Employment Law
A legal doctrine allows employers to terminate employees at will unless illegal
What is At-will employment?
Trademarks, patents, copyrights, trade secrets.
What are the four primary types of intellectual property?
non-visual trademarks identified by sound
What are sound marks?
These are new useful processes, machines, or compositions.
What are utility patents?
Rights allow reproduction, distribution, public display of works
What are copyrights?
Breach of contract, discrimination, retaliation, and violations of public policy.
What are violations of at-will employment protections?
recognizable signs or designs identifying products/services
What are trademarks?
signals product source through look or packaging
What is trade dress?
patents for sexually reproduced plants
What are plant patents?
Life plus 70 years.
What are Duration of copyrights for individuals?
Occurs when termination violates an exception to at-will employment
What is wrongful discharge?
occurs when a trademark is used without authorization causing confusion
What is trademark infringement?
trademark invented terms with no prior meaning
What are fanciful marks?
Unauthorized use of a patented invention
What is patent infringement?
These are 95 years from publication or 120 years from creation.
What are Duration of copyrights for works for hire?
Contractual rights, good faith, and public policy.
What are the exceptions to at-will employment?
provides nationwide trademark protection and legal advantages
What is trademark registration?
Trademarks inherently distinctive without need for secondary meaning.
What are arbitrary trademarks?
Length of utility and plant patents
What is 20 years from filing?
allows limited use without permission for purposes like teaching
What is fair use?
False statements damaging employee reputation.
What is defamation?
How long can trademarks last if properly maintained.
What is indefinitely?
These trademarks are weak in protection unless secondary meaning is shown.
What are descriptive trademarks?
Length of design patents.
What is 15 years from the time of filing?
How companies resolve patent disputes and create value beyond litigation.
What are cross-licensing and strategic mergers?