flashcards (1)

Question 1

According to the labor theory of property, what is the primary purpose of intellectual property rights?

Answer 1

To create an incentive for creative work that benefits the public.

Question 2

What legal mechanism does IP law grant to promote creative activity, and what is the purpose of the limits on this mechanism?

Answer 2

It grants limited monopolies; the limits serve to advance competition.

Question 3

What two fundamental categories of information are not protected by intellectual property rights?

Answer 3

Ideas and facts.

Question 4

A resource is considered _____ when its use by one person does not interfere with its use by others.

Answer 4

nonrivalrous

Question 5

What legal protection is available for original works of authorship like literary, musical, or dramatic works?

Answer 5

Copyright.

Question 6

What form of IP protection applies to a process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter?

Answer 6

Patent.

Question 7

A commercially distinctive word, name, symbol, or device is protected by _____ law.

Answer 7

trademark

Question 8

What is the term for the copyright protection period for works created on or after January 1, 1978?

Answer 8

The life of the author plus 70 years.

Question 9

What are the three federal requirements for copyright protection?

Answer 9

Originality, Work of Authorship, and Fixation.

Question 10

What is the standard for originality in copyright law?

Answer 10

The work must be an independent creation of the author and show a minimal degree of creativity.

Question 11

To prove copyright infringement, what two elements must be established?

Answer 11

Ownership of a valid copyright and copying of original constituent elements of the work.

Question 12

What is the term for the defense that prevents a copyright holder from suing for infringement over false information they presented as factual?

Answer 12

Copyright estoppel.

Question 13

What is the most important defense in a copyright infringement action, permitting unauthorized copying in some circumstances?

Answer 13

The doctrine of fair use.

Question 14

In a fair use analysis, what is the key question regarding the first factor, ‘the purpose and character of the use’?

Answer 14

Whether the new work is transformative, adding something new or expanding the original’s utility.

Question 15

What type of use, such as providing commentary, criticism, or parody, is often considered a transformative and fair use?

Answer 15

Copying a work to provide comment on it, criticism of it, or to create a parody.

Question 16

Under the fourth fair use factor, what must be shown regarding the effect on the potential market for the copyrighted work?

Answer 16

A meaningful or significant effect, not just the possibility of some lost sales.

Question 17

The _____ doctrine in copyright law exhausts the copyright holder’s right to control the distribution of a copy after its first lawful sale or transfer.

Answer 17

first sale

Question 18

What are the five requirements for an invention to be granted a patent?

Answer 18

Patentability, Novelty, Utility, Non-obviousness, and Enablement.

Question 19

What categories of things are explicitly held to be not patentable?

Answer 19

The laws of nature, physical phenomena, and abstract ideas.

Question 20

What is the most important requirement for obtaining a patent, concerning whether the invention is a sufficient technical advance?

Answer 20

Non-obviousness.

Question 21

What is the standard for the ‘enablement’ requirement in a patent application?

Answer 21

The application must describe the invention in enough detail for one of ordinary skill in the art to use it.

Question 22

The _____ doctrine states that once a patentee sells a product, they can no longer control that specific item through patent laws.

Answer 22

patent exhaustion

Question 23

What are the three requirements for trademark protection?

Answer 23

Distinctiveness, Non-functionality, and First Use in commerce.

Question 24

A product feature is considered _____ if it is essential to the use or purpose of the article or affects its cost or quality.

Answer 24

functional

Question 25

What happens to a registered trademark if it becomes a generic term for a category of goods or services?

Answer 25

It may be canceled at any time on the grounds that it has become generic.

Question 26

What is the default form of co-ownership when property is conveyed to two or more people without specifying the type of tenancy?

Answer 26

Tenancy in Common.

Question 27

Which form of co-ownership does NOT include a right of survivorship, allowing a co-tenant to convey their interest by will?

Answer 27

Tenancy in Common.

Question 28

What defining feature of a joint tenancy means that a deceased tenant's interest automatically passes to the surviving joint tenants?

Answer 28

The right of survivorship.

Question 29

What are the four unities required to create a joint tenancy?

Answer 29

Time, Title, Interest, and Possession.

Question 30

What happens to a joint tenancy if one of the four unities is lost or destroyed?

Answer 30

The joint tenancy is severed and becomes a tenancy in common.

