Trademark Ownership Timeline

The following sequence of events takes place: • In January, Grover designs a logo and a catchy name for the bicycles he sells. • In February, Grover begins using that logo and name to sell his bicycles. • In March, Grover files an application for trademark registration for this logo and name. *. In April, the USPTO informs Grover that his registration has been approved.
 In what month does Grover first own a trademark in that logo and name?

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The following sequence of events takes place: • At *:* Monday, Elmo gets the idea for a new song, and begins to think about it in his head. • At *:*, Elmo gets out his guitar and begins working out chords, melodies, and lyrics. • At *:*, Elmo finishes the song, although he hasn't written anything down. • At *:*, Elmo begins using his music-composition software to transcribe the song. • At *:*, Elmo finishes transcribing the song, although he as not yet saved it to disk (it is temporarily contained in his computer's random-access memory (RAM), and fortunately there are no power failures or other events that would erase it.) (RAM would be erased if electrical power were interrupted in a computer.)

• At *:*, Elmo saves the composition to his hard drive, as well as to a flash drive and to the "cloud." • At *:*, Elmo completes an online copyright registration application with the U. S. Copyright office, which includes attaching a copy of the song and paying a fee. • On Wednesday, the Copyright Office notifies Elmo that his registration application has been approved. At what day and time did Elmo first own a copyright in the song? Optional: If you wish, you may add some explanation or discussion.

The following sequence of events takes place: • In *, Abby invents a new process for manufacturing insulin. • In *, Abby files an application with the U. S. Patent Office for a patent for her new process. • In *, the Patent Office approves Abby's application.
 When is the date when Abby's ownership of the patent begins? When will the patent expire? What four things did the Patent Office need to determine before approving the patent?

Prairie Dawn owns a pet store that specializes in lizards; she calls her store "Lizards," and she uses a picture of a lizard on the store's sign and in all her advertising. Irvine owns a company that specializes in house painting; he calls his company "Lizards", and he uses a picture of a lizard on his truck and all his advertising.
 *. Which (if either) of Prairie Dawn and/or Irvine is entitled to a trademark in the word "Lizard" as s/he uses it in business?

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Oscar has a patent in a new kind of trash disposal device. While the patent is still in effect, Cookie begins manufacturing this device, Snuffy begins retailing the device, and Gordon begins developing an improved device based on Oscar's device. None of them ask Oscar's permission first. Which (if any) of them have infringed on Oscar's patent?

In *, Zooey gets a patent. In that same year, Burt gets a copyright. In that same year, Ernie gets a trademark. All three of them die in the year *, but their estates continue to use the patented idea, the copyrighted work, and the trademark in commerce (respectively) until the year *, when they stop.
 When did Zooey's patent expire? When did Burt's copyright expire? When did Ernie’s trademark expire? Optional: If you wish, you may add some explanation or discussion.

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Kermit owns a copyright in a play he wrote, The Frog Ultimatum. He has appointed Dramatists' Play Service, Inc. (DPS) as his agent for performance rights and royalties. The following people do the following things: • Gina, without asking Kermit, posts a complete copy of the play script on her blog. • Mando, without asking Kermit, puts on a performance of the play in his (Mando's) living room, allowing only the members of his immediate family to see it. • Smiley, without asking Kermit, contacts DPS about doing a production of the play; DPS quotes him a price for royalties, which Smiley pays; Smiley then puts on a performance of the play at a local theater, as described to DPS. • Natasha, without asking Kermit, quotes one line of the play in an article she is writing which talks about the play, its meaning, and its relationship to other works.
 Which (if any) of those mentioned above have infringed on Kermit's copyright?

Maria owns a trademark in a green-and-black pattern which decorates all the cleaning supplies she sells; she doesn't use it for anything else. The following people do the following things: • Gonnigan, without Maria's permission, uses the same exact pattern to decorate components he manufactures for use in nuclear power plants. • Susan, who runs a professional housecleaning service, publishes advertisements showing her using Maria's cleaning supplies (with the pattern); in fact, Susan actually uses those supplies when she cleans houses, but she did not ask Maria's permission to use the pattern in her advertisements.

Hoots, a rival manufacturer of cleaning supplies, displays Maria's cleaning supplies (with the pattern) along with his own (very differently decorated) cleaning supplies in advertisements where he claims that his supplies are superior to Maria's. • Luis, a rival manufacturer of cleaning supplies, decorates his own supplies with a pattern that is not identical to Maria's, but which is so similar that many customers mistakenly buy Luis's supplies thinking that Maria manufactured them.
 Which (if any) of the people above have infringed on Maria's trademark?

Murray works as a mechanical engineer for Sesame Industries; part of his job description includes the design and construction of new mechanical devices. While at Sesame Industries, Murray invents a new, patentable mechanical device. Wally works as a journalist for Count Newspapers; part of his job description includes writing news articles. Wally writes several news articles while working for Count Newspapers.
 Who owns the patent (if one is granted) for Murray's new device? Who owns the copyright for Wally's news articles?

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