Q&A Hero

Q: In cyberspace, trademarks are sometimes called cyber marks.

Q: The owner of intellectual property may put restrictions on the use of the intellectual property in a license agreement.

Q: A license permits the use of another's intellectual property for certain limited purposes.

Q: A trade name can be protected if it is unusual or fanciful.

Q: Trade names have the same legal protection as trademarks.

Q: It is estimated that over 70 percent of the goods imported to the United States are counterfeit.

Q: A certification mark distinguishes products approved, or "certified," by the government.

Q: A service mark distinguishes products used, or "put into service," by the government.

Q: A generic term is not protected under trademark law unless it acquires a secondary meaning.

Q: A suggestive use of ordinary words may be trademarked.

Q: A fanciful use of ordinary words may be trademarked.

Q: The states and the federal government provide for the registration of trademarks.

Q: A trademark does not need to be registered to support a trademark infringement action.

Q: A trademark can be diluted by the use of a similar mark.

Q: The 1995 Federal Trademark Dilution Act allowed trademark owners to bring suit in federal court for trademark dilution.

Q: A beverage company that competes with Coca-Cola Company cannot call its products "Koke."

Q: A patent and a copyright are examples of intellectual property, but a trademark is not an example of intellectual property.

Q: The need to protect intellectual property is recognized in the Declaration of Independence.

Q: Louislarger and stronger than Micathreatens to hit Mica before hitting and injuring him. Mica files a suit against Louis for assault and battery. Mica will most likely recover for a. assault and battery. b. assault but not battery. c. battery but not assault. d. neither assault nor battery.

Q: Mary is angry with Julia so she waits outside Julia's house and hits Julia with a baseball bat as Julia leaves the house. When Julia sues Mary for battery, Mary will be considered a a. victim. b. tortfeasor. c. plaintiff. d. unreasonable person.

Q: Ike pushes Joan, who falls and breaks her arm. Ike is liable for the injury a. if Ike intended to push Joan. b. only if Ike did not intend to break Joan's arm. c. only if Ike had a bad motive for pushing Joan. d. only if Ike intended to break Joan's arm.

Q: The Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 a. shifted jurisdiction over certain class-action lawsuits from the state courts to the federal courts. b. shifted jurisdiction over certain class-action lawsuits from the federal courts to the state courts. c. made forum shopping punishable by large fines. d. limited the amount of damages that could be awarded in a medical malpractice suit.

Q: An Internet service provider cannot be held liable for disseminating others' defamatory remarks.

Q: The extreme risk of an activity is a defense against imposing strict liability.

Q: Under a dram shop act, liability can be imposed without proof of negligence.

Q: Under the "danger invites rescue" doctrine, a person who tries to rescue another individual from harm is liable for any injuries to that individual.

Q: Under the doctrine of comparative negligence, only the plaintiff's negligence is taken into consideration.

Q: An assumption of risk defense does not require that a risk be voluntarily assumed.

Q: Self-defense is a defense to negligence.

Q: If no harm results from an allegedly negligent act, there is no liability.

Q: Harm must be foreseeable to be considered the proximate cause of an injury in negligence.

Q: Proximate cause exists when the connection between an act and an injury is strong enough to justify imposing liability.

Q: Some risks are obvious but that does not necessarily excuse a business owner from the duty to protect customers from foreseeable harm.

Q: To avoid liability for negligence, a business owner must protect its patrons against all risks.

Q: Under the theory of negligence, the duty of care requires a careless act.

Q: To determine whether a duty of care has been breached, a judge asks how a reasonable person would have acted in the same circumstances.

Q: Failure to live up to a standard of care may be an act or an omission.

Q: Disparagement of property is another term for slander of quality.

Q: A failure to return personal property is disparagement of property even if the rightful owner consented to the initial taking.

Q: Wrongfully taking personal property without the owner's permission is conversion.

Q: If it can be shown that a trespass to land was warranted, a complete defense exists.

Q: The courts consider legitimate competitive behavior permissible only if it does not result in the breaking of a contract.

