sites without permission. This is

A) a violation of the intellectual property rights of the owners of the images and materials.
B) within the rights of the users of social networks.
C) a subject for dispute resolution by the providers of the social networks.
D) a "business-extension exception" under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act.

Question 43

CallTalk Corporation, a smartphone and phone-time seller, chooses to use and register "calltalk" as its domain name. Later, CallTalk's less successful competitor, CellTalk Company, chooses to use and register "caltalk" (an intentional misspelling of "calltalk") as its domain name. Still later, Call&Talk, Inc., uses the domain name "callltalk" (also a deliberate misspelling of "calltalk") without CallTalk's authorization, to sell pornographic phone conversations.
Refer to Fact Pattern 7-2. CallTalk wants to sue Call&Talk for its unauthorized use of the domain name "callltalk" on a theory of trademark dilution. This claim requires proof that

A) none of the choices.
B) consumers are likely to be confused by the names.
C) the products involved are similar.
D) CallTalk ahs registered all variations of the name "calltalk."

Question 44

To test computer security and conduct encryption research, Tech SolutionsInc. circumvents the encryption software and other technological antipiracy protection of United Business Corporation's software. Under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, this is

A) a violation of copyright law.
B) prohibited but not a violation of copyright law.
C) a "fair use" exception to the provisions of the act.
D) permitted for reconsideration every three years.

Question 45

Without authorization, Brady uses the trademark of Ciera Coffee Company to promote cheap, flavorless candy, which is not similar to Ciera's products but diminishes the quality of the coffee company's mark. This is

A) cybersquatting.
B) typosquatting.
C) trademark infringement.
D) trademark dilution.

Question 46

Riley obtains permission from Saga Company to use the firm's game app on Riley's smartphone, tablet, and other mobile device. But Riley does not obtain ownership rights in the app. This is

A) a license.
B) a cookie.
C) cloud computing.
D) a violation of the law.

Question 47

OntheWeb Company is an Internet service provider. OntheWeb's customer Phoebe commits copyright infringement. OntheWeb is not liable for Phoebe's activity

A) unless OntheWeb is aware of Phoebe's violation.
B) unless OntheWeb is not aware of Phoebe's violation.
C) unless OntheWeb shuts down Phoebe after learning of the violation.
D) under any circumstances.

Question 48

Far & Wide Corporation uses the trademark of Google Inc. in a meta tag without Google's permission. This is

A) cybersquatting.
B) typosquatting.
C) trademark infringement.
D) trademark dilution.

Question 49

BurgerBoy Restaurant Corporation allows its trademark to be used as part of a domain name for BurgerBoyNY, Inc., an unaffiliated company. BurgerBoyNYdoes not obtain ownership rights in the mark. This is

A) trademark infringement.
B) fair use.
C) a license.
D) trademark dilution.

Question 50

Dana downloads music into her computer's random access memory, or RAM, without authorization. This is

A) copyright infringement.
B) within Dana's rights as a computer user.
C) a basis of liability for the computer maker if it does not act against Dana.
D) none of the choices.

Question 51

Because of the loss of significant amounts of revenue as a result of unauthorized digital downloads, file-sharing has created problems for

A) the motion picture industry.
B) recording artists and their labels.
C) the companies that distribute file-sharing software.
D) all of the choices.

Question 52

BeFriends Corporation uses the trademark of Community Life Inc., a social media site, as a meta tag without Community Life's permission. This may be permissible

A) if the appropriating site has nothing to do with the meta tag.
B) if the two sites appear in the same search engine results.
C) if the use constitutes trademark infringement.
D) under no circumstances.

Question 53

CallTalk Corporation, a smartphone and phone-time seller, chooses to use and register "calltalk" as its domain name. Later, CallTalk's less successful competitor, CellTalk Company, chooses to use and register "caltalk" (an intentional misspelling of "calltalk") as its domain name. Still later, Call&Talk, Inc., uses the domain name "callltalk" (also a deliberate misspelling of "calltalk") without CallTalk's authorization, to sell pornographic phone conversations.
Refer to Fact Pattern 7-2. Call&Talk's use of the domain name "callltalk," without CallTalk's authorization, to sell pornographic phone conversations, is

A) a legitimate marketing technique.
B) a fair use.
C) a license.
D) trademark dilution.

Question 54

Stefano transfers copyrighted music recordings, without the copyright owners' authorization, to his friends. This is

A) copyright infringement.
B) a license.
C) trademark infringement.
D) none of the choices.

Question 55

ConnectWeb, Inc., operates a subscription-based service that extends the software and storage capabilities of its subscribers. This is

A) dilution.
B) peer-to-peer (P2P) networking.
C) cloud computing.
D) a distributed network.

Question 56

InfoFree Inc. makes and sells devices and services for the circumvention of encryption software and other technological antipiracy protection. Under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, this is

A) a violation of copyright law.
B) prohibited but not a violation of copyright law.
C) a "fair use" exception to the provisions of the act.
D) permitted for reconsideration every three years.

Question 57

The employees of The Car Company share company-related resources among multiple computers without requiring a central network server. This is

A) ​digital sampling.
B) cybersquatting.
C) cloud computing.
D) peer-to-peer (P2P) networking.

