Business Law - Test 7

30 October 2025, Card 119-138

What is an “Assault?'“

Any word or action intended to make another person fearful or immediate physical harm.

What is “Battery?”

The intentional touching of another.

What is “Conversion?”

The wrongful taking, using, or retaining possession of personal property that belongs to another.

What three qualities must an item or a concept possess to constitute “property” in the eyes of the law?

1. It must have value

2. It must be subject to ownership

3. It must be subject to harm, damage, or destruction.

What is “Intellectual Property?”

Property resulting from intellectual creative processes.

Name the six types of intellectual property that need legal protection.

1. Trademark

2. Patents

3. Service Marks

4. Trade Names

5. Copyrights

6. Trade Secrets

What is a “Trademark?”

A word, symbol, sound, or design that has become sufficiently associated with a good or has been registered with a government agency.

How does a person obtain protection for his trademark under the Federal Trademark law (i.e. the Lanham Act of 1946)?

He or she must file an application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

When does the tort of trademark infringement occur?

When one who does not own a trademark copies it to a substantial degree or uses it in its entirety without the owner’s permission.

When does “dilution” of a trademark occur?

When a trademark is used without permission in a way that diminishes the distinctive quality of the mark.

What is a “Service Mark?”

A mark used in the sale or advertising of services to distinguish the services of one person or company from the services of others.

What is a “Trade Name?”

A name used in commercial activity to designate in a particular business.

What is a “Patent?”

A government grant that gives an inventor the exclusive right or privilege to make, use, or sell his or her invention for a limited time period.

What is “Patent Infringement?”

A tort that occurs when a firm makes, uses, or sells another’s patented design, product, or process without the patent owner’s permission.

In the area of Intellectual Property, what is a “license?”

A “license” for a patent allows the use of the patented design, product, or process for certain specified purposes to another party. It protects the patent, but avoids costly litigation.

What is a “Copyright?”

The exclusive right of an author to publish, print or sell an intellectual production for a statutory period.

Name the 8 categories that an original work must fall into in order to obtain protection under the Copyright Act

1. Literary works

2. Musical works

3. Dramatical works

4. Pantomimes and choreographic works

5. Pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works

6. Motion pictures and other audiovisual works

7. Sound recordings

8. And computer software

What remedies (or penalty) can be imposed upon a person who infringes upon a protected copyright?

1. Payment of money damages.

2. Criminal sanction for willful infringements.

What is an exception to copyright infringement?

The “fair use doctrine” that says a person or entity does not have to pay royalties for using a copyrighted work for such things as criticism comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship and research.

What was the significance of the Berne Convention of 1886?

All attending foreign countries agreed to honor the copyrights of the other nations.