Forms of Intellectual Property and Jokes

What is Intellectual Property?

• Physical property, such as land or buildings, that can be owned

• Creations of the mind, such as inventions; literary and artistic works; designs; and symbols, names, and images used in commerce

• The legal rights to tangible assets

• Government-owned information and property

What is the main reason comedians rarely use copyright infringement lawsuits to protect their jokes?

• The costs involved in lawsuits

• The difficulty in proving ownership of a joke

• The low success rates in such lawsuits

• All of the above

According to the passage, what must a plaintiff prove to overcome the 'idea vs. expression' dichotomy?

• That the idea was original

• That the expression was infringed upon

• That the joke was funny

• That the expression was an idea

What is the Merger Doctrine in copyright law?

• A doctrine that protects ideas and expressions equally

• A doctrine that merges ideas with expressions when there are limited ways to express an idea

• A doctrine that allows for the free use of ideas

• A doctrine that prevents the copyrighting of jokes

In the case of 'Nichols v. Universal Pictures Corp.', what did the court rule about the comedic concepts?

• They were universal ideas and not eligible for copyright protection

• They were unique expressions and eligible for copyright protection

• They were original ideas and eligible for copyright protection

• They were expressions that could be copyrighted

What is the significance of the 'fixation' element in copyright law as discussed in the passage?

• It determines the originality of a work

• It ensures a work is permanent enough to be reproduced

• It protects ideas from being copied

• It allows for temporary works to be copyrighted

Organize these options into the right categories

• Protects inventions and processes

• Copyright

• Protects original works of authorship

• Trade Secret

• Protects brand names and logos

• Intellectual Property

• Protects confidential business information

• Trademark

• Encompasses various legal rights

• Patent

Summarize the idea vs. expression dichotomy as explained in the video

The problem with fair use is that

• It's illegal

• There is no law saying what is fair use and what is not -- it's up to a judge to decide.

• It is a law, so you know 100% what is legal and what is not.

• It only applies to music.

What is 'Fair Use' in copyright law?

• A guideline for how much to pay for using copyrighted material

• A policy that protects the rights of the copyright holder at all times

• A rule that all copyrighted materials are free to use

• A law that allows the use of copyrighted material without permission for specific purposes