Quiz Answers and Explanations
Torts and Intellectual Property
1. Tort is the French word for:
  1. pie.
    Incorrect. Tort is not tart.

  2. court.
    Incorrect. Tort is not related to court.

  3. late.
    Incorrect. Tort is not tardy.

  4. wrong.
    Correct. A tort is a "wrong" in French.
2. When deciding tort cases, courts often rely upon which document?
  1. The constitution of the State of New York.
    Incorrect. State constitutions are not sources that are relied upon in deciding tort cases.

  2. The Restatement (Second) of Torts.
    Correct. This restatement of the common law is a valued summary of tort law.

  3. The Restatement of Courts.
    Incorrect. There is no such thing as "the restatement of courts."

  4. The Civil Code.
    Incorrect. Tort law is common law, as opposed to civil law.
3. In a tort case, parties usually seek ___________ as damages:
  1. money.
    Correct. Most parties are seeking money damages to compensate them for the harm they have suffered.

  2. land.
    Incorrect. Land is not often the damages people seek in tort cases.

  3. a prison sentence.
    Incorrect. Tort law is private law and does not involve coercive penalties such as jail time.

  4. a verbal rebuke only.
    Incorrect. Parties to a tort case usually want something more than a verbal slap on the wrist for their opponent as compensation.
4. Under the tort law, the person who causes the harm must also:
  1. have intended to commit the act that caused harm.
    Correct. To successfully bring a tort case, the plaintiff must show that the defendant tortfeasor intended to do the action that caused the harm.

  2. have personally known the person who suffered harm.
    Incorrect. There is no requirement that the tortfeasor know the injured party.

  3. have communicated with a third party about their actions.
    Incorrect. There is no requirement that the tortfeasor communicate with any third party about the harm.

  4. have committed the harm within the state where they live.
    Incorrect. There is no such geographical requirement.
5. If Sam threatens Jill with a knife but doesn't, in fact, touch her, Jill may sue for ________________ if she honestly believed Sam could hurt her.
  1. battery.
    Incorrect. A battery requires an unwelcome touching.

  2. felony.
    Incorrect. Private parties do not sue others for felony – government charges people with felonies under the criminal law.

  3. assault.
    Correct. An assault requires someone be reasonably apprehensive about or fearful of an offensive contact.

  4. misdemeanor.
    Incorrect. Governments, not private parties, charge people with misdemeanor crimes.
6. Which of the following IS NOT a defense to a charge of assault and battery?
  1. Defense of property.
    Incorrect. This is a valid defense in an assault and battery case.

  2. Lack of consent.
    Correct. If a defendant can prove the plaintiff consented to the action at issue, this is a legitimate defense. Lack of consent is not a legitimate defense.

  3. Self-defense.
    Incorrect. You may defend yourself from an assault and battery charge if you can show that you were acting in self-defense.

  4. Defense of others.
    Incorrect. Defending others is a legitimate defense to an assault and battery charge.
7. If you are falsely imprisoned, you are:
  1. made fearful of an unwanted contact with another person.
    Incorrect. This describes an assault, not false imprisonment.

  2. touched by another person in an unwanted or offensive way.
    Incorrect. This describes a battery, not false imprisonment.

  3. under unjustified and intentional confinement or restraint by another person.
    Correct. A false imprisonment does not mean you have to be in prison, only confined or restrained by something intentionally and without justification.

  4. intentionally bad-mouthed by another person.
    Incorrect. Such an action may constitute slander, but not false imprisonment.
8. If Sal sends Max a high priority email message telling Max that his wife has just died, when in fact Sal knows this is untrue, Max may be able to sue for:
  1. infliction of emotional distress.
    Correct. Sal's actions were extreme and outrageous and may well have caused Max severe emotional distress.

  2. libel.
    Incorrect. Libel involves harmful things said about someone in print.

  3. violations of the first amendment.
    Incorrect. The first amendment protects our freedom of speech, but this kind of speech is not protected by the first amendment.

  4. battery.
    Incorrect. Battery involves an unwelcome or offensive physical contact.
9. If you defame someone you injure:
  1. yourself.
    Incorrect. You injure yourself only insofar as you subject yourself to a lawsuit.

  2. the defamed person's reputation or character.
    Correct. Defamation involves a harm to someone's reputation or character.

  3. the administrative branch.
    Incorrect. The administrative branch of government as an entity is not harmed by your defamation.

