CSL CSL Intellectual Property & Cybersecurity 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which federal statute primarily protects software code as intellectual property in the United States?
- Patent Act (35 U.S.C.)
- Copyright Act (17 U.S.C.) (Correct answer)
- Trade Secrets Act (18 U.S.C. § 1836)
- Trademark Act (Lanham Act)
Correct answer: Copyright Act (17 U.S.C.)
The Copyright Act protects software as a literary work, giving authors exclusive rights to reproduction, distribution, and creation of derivative works.
Question 2: The Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) of 2016 created a federal civil cause of action for trade secret misappropriation. What is the statute of limitations?
- 1 year
- 2 years
- 3 years (Correct answer)
- 5 years
Correct answer: 3 years
The DTSA has a 3-year statute of limitations running from the date the misappropriation was discovered or should have been discovered.
Question 3: Under what legal theory can a company sue a competitor that hired its employees who brought proprietary cybersecurity algorithms without authorization?
- Copyright infringement
- Patent infringement
- Trade secret misappropriation (Correct answer)
- Trademark dilution
Correct answer: Trade secret misappropriation
Trade secret misappropriation covers the unauthorized acquisition or disclosure of information that derives economic value from its secrecy, including algorithms.
Question 4: Which section of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) prohibits circumventing technological protection measures (TPMs)?
- Section 512
- Section 1201 (Correct answer)
- Section 107
- Section 301
Correct answer: Section 1201
DMCA Section 1201 prohibits circumventing technological protection measures that control access to copyrighted works, with limited exceptions.
Question 5: What DMCA exemption allows security researchers to bypass TPMs for good-faith security research?
- Section 512 safe harbor
- Section 1201(j) security research exemption (Correct answer)
- Fair use under Section 107
- Section 1201(i) privacy protection
Correct answer: Section 1201(j) security research exemption
Section 1201(j) provides a narrow exemption for good-faith security research on systems the researcher is authorized to test.
Question 6: A company's proprietary firewall configuration is stolen via a cyberattack and published online. Which IP law provides the most direct remedy?
- Copyright law (compilation copyright)
- Trade secret law (DTSA)
- Patent law (method patents)
- Both A and B (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Both A and B
Both copyright law (protecting the configuration as a creative compilation) and trade secret law (protecting the confidential information) may apply, with trade secrets often being more practical.
CSL CSL Intellectual Property & Cybersecurity 1
Which federal statute primarily protects software code as intellectual property in the United States?