Question 31

If A, B, and C are joint tenants, and C transfers their interest to D, what is the resulting co-ownership structure?

Answer 31

A and B remain joint tenants with each other, but they are tenants in common with respect to D.

Question 32

In a 'lien theory' jurisdiction, does a mortgage taken out by one joint tenant on their interest sever the joint tenancy?

Answer 32

No, because a mortgage is considered a lien, not a conveyance, and severance requires a conveyance.

Question 33

What form of co-ownership is a special joint tenancy available only to married couples?

Answer 33

Tenancy by the Entirety.

Question 34

What is the fifth unity required for a Tenancy by the Entirety, in addition to the four unities of a joint tenancy?

Answer 34

Marriage.

Question 35

How can a Tenancy by the Entirety be severed?

Answer 35

Only by divorce or death; partition is not available.

Question 36

In a majority of states, can a creditor of one spouse reach property held in a tenancy by the entirety?

Answer 36

No, the interest of one spouse is not subject to the claims of his or her individual creditors.

Question 37

What is the legal term for when a co-tenant in possession refuses to allow other co-tenants to enter the property?

Answer 37

Ouster.

Question 38

Under the majority rule, when is a co-tenant in possession liable to other co-tenants for the rental value of the property?

Answer 38

Only if there has been an ouster, meaning they have denied the other co-tenants the right to enter.

Question 39

A co-tenant who pays more than their share of taxes or mortgage payments generally has a right of _____ from the other co-owners.

Answer 39

contribution

Question 40

What remedy is available to tenants in common and joint tenants to transform their concurrent ownership into separate ownership?

Answer 40

Partition.

Question 41

Which form of partition is generally favored by courts because it does not force an owner to sell their property against their will?

Answer 41

Partition in kind.

Question 42

Partition by _____ is used when physical division is impractical and the owners' interests would be better served by selling the property and dividing the proceeds.

Answer 42

sale

Question 43

What is the term for a monetary payment ordered by a court to equalize the value received by co-tenants in a partition action?

Answer 43

Owelty.

Question 44

Which type of leasehold estate is for a fixed period of time and terminates automatically at the end of that period?

Answer 44

Term of years.

Question 45

A lease that continues for successive periods until one party gives proper notice to terminate is called a _____.

Answer 45

periodic tenancy

Question 46

A tenancy that can be terminated by either the landlord or tenant at any time is known as a _____.

Answer 46

tenancy at will

Question 47

When a tenant wrongfully remains in possession after the lease has expired, what type of tenancy is created?

Answer 47

Tenancy at sufferance (or holdover tenancy).

Question 48

Under the _____ Rule for delivering possession, a landlord must provide the new tenant with both the legal right to and physical custody of the premises.

Answer 48

English

Question 49

What is it called when a tenant transfers their entire interest in the lease to another party?

Answer 49

An assignment.

Question 50

When a tenant transfers less than their entire interest in a lease, retaining a reversionary interest, it is known as a _____.

Answer 50

sublease

Question 51

In an assignment, the landlord and the new transferee (assignee) are in _____.

Answer 51

privity of estate

Question 52

After an assignment, the original tenant remains liable to the landlord for rent based on what legal relationship?

Answer 52

Privity of contract.

Question 53

In a sublease, what legal relationship, if any, exists between the landlord and the sublessee?

Answer 53

None; there is no privity of contract or privity of estate between them.

Question 54

Under the modern majority rule for commercial leases, a landlord can only withhold consent to an assignment or sublease for a _____ reason.

Answer 54

commercially reasonable

Question 55

What is the modern majority rule regarding a landlord's use of self-help to dispossess a tenant who has not abandoned the premises?

Answer 55

Self-help is never available; the landlord must use judicial summary proceedings.

Question 56

Under the modern majority rule, what duty does a landlord have when a tenant abandons the property before the lease term ends?

Answer 56

A duty to make reasonable efforts to re-let the premises to mitigate damages.

Question 57

The implied promise in every lease that the landlord will not disrupt the tenant's possession is the covenant of _____.

Answer 57

quiet enjoyment

Question 58

What remedy is available to a tenant when conditions caused by the landlord substantially interfere with the tenant's use of the premises, making it akin to an eviction?

