MEJO 341 FINAL QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS
Constitutional Sources of IP - answer In 1790, Congress adopted copyright and patent laws to
encourage authors to create new work. Federal law is nation's only copyright statute.
"The Congress shall have the power ... to promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by
securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective
Writings and Discoveries."
Gives constitutional protection for copyright, patent and trademark and applies time limits on
the length of these protections.
Different Types of IP - answer Copyright, Patent, Trademark
Copyright - answer For writings that are broadly defined. Protects the works of original
authorships. Lasts for the creator's life plus 70 years. The length of time the copyright lasts is the
only important legal difference between an individual and a corporation holding a copyright.
Patent - answer Protects "discoveries" - inventions or processes
Protections for processes, inventions, or ingredients. How things work
Trademark - answer Names, symbols that identify sources of products or services ("service
mark")
Protects against unfair competition by uses the mark of some other company that either harms
that mark or dilutes it
How does copyright protection arise? - answer Immediate protection applies to original works
of authorship that are fixed in any tangible medium of expression
,Original works of authorship - creative, not copied from another source, quality not relevant
Fixed in any tangible medium of expression - perceived, reproduced, or or otherwise
communicated either directly or with the aid of some device
What works are copyrightable? - answer Literary/Musical/Dramatic works
Pantomimes and choreographic works
Pictorial, graphic and sculptural works
Motion pictures and other A/V works
Sound recordings
Architectural works (drawings vs. structures)
- Can't copyright structure but you can copyright the drawing/plan for that structure
Derivative works
Compilations (registered as single works)
Including collective works
1. Originality and fixed in a tangible medium
a. What does tangible mean in this context?
Perceived, reproduced or otherwise communicated either directly or with the aid of some
device
Functional Work - answer A functional work is one that is not a "work of authorship"because it
is purely purpose-serving. Like a table, it performs a function, and therefore the table itself is
not a copyrightable thing. However, the drawing/design of one would be. It's just a distinction
that the law makes so that someone simply by creating something new doesn't control all
renditions of that thing through copyright.
, Compilation - answer a work formed by the collection and assembling of preexisting materials
or of data that are selected, coordinated, or arranged in such a way that the resulting work as a
whole constitutes an original work of authorship. The term "compilation" includes collective
works.
The statute grants a copyright to the creation of the compilation, but each work included in the
collection retains its own copyright protection.
Collective work - answer is a work, such as a periodical issue, anthology, or encyclopedia, in
which a number of contributions, constituting separate and independent works in themselves,
are assembled into a collective whole. Collective works are always made up of independently
copyrightable works.
Derivative Work - answer based upon one or more preexisting works, such as a translation,
musical arrangement, dramatization, fictionalization, motion picture version, sound recording,
art reproduction, abridgement, condensation, or any other form in which a work may be recast,
transformed, or adapted. A work consisting of editorial revisions, annotations, elaborations, or
other modifications which, as a whole represent an original work..., is a 'derivative work
-Created from the raw content of another
copyrightable work
-Ex: Sweeney Todd play vs. Sweeney Todd movie ←licensing fee
What is a work for hire? - answer Work made for hire: work created when working for another
person or company. The copyright in a work made for the hire belongs to the employer, not the
creator
Works for hire have 120 years from date of creation or 95 years from the publication date,
whichever is shorter (as opposed to life of author plus 70 years for regular ownership)
Freelancers usually considered individual; contract must specifically cover online publications