Suppose Suzy has an established business creating “quillows”—small quilts that fold into pillows. She uses the business name, “Quaint Quillows.” A customer comes in one day and tells her that another person has been making similar products and using Suzy’s business name. What law is the other person violating?
(1 point)
Responses
The other person may potentially be violating the law of trademark infringement.
Tort law
Tort law
Administrative law
Administrative law
Intellectual property law
Intellectual property law
Environmental law
The other person may potentially be violating intellectual property law, specifically the law of trademark infringement.
All businesses must comply with applicable laws. Suppose the therapists in a small speech therapy agency develop a specific method of training nonverbal children to communicate. Within six months, the director is given information indicating that a rival agency is now using and claiming credit for their assistive communication method. What law has the rival agency broken?
(1 point)
Responses
Administrative law
Administrative law
Intellectual property law
Intellectual property law
Contract law
Contract law
Environmental law
The rival agency has potentially broken the law of intellectual property, specifically the law of patent infringement if the assistive communication method was patented.
The other person may be violating the law of trademark infringement.
The other person would be violating the law of trademark infringement. To understand this, we need to know that a trademark is a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services of a particular source from others. The purpose of a trademark is to protect the brand and reputation of a business.
In this case, Suzy has used the business name "Quaint Quillows" to identify her products in the market. This name has become associated with her business, and customers recognize it as a source of Suzy's unique quillows. When another person starts using the same name for similar products, it creates confusion among customers and can harm Suzy's business.
Trademark law protects business owners like Suzy from such unauthorized use of their trademarks. If Suzy has registered the business name "Quaint Quillows" as a trademark, she can take legal action against the other person for trademark infringement. Even if she hasn't registered the trademark, she may still be able to assert rights based on common law trademark rights.
In summary, the other person would be violating the law of trademark infringement by using Suzy's business name without permission or authorization. Suzy can take legal action to protect her trademark and her business.