Answer 58

Constructive eviction.

Question 59

To claim constructive eviction, what three steps must the tenant take?

Answer 59

Give notice to the landlord, allow a reasonable time to fix the problem, and then vacate the premises.

Question 60

The _____ applies only to residential leases and requires the landlord to provide and maintain premises that are safe, clean, and fit for human habitation.

Answer 60

implied warranty of habitability

Question 61

What is the term for a landlord taking reprisals against a tenant for reporting housing code violations in good faith?

Answer 61

Retaliatory eviction.

Question 62

What law requires that a contract for the sale of land must be in writing to be enforceable?

Answer 62

The Statute of Frauds.

Question 63

What is an exception to the Statute of Frauds in land sales, often evidenced by payment, possession, or buyer improvements?

Answer 63

Part performance.

Question 64

Every land sale contract includes an implied covenant that the seller will provide _____, which is title free from an unreasonable risk of litigation.

Answer 64

marketable title

Question 65

Which type of deed makes no warranties about the title and conveys only whatever interest the grantor has, if any?

Answer 65

A quitclaim deed.

Question 66

A _____ deed contains warranties only against the grantor's own acts, not the acts of others.

Answer 66

special warranty

Question 67

Which type of deed provides the greatest protection to the buyer by warranting against all defects in title, regardless of who caused them?

Answer 67

A general warranty deed.

Question 68

What are the three present covenants in a general warranty deed?

Answer 68

The covenant of seisin, the covenant of right to convey, and the covenant against encumbrances.

Question 69

What are the three future covenants in a general warranty deed?

Answer 69

The covenant of quiet enjoyment, the covenant of warranty, and the covenant of further assurances.

Question 70

To be valid, a deed must be delivered with the grantor's intent to make the transfer _____ at the time of delivery.

Answer 70

irrevocable

Question 71

Under a _____ recording statute, the first person to record their deed wins, regardless of whether they had notice of prior unrecorded conveyances.

Answer 71

race

Question 72

Under a _____ recording statute, a subsequent bona fide purchaser wins if they acquire the property without notice of a prior unrecorded conveyance.

Answer 72

notice

Question 73

What are the three types of notice that can defeat a subsequent purchaser's claim under a notice or race-notice statute?

Answer 73

Actual, constructive, or inquiry notice.

Question 74

A subsequent purchaser is protected under a _____ statute only if they are without notice of a prior instrument AND they record their deed first.

Answer 74

race-notice

Question 75

What is a non-possessory right to use the land of another for a limited purpose?

Answer 75

An easement.

Question 76

In an easement appurtenant, the land that is burdened by the easement is called the _____.

Answer 76

servient tenement

Question 77

An easement that benefits the holder personally, rather than a particular piece of land, is known as an _____.

Answer 77

easement in gross

Question 78

What are the four primary ways an easement can be created (summarized by the mnemonic PINE)?

Answer 78

Prescription, Implication (prior use), Necessity, and Express Grant.

Question 79

An easement created by open, notorious, continuous, and adverse use for the statutory period is an easement by _____.

Answer 79

prescription

Question 80

What type of easement arises when a landowner severs a parcel, leaving one part landlocked?

Answer 80

An easement by necessity.

Question 81

A revocable permission to enter another's land for a specific purpose is called a _____.

Answer 81

license

Question 82

A license can become irrevocable through _____, which occurs when the licensee reasonably and detrimentally relies on the licensor's representation that the license will not be revoked.

Answer 82

estoppel

Question 83

A promise about the use of land that is enforceable at law against successors in interest is called a _____.

Answer 83

real covenant

Question 84

For the burden of a real covenant to run with the land, traditional law requires _____ privity between the original covenanting parties and _____ privity between the original party and their successor.

Answer 84

horizontal; vertical

Question 85

What is the requirement for a covenant that it must have a close relationship to the ownership of the land itself, rather than being a personal promise?

Answer 85

It must 'touch and concern' the land.

Question 86

A covenant that is enforceable in equity, does not require privity, and is based on notice is known as an _____.

Answer 86

equitable servitude

Question 87

Under what doctrine can a covenant be terminated if conditions in the neighborhood have changed so drastically that the original purpose of the covenant can no longer be achieved?

Answer 87

The changed conditions doctrine.