LLM Intellectual Property Law 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What must a plaintiff demonstrate to establish copyright infringement?
- Ownership of a valid copyright and copying of protected expression (Correct answer)
- Registration with the Copyright Office before any use
- Commercial harm and willful intent by the defendant
- Identical reproduction of the entire work
Correct answer: Ownership of a valid copyright and copying of protected expression
Copyright infringement requires the plaintiff to prove ownership of a valid copyright and unauthorized copying of original, protected expression.
Question 2: In trademark law, what is 'likelihood of confusion' used to determine?
- Whether a junior mark infringes a senior registered trademark (Correct answer)
- Whether a mark is inherently distinctive
- Whether a famous mark has been diluted
- Whether a trademark has been abandoned
Correct answer: Whether a junior mark infringes a senior registered trademark
Likelihood of confusion is the standard test for trademark infringement, asking whether consumers would likely be confused as to the source, sponsorship, or affiliation of goods or services.
Question 3: Under patent law, what is the purpose of 'inter partes review' (IPR)?
- To challenge the validity of an issued patent before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (Correct answer)
- To resolve patent ownership disputes between co-inventors
- To extend patent terms for delayed FDA approval
- To adjudicate patent infringement claims in district court
Correct answer: To challenge the validity of an issued patent before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board
Inter partes review is a USPTO proceeding before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board that allows third parties to challenge the validity of an issued patent based on prior art.
Question 4: What is 'reverse passing off' in the context of trademark and unfair competition law?
- Removing another's trademark and substituting one's own mark on goods one did not create (Correct answer)
- Copying a competitor's advertising claims
- Registering a competitor's trademark in bad faith
- Selling counterfeit goods under a famous mark
Correct answer: Removing another's trademark and substituting one's own mark on goods one did not create
Reverse passing off involves removing or obliterating the original producer's identification and replacing it with one's own mark, misrepresenting the source of the goods.
Question 5: The DMCA's 'safe harbor' provision protects online service providers from copyright liability if they:
- Expeditiously remove infringing content upon notice and lack knowledge of infringement (Correct answer)
- Monitor all user-uploaded content proactively
- Obtain licenses for all user-uploaded material
- Restrict access to subscribers with verified identities
Correct answer: Expeditiously remove infringing content upon notice and lack knowledge of infringement
Section 512 of the DMCA provides safe harbor for service providers that lack knowledge of infringement and act expeditiously to remove content upon receiving a valid takedown notice.
Question 6: What distinguishes an 'exclusive license' from an 'assignment' of intellectual property rights?
- An assignment transfers ownership permanently; an exclusive license grants rights while the licensor retains ownership (Correct answer)
- An exclusive license requires consideration; an assignment does not
- An assignment must be registered; a license need not be
- An exclusive license includes the right to sublicense; an assignment does not
Correct answer: An assignment transfers ownership permanently; an exclusive license grants rights while the licensor retains ownership
An assignment permanently transfers IP ownership to the assignee, while an exclusive license grants the licensee the right to practice the IP to the exclusion of the licensor, which retains ownership.
LLM Intellectual Property Law 3
What must a plaintiff demonstrate to establish copyright infringement?