Describe the business tort of misappropriating a trade secret.

 Describe how an invention can be patented under patent laws and the penalties for
patent infringement.
 List the writings and other works that can be copyrighted, and describe the penalties
for copyright infringement.
 Describe the legal rights that computer and software designers have in their works.
 Define trademarks and service marks, and describe the penalties for trademark
infringement.
 Explain the process for obtaining Internet domain names.

 Describe the protections provided by the federal Anticybersquatting Act.

Combine all the points with cyber law

A trade secret is a product formula, pattern, design, compilation of data, customer list, or
other business secret that makes a business successful. The owner of a trade secret must
take reasonable precautions to prevent its trade secret from being discovered by others.

Misappropriation
Misappropriation is a tort in which another’s trade secret is obtained through unlawful
means such as theft, bribery, or espionage. A successful plaintiff can recover profits,
damages, and an injunction against the offender.

Economic Espionage Act

The Federal Economic Espionage Act makes it a crime for any person to convert a trade
secret for his or another’s benefit, knowing or intending to cause injury to the owners of
the trade secret.

Patents
Federal Patent Statute
Patent law is exclusively federal law; there are no state patent laws.

Scope
Patentable subject matter includes inventions such as machines; processes; compositions
of matter; improvements to existing machines, processes, or compositions of matter;
designs for articles of manufacture; asexually reproduced plants; and living matter
invented by humans.

Criteria
To be patented an invention must be:

1. Novel
2. Useful
3. Nonobvious

Patent Application
An application containing a written description of the invention must be filed with the
United States Patent and Trademark Office in Washington, D.C.

Term
Patents are valid for 20 years.

Public-use Doctrine
A patent may not be granted if the invention was used by the public for more than one
year prior to filing the patent application.

Patent Infringement
The patent holder may recover damages and other remedies against a person who makes
unauthorized use of another’s patent.

American Inventors Protection Act

The American Inventors Protection Act:

1. permits an inventor to file a provisional application with the U.S. Patent and
Trademark Office three months pending the filing of a final patent application to
gain “provisional rights.”
2. requires the PTO to issue a patent within three years after the filing of a patent
application.

Patent Appeal
The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, D.C., hears
patent appeals.

Copyrights
Scope
Copyright law is exclusively federal law; there are no state copyright laws. Only tangible
writings can be copyrighted. These include books, newspapers, addresses, musical
compositions, motion pictures, works of art, architectural plans, greeting cards,
photographs, sound recordings, computer programs, and mask works fixed in
semiconductor chips.

Copyright Revision Act

Copyright Laws

Judicial Improvement Act

Semiconductor Chip Protection Act
Computer Software Copyright Act
Copyright Term Extension Act

Requirements for Copyright

The writing must be the original work of the author.

Copyright Registration
Copyright registration is permissive and voluntary. Published and unpublished works
may be registered with the United States Copyright Office in Washington, D.C.
Registration itself does not create the copyright.

Term
Copyrights are for the following terms:

1. Individual holder: Life of the author plus 70 years

2. Corporate holder: Either (1) 120 years from the date of creation, or (2) 95 years
from the date of publication, whichever is shorter.

Copyright Infringement
The copyright holder may recover damages and other remedies against a person who
copies a substantial and material part of a copyrighted work without the holder’s
permission.

Fair-use Doctrine
The fair-use doctrine permits use of copyrighted material without the consent of the
copyright holder for limited uses (e.g., scholarly work, parody or satire, and brief
quotation in news reports).

Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)

The federal DMCA, enacted in 1998, provides civil and criminal penalties that

1. prohibit the manufacture and distribution of technologies, products, or services

primarily designed for the purpose of circumventing wrappers or encryption
protection.
 2. prohibit unauthorized access to copyrighted digital works by circumventing the
wrapper or encryption technology that protects the intellectual property.

No Electronic Theft Act (NET Act)

The federal Net Act makes it a crime for a person to willfully infringe a copyright work
exceeding $1,000 in retail value, even without commercial advantages or financial gain.

Trademarks

Mark
Referred to collectively as trademarks, a mark consists of the trade name, symbol, word,
logo, design, or device that distinguishes the owner’s good or services.

Trademark Registration
Marks are registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office in Washington,
D.C.

Types of Marks

1. Trademark: identifies goods of a particular business

2. Service mark: identifies services of a particular business
3. Certification mark: certifies that goods or services are of a certain quality or
origin
4. Collective mark: used by cooperatives, associations, and fraternal organizations

Requirements for a Trademark

The mark must either

1. be distinctive, or
2. have acquired a secondary meaning.

The mark must have been used in commerce or the holder must intend to use the mark in
commerce and actually do so within six months after registering the mark.

Term
The original registration of a mark is valid for 10 years and can be renewed for an
unlimited number of 10-year periods.

Trademark Infringement
The mark holder may recover damages and other remedies from a person who makes
unauthorized use of another’s registered mark.

Generic Name
A generic name is a mark that becomes a common term for a product line or type of
service loses its protection under federal trademark law.
The Internet and Domain Names

Internet
The Internet is a collection of millions of computers that provide a network of electronic
connections between computers.

World Wide Web

The www is an electronic connection of computers that support a standard set of rules for
the exchange of information called hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP).

Electronic Mail (email)

Email is electronic written communication between individuals using computers
connected to the Internet.

Domain Name
The domain name is a unique name that identifies an individual’s or company’s website.

Electronic Communications Privacy Act

The Electronic Communications Privacy Act is a federal statute that makes it a federal
crime to intercept an electronic communication at the point of transmission, while in
transit, when stored by a router or server, or after receipt by the intended recipient.

Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act

The Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act is a federal statute that permits a court
to issue cease-and-desist orders and injunctions and to award monetary damages against
anyone who has registered a domain name (1) of a famous name (2) in bad faith.