Question 58

CallTalk Corporation, a smartphone and phone-time seller, chooses to use and register "calltalk" as its domain name. Later, CallTalk's less successful competitor, CellTalk Company, chooses to use and register "caltalk" (an intentional misspelling of "calltalk") as its domain name. Still later, Call&Talk, Inc., uses the domain name "callltalk" (also a deliberate misspelling of "calltalk") without CallTalk's authorization, to sell pornographic phone conversations.
Refer to Fact Pattern 7-2. By using a domain name similar to CallTalk's, CellTalk is most likely

A) diminishing the quality of CallTalk's mark.
B) making a fair use of CallTalk's mark.
C) licensing the use of CallTalk's mark to itself.
D) engaging in smart competitive conduct.

Question 59

Stig includes in his song "Sneaky" a few seconds of Wily's copyrighted sound recording "Wits" without permission. Some federal courts have found that such digital sampling is

A) a violation of copyright law.
B) a "fair use" exception to the provisions of the act.
C) not a "fair use" exception to the provisions of the act.
D) all of the choices.

Question 60

To protect domain name rights from would-be cybersquatters and typosquatters, AgriBusiness Inc. and other large corporations may have to

A) register thousands of domain names across the globe.
B) pay the owners of Web sites with identical or confusingly similar domain names for the number of unique visits, or hits, to the sites.
C) change their domain names to avoid identical or confusingly similar domain names.
D) change their trademarks to avoid identical or confusingly similar domain names.

Question 61

Employees of Bodegas & Bistros Inc. (2B) maintain a password-protected social media page to "vent about work." When 2B learns of the page, the company intimidates the network that operates the page into revealing the password, and after reviewing the posts, fires the participants. Most likely, this is

A) a violation of the Stored Communications Act.
B) within 2B's rights as an employer.
C) a subject for dispute resolution by the communications providers that the employees' page uses.
D) a "business-extension exception" under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act.

Question 62

Sonya and other employees of TransGlobal Inc. maintain a password-protected social media page on which they post comments on work-related issues. The posts range from positive to negative, supporting the page's purpose to "vent about work." When TransGlobal learns of the page, the company intimidates Sonya into revealing the password,and after reviewing the posts, fires her and the other participants. Which federal law discussed in thisChapter most likely applies to this situation? Has this law been violated? Discuss.

Question 63

Interactive Entertainment Corporation markets its products online. Through the use of cookies, Interactive Entertainment and other online marketers can

A) track individuals' Web browsing activities.
B) gain access to competitors' servers.
C) "sweet talk" consumers into buying certain products.
D) attack competitors' Web sites.

Question 64

Copious Bounty, LLC, and other companies operate social media Web sites, issue apps for mobile devices, obtain ad revenue from search engines, and sell directly to consumers from other sites. The privacy rights of the users of these products are frequently defined, not by the courts or legislatures, but by

A) the companies that own the sites and the apps.
B) retailers who have had to change their procedures to compete.
C) spammers, cybersquatters, and typosquatters.
D) Internet service providers.

Question 65

Justin's posts on Facebook provide information that establishes his intent and what he knew at a particular time, indicating potential liability. For this and other reasons, social media posts are often

A) included in discovery in litigation.
B) used by law enforcement to detect and prosecute criminals.
C) used by federal regulators in investigations into illegal activities.
D) all of the choices.

Question 66

Global Reach Corporation uses invisible files created on the computers, smartphones, and other mobile devices of visitors to its Web sites to track the users' browsing activities. These files are

A) licenses.
B) cookies.
C) cloud computing.
D) a violation of the law.

Question 67

Mobile Device Company (MDC) discovers that defamatory statements about its policies and products are being posted in an online forum. NuView Inc., the Internet service provider whose users are posting the messages, refuses to disclose the identity of the person or persons responsible. MDC should

A) seek to use the authority of the court to obtain the identity from NuView.
B) bring a suit against NuView for publishing the statements.
C) counter the statements with its own posts.
D) post defamatory statements about NuView.

Question 68

Oversight Corporation monitors employees' electronic communications made in the ordinary course of business. This is

A) a violation of the rights of Oversight's employee.
B) within Oversight's rights as an employer.
C) a subject for dispute resolution by the communications providers that Oversight uses.
D) a "business-extension exception" under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act.

Question 69

Omni Corporation provides cell phones, laptops, and tablets for its employees to use "in the ordinary course of its business." Omni intercepts the employees' business communications made on these devices. This is

A) a violation of the rights of Omni's employees.
B) a matter for which Omni must obtain its employees' consent.
C) a subject for dispute resolution by the communications providers that Omni uses.
D) excluded from the coverage of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act.

Question 70

Keisha is an employee of Leeway Corporation. She uses social media in a way that violates her employer's stated social media policies. Leeway first disciplinesits employee and then, after a second transgression, fires her. This is

A) a violation of Keisha's rights as an employee.
B) within Leeway's rights as an employer.
C) a subject for dispute resolution by the social media that Keisha used.
D) a "business-extension exception" under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act.

Question 71

Sales & Revenue, Inc., discovers that defamatory statements about its policies and products are being posted in an online forum. TransWeb Inc., the Internet service provider whose users are posting the messages, refuses to disclose the identity of the person or persons responsible. Sales & Revenuefiles a suit against the anonymous users. The plaintiff can obtain from TransWeb the identity of the persons responsible for the defamatory messages by

A) using the authority of the court.
B) gaining unauthorized access to TransWeb's servers.
C) deceiving TransWeb into revealing the posters' identities.
D) no legal or illegal means.

Question 72

"Dawn" is a song included in the sound track of "eDay," a movie produced and distributed by FasTrac Corporation. The song features a digital sampling of a few seconds of the guitar solo of one of George Harrison's copyrighted sound recordings without permission. Does this digital sampling constitute copyright infringement on the part of FasTrac? Explain.