MC 401 – Test 3 – 2026 – Study Guide and Practice Questions

MC 401 – Test 3 – 2026 – Study Guide and Practice Questions

TRADEMARKS, which must be renewed every ____ after registration* - correct answer ✔✔ 10
years



The STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS for any copyright infringement case is - correct answer ✔✔ 3
Years



Copyright - correct answer ✔✔ right guaranteed by statute to the author/originator of certain
works



Why is copyright important? - correct answer ✔✔ ~Logo indicates a work is not public domain

~Copyright belongs to the author of the work

~Registration through office establishes a date of publication

~An author must register a work origination in the U.S. or can sue for infringement



Copyright owners have control over: - correct answer ✔✔ ~Copyright reproduction

~Derivatives

~Authority to publish sell loan or rent copies

~Right to display/perform work

~Moral rights known as author of work

~The right to withdraw a work from a distribution



What CAN be copyrighted? - correct answer ✔✔ 1. Literary works;

2. Musical works and accompanying music;

3. Dramatic works and accompanying music;

4. Pantomimes and choreographic works;

,5. Pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works;

6. Motion pictures and other audiovisual works;

7. Sound recordings;

8. Architectural works.



Along with the exclusive right of the author to.. - correct answer ✔✔ ~Reproduce the work

~Prepare and create derivative works

~Publicly perform the work

~Publicly display the work

~Publicly perform a digital sound recording



What CAN'T be copyrighted - correct answer ✔✔ ~Trivial materials (titles, slogans, etc)

~Ideas

~Facts

~Utilitarian goods (things used to produce other things)

~Methods, systems, equations and Mathematical principles



What CAN'T be copyrighted EXAMPLE - correct answer ✔✔ Nike's "Just Do it" can't be
copyrighted, but it CAN be TRADEMARKED



the law protects the dramatic expression of an idea (a script for ex) but - correct answer ✔✔
NOT the idea itself



Wheaton v. Peters (1834) - correct answer ✔✔ ~Henry Wheaton sued Richard Peters for
copyright violation of Wheaton's reports, a compilation of Supreme Court decisions

~Established that congress establishes how long a copyright lasts

*The type of technology for copyright does NOT matter

,*copyright protects the form of an idea, NOT the idea itself

*applies to fixed work and lasts for a specific period of time

!!Peters won!!



Property - correct answer ✔✔ laws concern ownership things and rights of ownership



First Sale Doctrine - correct answer ✔✔ the purchaser of a copyrighted item may use lend sell
and give it away but cannot distribute copies of the item



Fair Use Doctrine - correct answer ✔✔ ~Intellectual property used for purposes such as
criticism, content, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or non-commercial research

~Basically says you can use someone's copyrighted work IF it follows the four rules

~Decided in copyright revision act of 1976!!



Copyright Act of 1976 - correct answer ✔✔ ~Copyright was extendeed to life of the author +50
years

~Law became more uniform by superseding state laws

~Copyright became federal law



Factors of Fair Use Doctrine - correct answer ✔✔ 1. Purpose & character of secondary use (non-
commercial/parody are acceptable to be considered fair use)

2. Characteristics of material/nature of the work

3. amount/substantiality of the work portion that was used in the secondary work

4. Plaintiff's market value



*TRANSFORMATIVE USES often protected/considered "fair use" by this factor - correct answer
✔✔ Often protected/considered "fair use" by this factor

, Characteristics of material/nature of the Fair Use Doctrine - correct answer ✔✔ ~Is the work
still available?

~Is the work consumable? (like a worksheet)

~Is the work informational or creative (informational is considered more of a "fair use" than
creative works)

~Is it published or unpublished (author has the first right to use) (like in Harper and Row v.
Nation Enterprises)



Plaintiff's market value - correct answer ✔✔ ~Is the author losing money b/c their work was
copied?

"misappropriation/piracy"- gaining unauthorized benefits from someone else's work

~Transformative uses also protected by this (Cambpell v. Acuff-Rose case is "fair use" b/c original
work was so far transformed)



In FAIR USE CASES claiming infringement, the PLAINTIFF must Prove... - correct answer ✔✔ 1.
Ownership of the copyrighted work

2. The exclusive rights to that work (reproduce/perform publicly, etc.) were infringed upon

3. Certainty that the work was copied

~DEFENDANT had unauthorized access to the work

~The work is substantially similar to the PLAINTIFF's original work



In FAIR USE CASES claiming infringement, the PLAINTIFF must Prove... EXAMPLE - correct
answer ✔✔ Court issued injunction against the film "Great White" b/c plotline was extremely
similar to JAWS, which came out three years prior



FAIR USE CASES: Harper and Row v. Nation Enterprises (1985) -informational work - correct
answer ✔✔ ~WHAT: Former President Gerald Ford signed deal w/TIME magazine to publish his
memoirs; Before TIME could release publication, an unauthorized source released his
manuscript to "The Nation" magazine; Harper and Row sue "The Nation" for publishing the
copyrighted work (infringement) The District Court held that The Nation's use of the