  4. the judiciary.
    Incorrect. As a group, judges in this country are not harmed by your defamation.
10. If someone uses a great picture of you to sell peanut butter and fails to get your consent to do this, you may be able to sue for:
  1. public disclosure of private facts.
    Incorrect. This tort involves telling people embarrassing or harmful things about someone.

  2. publication of information in a false light.
    Incorrect. This tort involves portraying someone as something they really are not.

  3. defamation.
    Incorrect. Defamation involves a harm to reputation or character.

  4. appropriation.
    Correct. If you appropriate someone's likeness without their consent this is one of the invasion of privacy torts.
11. Which of the following IS NOT an element of the tort of fraudulent misrepresentation?
  1. A causal connection between the misrepresentation and the injury suffered.
    Incorrect. This causal connection is an essential element of the tort.

  2. A lack of intent to cause reliance on the misrepresentation.
    Correct. Rather than show a lack of intent, the plaintiff must show intent to cause reliance on the misrepresentation.

  3. Damages suffered as a result of reliance.
    Incorrect. The plaintiff must show that she suffered damages as a result of her reliance.

  4. Justifiable reliance by the party that was deceived.
    Incorrect. The plaintiff must also show that she was justified in relying on the defendant.
12. Torts committed against property include:
  1. defamation.
    Incorrect. Defamation is a tort committed against a person.

  2. appropriation.
    Incorrect. Appropriation is also a tort committed against a person.

  3. conversion.
    Correct. Conversion is the wrongful taking of the personal property of another person for use by a third party.

  4. libel.
    Incorrect. Libel is a tort committed against a person.
13. If your actions harm someone else, but you never intended to cause that harm, you may be liable for the tort of:
  1. conversion.
    Incorrect. Conversion involves the wrongful appropriation of personal property.

  2. nuisance.
    Incorrect. Nuisance involves a harm to real property (land).

  3. negligence.
    Correct. So long as you owed a duty of reasonable care to the person you harmed and that person suffered a legally recognizable injury, you may be liable for negligence.

  4. infliction of Emotional Distress.
    Incorrect. To prove this tort you must have intended harm.
14. The legal "duty of care" requires you to:
  1. help all strangers you run across.
    Incorrect. Such a standard would impose a tremendous burden on people.

  2. help only those strangers who are suffering from some injury.
    Incorrect. There is no legal duty (in the vast majority of states) to be a "good Samaritan."

  3. help only those strangers who are experiencing an emergency.
    Incorrect. You have no legal duty to help people in emergencies, though you may have a moral duty to do so.

  4. exercise reasonable care in your dealings with other people.
    Correct. As a member of civil society, this level of care is legally required of you.
15. If a dentist violates her duty of care to you by negligently cracking two of your teeth, you may be able to sue her for:
  1. malpractice.
    Correct. A professional who violates a duty of care towards a client may be sued for malpractice. This applies to doctors, lawyers, accountants, etc.

  2. appropriation.
    Incorrect. Appropriation is a tort involving invasion of privacy.

  3. trespass.
    Incorrect. Trespass is a tort involving a harm done to land.

  4. puffery.
    Incorrect. Puffery is the act of bragging about a product.
16. The landmark case that established the "foreseeability" test for proximate cause was:
  1. Wickard v. Filburn.
    Incorrect. This case involved the Commerce Clause.

  2. Palsgraf v. Long Island Railroad Co.
    Correct. This famous decision established that legal rule that a harm must be foreseeable in order for it be considered the proximate cause of an injury.

  3. Roach v. Stern.
    Incorrect. This case involved establishing a case for emotional distress.

  4. Dumont v. Shaw's Supermarkets, Inc.
    Incorrect. This case involved a store's liability to a customer.
17. Which of the following is a defense to a negligence claim?
  1. Self defense.
    Incorrect. Self defense is a defense to assault and battery.

  2. Defense of property.
    Incorrect. Defense of property is a defense to assault and battery.

  3. Assumption of risk.
    Correct. If you assume the risk of acting a certain way, you may not sue for negligence if you hurt while engaging in the risky behavior.

  4. Truth.
    Incorrect. Truth is a defense to defamation.
18. In a state which follows the "contributory negligence" rule, a plaintiff who contributes to her harm by acting negligently herself:
  1. will recover nothing from a defendant.
    Correct. In those few states that follow this rule, no matter how minor the plaintiff's negligence, in comparison to the defendant's, this will bar the plaintiff from recovering any damages whatsoever.

  2. will recover only 50% of the damages she seeks.
    Incorrect. In these jurisdictions the plaintiff will recover nothing, not even 50%.

