LLM Intellectual Property Law

Question 1

Under US copyright law, what is the duration of copyright protection for a work created by an individual author after January 1, 1978?

Accepted Answer

Life of the author plus 70 years

Answer

Under the Copyright Act, works created by individual authors on or after January 1, 1978 are protected for the life of the author plus 70 years.

Question 2

Which of the following is NOT eligible for copyright protection under US law?

Accepted Answer

Facts and ideas

Answer

Copyright protects original expression, not the underlying facts or ideas; the idea-expression dichotomy prevents monopolization of information.

Question 3

For a trademark to be registrable with the USPTO, it must be:

Accepted Answer

Distinctive and capable of identifying the source of goods or services

Answer

A trademark must be distinctive — either inherently distinctive or having acquired secondary meaning — to be eligible for federal trademark registration.

Question 4

Which doctrine in patent law prevents a patent owner from enforcing a patent against a product that embodies a variant not literally covered but equivalent to a claimed element?

Accepted Answer

Doctrine of Equivalents

Answer

The doctrine of equivalents extends patent protection to insubstantial variations from the literal claim language, protecting the patent's essential function.

Question 5

A trade secret is protected under the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) when it satisfies which requirements?

Accepted Answer

The information has independent economic value from secrecy and reasonable measures are taken to maintain it

Answer

Under the DTSA, a trade secret must have independent economic value from not being generally known and be subject to reasonable efforts to maintain its secrecy.

LLM - Master of Laws Practice Test

LLM - Master of Laws Practice Test

LLM Intellectual Property Law