Intellectual Property Law

Chapter 1 Discussion Answers

1. Composer James Horner died in 2015. He was the composer of the main theme
for the 1992 best picture Titanic. May you use this song without permission?
No. Copyright protection for this work will endure for 70 years after
Mr. Horner’s death. Thus, this work will not enter the public domain
until 2085.

2. The trademark RITZ BITS was registered for crackers in 1988. When will
protection for this mark expire?
So long as the appropriate renewal and maintenance documents are
filed with the USPTO to maintain this mark, trademark protection
for the mark will endure perpetually.

3. Noah filed an application for a utility patent for his new computer mouse on
January 10, 2015. The patent was granted on February 18, 2016. When will this
patent expire?
The patent will expire on January 10, 2035, twenty years from its date
of filing.

4. Emma received a copyright registration for her jewelry on March 18, 2016.
a. When will this copyright registration expire?
Copyright registration will expire 70 years after Emma’s death.

b. If Emma had received a design patent for her jewelry on March 18, 2016,
when would the patent expire?
Design patents have a term of 14 years from the date of grant,
in which case the patent will expire on March 18, 2030.

5. Determine whether the following items are protectable as trademarks, copyrights,
patent, trade secrets, or none of the above:

• The logo used by MTV trademark
• The book Girl on the Train written by Paula Hawkins copyright
• A sculpture entitled Reunion copyright
• The roar of MGM’s lion trademark
• The title of the book Introduction to Economics
not protectable—titles of books are not protectable
• The text or narrative discussion in the book Introduction to
Economics copyright
• The confidential formula for spices used by Taco Bell in its
seasoning trade secret
• A new type of cell phone utility patent

6. American author James Fenimore Cooper published his novel The Last of the
Mohicans in 1826, twenty-five years before his death in 1851. Discuss whether
the 1992 movie based on this novel was required to obtain permission or whether
the copyright in the novel had expired.
The copyright for the work has long expired. Mr. Cooper died in
1851; thus, copyright for the novel expired many years ago. The
present term (author’s life plus 70 years) is the most generous of the
copyright terms granted by federal law (the term differed at the time
Mr. Cooper was alive). Thus, even under the current generous
copyright term, copyright expired in 1921, and the work “fell into”
the public domain at that time, free for anyone to use. Thus, the
producers of the movie were not required to obtain permission to
make a movie based on the earlier novel.