  3. will recover fully from the defendant.
    Incorrect. In these jurisdictions the plaintiff will recover nothing from the defendant.

  4. will recover only if the defendant is a non-resident.
    Incorrect. The residence, or non-residence, of the defendant is not the important issue in this situation. Rather, the plaintiff's own negligence is the important issue.
19. If a jury in a "comparative negligence" state with a 50% rule finds Bill 35% liable for his own injuries in a negligence suit Bill brings against Tina, Bill will recover:
  1. nothing at all from Tina.
    Incorrect. Because Bill was less than 50% liable for his harms, he will recover in proportion to his own negligence.

  2. 50% of the damages he seeks from Tina.
    Incorrect. In this case Bill will recover 65%, not 50% of the damages he seeks.

  3. 65% of the damages he seeks from Tina.
    Correct. Bill will recover 100% minus 35% (his share of the negligence) or 65% of the damages he seeks from Tina.

  4. 100% of the damages he seeks from Tina.
    Incorrect. Because Bill was partly responsible for his injuries, Tina is not fully liable for the damages he suffers.
20. If you are found to be strictly liable by a court, this means:
  1. your liability is based on your intent to harm someone.
    Incorrect. Intent is not necessary in a strict liability case.

  2. your liability is based on the foreseeability of the harm.
    Incorrect. It is not necessary that you foresee the harm, only that the harm happens.

  3. you are liable for the harms you cause REGARDLESS of your fault.
    Correct. Strict liability means you have liability even though you have no fault.

  4. you are liable for the harms you cause only if the other party was negligent.
    Incorrect. The negligence of the other party is not an issue in a strict liability case.
21. Which of the following IS NOT an element of the tort of wrongful interference with a contractual relationship?
  1. A third party, without intent, caused a party to a contract to break that contract.
    Correct. The third party must intend to break the contract to prove this tort.

  2. A third party intentionally caused a party to a contract to break the contract.
    Incorrect. The third party must have the intention to break the contract.

  3. A valid contract existed between two parties.
    Incorrect. Without a valid contract there is no tort of wrongful interference.

  4. A third party knew about a contract existing between two other parties.
    Incorrect. If the third party doesn't know about the contractual relationship there is no tort.
22. If Liza knows that Jesse and Frank have a contract for Frank to paint Jesse's portrait, and if Liza tells Frank all sorts of (false) awful things about Jesse so that Frank will not want to work with her, and if Frank then tells Jesse he has no interest in painting such an evil, terrible human being, Liza could be sued for:
  1. appropriation.
    Incorrect. Appropriation involves an unauthorized taking of someone's likeness.

  2. libel.
    Incorrect. Libel involves a writing that harms someone's reputation or character.

  3. wrongful interference.
    Correct. Liza has wrongfully interfered with Jesse and Frank's contractual relationship.

  4. infringement.
    Incorrect. Infringement involves the violation of an intellectual property right.
23. Predatory behavior involves:
  1. the wrongful release of dangerous animals.
    Incorrect. Animals may be predators, but in legal terms, predatory behavior has to do with businesses and competition, not with animals.

  2. strict liability for the explosions.
    Incorrect. Predatory behavior is not a strict liability tort and would not (typically) have to do with explosives.

  3. unintentionally breaking third party contracts.
    Incorrect. Unintentionally breaking contracts would not be a tort.

  4. unlawfully driving competitors completely out of the market.
    Correct. There is, under our law, such a thing as being too competitive.
24. Maria owns a children's clothing store in the Lakeview Mall. After several months of wonderful business, George moves into the mall and opens another children's clothing store that also carries interesting toys. George takes much of Maria's business away from her. Maria:
  1. may sue for the tort of predatory behavior.
    Incorrect. This is competition, not predatory behavior.

  2. may sue for wrongful interference with a contractual relationship.
    Incorrect. George has caused no wrongful breach of contract, so far as we can tell.

  3. may not sue.
    Correct. Our productive market economy relies on this kind of competition to help all consumers.

  4. may sue for appropriation only if George used her trademark.
    Incorrect. Maria could not sue for either appropriation or trademark infringement.
25. When talk-show hostess Oprah Winfrey said, on the air during one of her television shows, that she was frightened of beef because of mad-cow disease and would not eat another hamburger, she was sued for:
  1. appropriation.
    Incorrect. Appropriation involves the wrongful taking of someone's image, name or other identifying characteristic.

  2. libel.
    Incorrect. Libel involves a written statement that harms someone's reputation.

