Final Examination
International Intellectual
Property Law
Professors Glenn and Hiaring
Fall 2005
Please write your response in the blue books provided. Please write clearly. Write on every other line and every other page to permit instructor comments.
Essay Question 1.
(50 points)
Uncle Ted's lamp company manufactures a variety of
lamps. The president of Uncle Ted's lamp
company ("Ted") has come to your office with a problem. Ted had an idea for a new kind of pole lamp
that uses a pneumatic cylinder to replace the spring usually used in pole
lamps. Spring-loaded poles often fall
over and have been responsible for several fires. The pneumatic cylinder solves the problem. During the process of developing this lamp,
Ted worked with a Chinese vendor, Duplicity Electricity ("Duplicity")
. Based on Ted's specifications and
drawings, Duplicity built pole lamps for Ted's company. Although there was never a written agreement,
there was a long-time understanding between Uncle Ted's and Duplicity that all
work performed by Duplicity was performed under an obligation of
confidentiality.
Ted shows you Duplicity's brochure which advertises a lamp
that is in all ways identical to Ted's new pole lamp. The brochure refers to the pole lamp as the
"Bright Idea" lamp. The
letters "TM" appear next to the words "Bright Idea". Ted obtained the brochures from the Duplicity
booth at a recent trade show. The
brochure is identical to a brochure prepared and circulated by Uncle Ted's,
except that Duplicity's name and address replaces Uncle Ted's name and
address. The brochures include a
photocopy of an interview with Ted that appeared in the Wall Street Journal in
April 2003 in which Ted extols the virtues of the new lamp. Ted shows you his application for a trademark
for "Bright Ideas", which was filed in January 2005. The Duplicity brochures also bears the notice
"Copyright Duplicity Electricity Company U.S. Patent Pending".
Ted tells you that he invented the pole lamp in 2003 and
first marketed the lamp on or about March 2005
(nine months ago). The lamp has
been widely advertised in Uncle Ted's brochures. At the trade show, some of the customers visiting
the Uncle Ted's booth mentioned that Duplicity's sales people had told them
that Ted had developed the lamp with Duplicity.
Additionally, Ted tells you that John Jolt, Uncle Ted's top marketing
executive, has recently left Uncle Ted's and gone to Duplicity. Since Mr. Jolt's departure, Uncle Ted's
customers have been systematically contacted by Duplicity.
Your analysis indicates that there are patent issues, copyright issues, trademark issues, and trade-secret issues involved in the potential dispute between Uncle Ted's lamp company and Duplicity Electricity. Ted has asked you to prepare a memo for him, advising him with regard to Uncle Ted's rights and options.
Essay Question 2.
(50 points)
The native peoples
of Old Tribe in
New Age makes
graphic prints and photo prints, and also home décor items such as table cloths,
placemats and napkins, wall hangings, bed furnishings and pillows and matching
tableware.
New Age sends
representatives to
The elders of Old
Tribe have refused to meet with the representatives of New Age and have
disallowed photographs. New Age pays someone to steal one of the dolls,
however, takes it out of
An anthropologist
working in New Land learns of the theft and the concern of Old Tribe over New
Age’s actions and has contacted you to learn what, if anything, can be done by
Old Tribe to stop New Age. The anthropologist understands that theft of
archeologically valuable items from
Please advise Old
Tribe what its possible remedies are under existing or possible sui generis (new) laws. Assume that