Q: Any lawful contract can potentially form the basis for an action based on wrongful interference with a contractual relationship.

Q: Fraud occurs only when there is reliance on a statement of opinion.

Q: The use of a person's likeness for commercial purposes without permission is appropriation.

Q: The public disclosure of private facts about a person is an invasion of privacy.

Q: Statements made by in judicial proceedings are NOT privileged communications and may be the basis for defamation.

Q: Defamation is one person's use of another's name without permission.

Q: A party cannot recover damages for severe emotional distress absent a showing of physical injury.

Q: Defense of others is a defense to an allegation of battery, but not assault.

Q: Self-defense is a defense to an allegation of both assault and battery.

Q: For a tort to be considered intentional, the tortfeasor must have an evil or harmful motive.

Q: To commit an intentional tort, one person must intend to harm a certain person.

Q: Class-action lawsuits are suits in which a number of persons join together to bring an action.

Q: Very few states have limited the amount of damages that can be awarded in tort cases.

Q: Through tort law, society compensates those who suffer injuries as a result of others' wrongful conduct.

Q: False imprisonment occurs when a person restrains another intentionally and without justification.

Q: After two years of research and the investment of considerable funds, Coast-to-Coast Company (CC) develops a new product that it hopes will produce substantial profits. CC learns that a competitor, National Sales, Inc., has made and begun to sell a nearly identical product. CC learns from a reliable source that National paid a CC employee to obtain the plans for CC's product while it was in development. What legal recourse does CC have against National?

Q: Precise Engineering Corporation has a contract with Quik Mart Stores to provide customized software for Quik's inventory control system. Retail Outlets, Inc., Quik's competitor, induces Sam, a Precise subcontractor who is writing code for the Quik software, to delay delivery of the code for one week. As a result, Precise's delivery of the software is delayed, and Quik sustains $500,000 in lost profits. On what ground could Quik recover damages from Retail Outlets?

Q: Oakley posts a defamatory remark about Pierre in "Roominate," an online social network maintained by SocNet, Inc., an Internet service provider. Most likely to be held liable for the remark will be a. Oakley. b. Pierre. c. Roominate. d. SocNet.

Q: Jean is playing a video game on a defective disk that melts in her game player, starting a fire that injures her hands. Jean files a suit against K-Tech, Inc., the game's manufacturer. K-Tech is held liable under the doctrine of strict liability. A significant application of this doctrine is in the area of a. cyber torts. b. intentional torts. c. product liability. d. unintentional torts.

Q: An Iowa state statute requires amusement parks to maintain equipment in specific condition for the protection of patrons. Jack's Fun Park fails to maintain its equipment. Keely, a patron, is injured. Jack's has committed a. abuse of process. b. battery. c. false imprisonment. d. negligence.

Q: George has a badly infected right foot. Herb, George's physician, prescribes amputation. George agrees. During the operation, Herb amputates the left foot. In George's suit against Herb, George's best theory for recovery is a. assumption of risk. b. negligence per se. c. res ipsa loquitur. d. strict liability.

Q: A Rhode Island state statute requires machinery in industrial plants to include automatic shut-off switches accessible to each employee working on the machine. Steel Company's equipment does not have the switches. Trudy, a Steel employee, suffers an injury that an accessible shut-off switch would have prevented. Trudy's best theory for recovery is a. assault. b. assumption of risk. c. invasion of privacy. d. negligence.

Q: Frank slips and falls on Guy's Harbor Tour Boat and is injured. Frank files a suit against Guy's for $500,000. If Frank is 20 percent at fault and Guy's is 80 percent, under the "50 percent rule" comparative negligence principles, Frank would recover a. $0. b. $250,000. c. $400,000. d. $500,000.

Q: Liu enters Mountain Triathlon, an athletic competition in which Liu has never competed. Regarding the risk of injury, Liu assumes the risks a. attributable to the triathlon in any way. b. different from the risks normally associated with the triathlon. c. greater than the risks normally associated with the triathlon. d. normally associated with the triathlon.