  3. violating a food-disparagement law.
    Correct. These relatively new laws protect food manufactures from false or misleading statements.

  4. reckless endangerment.
    Incorrect. There was no reckless endangerment in this case.
26. The famous "swoosh" on the side of Nike sneakers is an example of:
  1. a copyright.
    Incorrect. A copyright is an intangible right in certain artistic or creative products.

  2. a patent.
    Incorrect. A patent is a property right in a unique invention or design.

  3. a trademark.
    Correct. A trademark is a distinctive mark or motto or logo that identifies a product in a market.

  4. a trade secret.
    Incorrect. A trade secret is closely guarded information, not a prominently featured design.
27. The federal law that protects trademarks and related property is known as:
  1. The Lanham Act.
    Courts. This 1946 Act protects owners of trademarks and allows them to sue in federal courts.

  2. The Smith-Barney Act.
    Incorrect. There is no such thing (not yet anyway) as the "Smith-Barney Act."

  3. The Berne Convention.
    Incorrect. The Berne Convention deals with copyrights, not trademarks.

  4. The Copyright Act.
    Incorrect. The Copyright Act does not cover trademarks.
28. If you create a trademark and want to register this great new mark with the federal government you should:
  1. file your mark in your state capital.
    Incorrect. To receive federal protection you need to file with the federal government.

  2. file at the Patent and Trademark Office in Washington, D.C.
    Correct. You need to file your claim in Washington, D.C.

  3. file at the United Nations headquarters in New York.
    Incorrect. It would do you no good to file at the U.N. if you want federal protection.

  4. file only after a 2-year wait period.
    Incorrect. There is no 2-year wait period requirement for trademarks.
29. When you see on a box of low-fat granola that the cereal has the "Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval" you are looking at:
  1. a certification mark.
    Courts. A certification mark certifies the manufacture, quality, or accuracy of the owner's goods or services.

  2. a strong mark.
    Incorrect. A strong mark is a kind of fanciful, arbitrary, or suggestive trademark.

  3. a patent.
    Incorrect. A patent is a government grant of monopoly for an invention or design.

  4. a licensee.
    Incorrect. A licensee is someone who licenses a good or service to someone else (the licensor).
30. A patent for a new invention will last for:
  1. ten years.
    Incorrect. A patent lasts for 20 years.

  2. fifteen years.
    Incorrect. A patent lasts for 20 years.

  3. twenty years.
    Correct. A patent lasts for 20 years.

  4. fifty years.
    Incorrect. A patent only lasts for 20 years.
31. Jami invents a new machine that automatically weeds small gardens. He patents his invention with the U.S. government. Louisa buys one of Jami's machines, pulls it apart, copies his work, and starts producing and selling her own version of the amazing weedeater. Louisa:
  1. has done nothing wrong – competition is a part of our market economy.
    Incorrect. This kind of action is prohibited by the common law tort of patent infringement.

  2. has committed a patent infringement.
    Correct. Louisa is not permitted to take Jami's intellectual property in this way.

  3. has committed an appropriation.
    Incorrect. An appropriation involves the wrongful taking of a likeness or image.

  4. has violated Jami's trade dress.
    Incorrect. Trade dress involves the unique appearance of a good or service, not a patent.
32. Which of the following could NOT be copyrighted?
  1. A novel.
    Incorrect. A novel is a literary product which may be copyrighted.

  2. A photograph.
    Incorrect. A photograph is an artistic product which may be copyrighted.

  3. A logo.
    Correct. A logo is a unique device that could be trademarked, but not copyrighted.

  4. A painting.
    Incorrect. A painting is an artistic product which may be copyrighted.
33. Ordinarily, you may not reproduce a copyrighted object without the owner's permission. The exception to this general rule is contained in:
  1. the Lanham Act.
    Incorrect. The Lanham Act deals with trademark protection.

  2. the appropriation doctrine.
    Incorrect. There is no appropriation doctrine.

  3. the fair-use doctrine.
    Correct. The "fair-use" doctrine allows limited reproductions of copyrighted materials for very particular reasons.

  4. the dealers' doctrine.
    Incorrect. There is no dealers' doctrine.
34. A trade secret might include which of the following?
  1. A product name.
    Incorrect. A product name is not secret.

  2. A distinctive company logo.
    Incorrect. A logo is widely displayed, and therefore not secret.

  3. A customer list.
    Correct. A customer list might be confidential, guarded information.

  4. The appearance of a clothing store.
    Incorrect. Appearances are not secret.


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