Chapter 27 Practice Exam

Matching Questions

Match the following terms with their definitions:

(1) B. Copyright

(5) C. Trade secrets

(3) E. Paris Convention

1. Protects the particular expression of an idea.

3. Extends patent protection overseas.

5. Compilation of information that would give its owner an advantage in business.

True/False Questions

Circle true or false:

1. T F Once you have purchased a CD and copied it onto your iPod, it is legal to give the CD to a friend.

3. T F In the case of corporation, copyright protection lasts 120 years from the product’s creation.

5. T F The first person to file the application is entitled a patent over someone else who invented the product first.

Multiple-Choice Questions

7. After the death of Babe Ruth, one of the most famous baseball players of all time, his daughters registered the name, “Babe Ruth” as a trademark. Which of the following uses would be legal without the daughters’ permission?

I. Publication of a baseball calendar with photos of Ruth.

II. Sales of a “Babe Ruth” bat.

III. Sales of Babe Ruth autographs.

(a) Neither I, II, nor III.

(b) Just I.

(d) Just III.

(e) I and III.

9. Eric is a clever fellow who knows all about computers. He:

I. Removed the author’s name from an article he found on the Internet and sent it via e-mail to his lacrosse team, telling them he wrote it.

II. Figured out how to unscramble his roommate’s cable signal so they could watch cable on a second TV.

III. Taught the rest of his lacrosse team how to unscramble cable signals.

Which of these activities is legal under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act?

(a) I, II, and III.

(b) Neither I, II, nor III.

(d) Just III.

(e) Just I.

Short-Answer Questions

11. Rebecca Reyher wrote (and copyrighted) a children’s book entitled My Mother Is the Most Beautiful Woman in the World. The story was based on a Russian folktale told to her by her own mother. Years later, the children’s TV show Sesame Street televised a skit entitled “The Most Beautiful Woman in the World.” The Sesame Street version took place in a different locale and had fewer frills, but the sequence of events in both stories was identical. The author of the Sesame Street script denied he had ever seen Reyher’s book but said his skit was based on a story told to his sister some 20 years before. Has Sesame Street infringed Reyher’s copyright?

Answer: The court held that Sesame Street had not infringed Reyher's copyright because Reyher could not copyright the plot of a story, only her expression of the plot. Reyher v. Children's Television Workshop, 533 F.2d 87, 190 U.S.P.Q. (BNA) 387 (2d Cir. 1976).

13. Frank B. McMahon wrote one of the first psychology textbooks to feature a light and easily readable style. He also included slang and examples that appealed to a youthful student market. Charles G. Morris wrote a psychology textbook that copied McMahon’s style. Has Morris infringed McMahon’s copyright?

Answer: McMahon cannot copyright an idea, only the expression of an idea. The style of a textbook is an idea and not copyrightable. Thus, Morris could write a book with funny stories, just not the same stories told in the same way as in McMahon’s book. Morris did not infringe McMahon’s copyright. The couple could not trademark the name unless they had or were intending to use the name attached to a product in interstate commerce. Therefore, unless they had plans to manufacture a car, they could not trademark the name.

15. In the documentary movie, Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, there is a 15-second clip of “Imagine,” a song by John Lennon. His wife and sons, who held the copyright, sued to block this use of the song. The movie is sympathetic to “intelligent design”—the theory that the universe is too complex to have been created by evolution alone, and there must have been a god involved. Who will win this suit?

Answer: Lennon’s wife and sons originally won a preliminary injunction prohibiting further distribution of the movie. However, that decision was overturned. The court held that the movie producer’s use of the song was a fair use because the song was for purposes of criticism and commentary. The decision has been appealed. Lennon v. Premise Media, 08-Civ. 3813 (SHS) United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.