Intellectual Property in Practice Flashcards

Which form of intellectual property protection is most appropriate for a novel engineering device that achieves a specific technical function?

Answer: Patent

Patents protect new, useful, and non-obvious inventions, including novel engineering devices and processes. Copyright protects expression (not function), and trademarks protect brand identifiers.

An engineer develops a software algorithm for structural analysis during working hours using company resources. Who is likely the first owner of the copyright in the software?

Answer: The employer, under the work-made-for-hire doctrine in the Copyright Act

Under s. 13(3) of the Canadian Copyright Act, where a work is made by an author in the course of their employment under a contract of service, the employer is the first owner of copyright, absent a contrary agreement.

A Canadian engineering firm uses a confidential process that gives it a competitive advantage. The firm has not patented it. Which IP protection is available?

Answer: Trade secret protection, which requires reasonable efforts to maintain confidentiality

Trade secret law protects confidential business information that provides a competitive advantage. Unlike patents, trade secrets do not require registration but depend on the owner taking reasonable steps to maintain confidentiality.

An engineering consulting firm delivers design drawings to a client. Who owns the copyright in those drawings, absent any contract provision?

Answer: The engineering firm, as the author of the drawings

Under the Copyright Act, the author (the engineering firm or its employee-engineers) is the first owner of copyright in the drawings, regardless of who commissioned or paid for them, absent a written assignment of copyright.

Which of the following best describes 'fair dealing' in Canadian copyright law as it might apply to an engineer reviewing technical literature?

Answer: A user's right to reproduce copyrighted material for purposes such as research, private study, education, parody, satire, or criticism without requiring permission

Fair dealing under the Copyright Act allows users to reproduce copyrighted material for specific permitted purposes, including research and private study, without the copyright owner's permission, provided the dealing is 'fair.'

A patent application in Canada is examined by the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO). During examination, the examiner finds a prior art reference that anticipates the claimed invention. What does 'anticipation' mean in patent law?

Answer: A single prior art disclosure previously made all the essential elements of the claimed invention available to the public

Anticipation requires that a single prior art reference disclosed all essential elements of the claimed invention before the patent's claim date. If any essential element is missing from the prior disclosure, there is no anticipation.