Chapter 13: Intellectual Property Part 2: Trademarks, Industrial Design, Trade Secrets

Trademark

any term, symbol, design, sound, or colour or combination thereof applied to a product that distinguishes it from a competitor

T/F: trademark protects the product itself and not just the manufacturer/source

false, it protects the source or manufacturer not the product itself

T/F: downloading a trademark from the internet and using it for your own purpose is an infringement

true

Purpose of trademark

to protect consumers from deception

What protects the trademark

registration

Trademark registration lasts for

10 years but is infinitely renwable

Registration of trademark creates

presumption of ownership

To be trademark the logo must be

distinctive

Idea to be trademarked cannot be

obscene

scandalous

confusing with a known mark

What remedy exists for a product that is a knock-off of a trademark

injunction

What cannot be trademarked

surnames

functional aspect of the product

When might a trademark lose status

when it becomes a generic term for a type of product

For passing off remedy to apply, what must happen

plaintiff must establish actual or potential damages

Trademarks can act as a __ to passing off action

complete defense

Industrial design

registration of a unique shape or pattern

Industrial design will only have legal protection against imitation if

the industrial design is registered

Industrial design registration must take place within

1 year of publication

Industrial design protection lasts

10 years from registration but a maintenance fee must be paid within 5 years of registration

To gain protection an industrial design must be

orginal

Trade secret

particular kind of confidential information that gives a business person a competitive advantage

To qualify as a trade secret the informaiton must

be valuable to the business and not be commonly known or readily available

With trade secrets what is the wrongful act

conveying private information