Q: Richard is an avid baseball fan and attends baseball games whenever he can. Richard considers himself an expert on all things, including risks, related to baseball. One day a ball flies into the stands, hits Richard in the head and seriously injures him. Richard can probably successfully win a case against the sports stadium based on a. negligence. b. breach of duty of care. c. defamation. d. none of the choices.

Q: Duffy is a passenger in a car that Caleb is driving when an accident occurs. Both Caleb and Duffy are emotionally rattled, but neither is physically hurt. Caleb is not liable to Dufy on a negligence theory because a. both parties were emotionally rattled. b. Caleb apparently did not intend to cause an accident. c. Duffy must have been comparatively negligent. d. Duffy was not injured.

Q: Ralph, a van driver for Speedy Delivery Company, causes a multi-vehicle accident on a city street. Ralph and Speedy are liable to a. all those who were injured. b. only those who were uninsured. c. only those whose injuries could have been reasonably foreseen. d. only those whose vehicles were closest to Ralph's van.

Q: Nico is a passenger in a car driven by Owen, whose reckless driving causes an accident, injuring himself. Nico, uninjured, accompanies Owen to Parkside Hospital in an ambulance. The ambulance is hit by a car driven by Quin, and Nico is injured. Nico files a suit against Owen, alleging negligence. The element most likely to be a question for the court to decide is a. causation in fact. b. proximate cause. c. the duty of care. d. the injury requirement.

Q: Cook's Pantry Appliances, a retail store, must use reasonable care on its premises to warn its patrons of a. all risks. b. hidden risks. c. obvious risks. d. no risks.

Q: Kelly is injured when she slips and falls on Layla's sidewalk. To determine whether Layla owed a duty of care to Kelly, Layla is subject to the standard of a. a realistic person. b. a reasonable person. c. a recognizable person. d. a reliable person.

Q: Bette backs out of City Parking Garage, colliding with Dill's car. Dill may recover $7,500 to cover the cost of the repairs if Bette failed to act as a. a blameless person. b a faultless person. c. a holistic person. d. a reasonable person.

Q: In newspaper ads, Lo-Price Autos falsely accuses Hi-Value Vehicles, a competitor, of selling stolen cars. Hi-Value's sales decrease. Lo-Price has most likely committed a. slander of quality. b. slander of title. c. wrongful interference with a business relationship. d. none of the choices.

Q: Lizzie, a clerk at a Movies Unlimited store, takes a DVD player from the store without permission. Lizzie is liable for a. appropriation. b. benefiting an employee. c. conversion. d. wrongful interference with a business relationship.

Q: As a joke, Jem takes Kyla's business law textbook and hides it so that Kyla cannot find it during the week before the exam. Jem may have committed a. appropriation. b. conversion. c. disparagement of property. d. trespass to personal property.

Q: Susan takes her car to Ken's repair shop and asks him to fix the car's brakes. Ken completes the work and sends Susan a bill for $100. Susan refuses to pay so Ken refuses to return Susan's car. Susan can probably successfully sue Ken for a. battery. b. conversion. c. trespass to property. d. none of the choices.

Q: Manuel is walking past Thomas's house when he hears a smoke alarm going off. He also hears a child calling for help and sees smoke coming from a window. Manuel rushes into Thomas's house, finds the child and brings it outside. If Thomas sues Manuel for trespass to land, Manuel's defense will probably be a. assisting someone in danger. b. consent. c. self-defense. d. the reasonable person defense.

Q: Bella owns a farm in Colorado. Doyle drives his sport utility vehicle off a highway and onto Bella's land. Doyle commits trespass if he a. does not have Bella's permission to drive on the property. b. drives onto the property for recreational purposes. c. harms the property in a material way. d. harms the property in any way.

Q: OK Dry-Cleaning advertises so effectively that the regular customers of its competitor Purity Cleaners patronize OK instead of Purity. This is a. appropriation. b. conversion. c. wrongful interference with a contractual relationship. d. no tort.