Austin Rare Coins, Inc., buys and sells rare coins, bullion, and other precious metals through eight Web sites with different domain names. An unknown individual took control of Austin’s servers and transferred the domain names to another registrant without Austin’s permission. The new registrant began using the domain names to host malicious content—including hate letters to customers and fraudulent contact information— and to post customers’ credit-card numbers and other private information, thereby tarnishing Austin’s goodwill. Austin filed a suit in a federal district court against the new registrant under the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act. Is Austin entitled to a transfer of the domain names? Explain.
> After years of research, your company has developed a product that might revolutionize the green (environmentally conscious) building industry. The product is made from relatively inexpensive and widely available materials combined in a unique way that c
> Go to Appendix G at the end of this text and examine the excerpt of Case No. 1, Winstead v. Jackson. Review and then brief the case, making sure that your brief answers the following questions. 1. Issue: This case focused on an allegation of copyright i
> How could the “right to be forgotten” affect free speech?
> The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office requires that a registered trademark or service mark be put into commercial use within three years after the application has been approved. Why do you think the federal government established this requirement?
> What options do textbook publishers face given this Supreme Court decision?
> Some argue that the best way to stop patent trolls from taking advantage of the system would be to eliminate software patents completely and pass a law that makes software unpatentable. Would this be fair to software and technology companies? Why or why
> Two computer science majors, Trent and Xavier, have an idea for a new video game, which they propose to call “Hallowed.” They form a business and begin developing their idea. Several months later, Trent and Xavier run into a problem with their design and
> Amy Kemper was seriously injured when her motorcycle was struck by a vehicle driven by Christopher Brown. Kemper’s attorney wrote to Statewide Claims Services, the administrator for Brown’s insurer, asking for “all the insurance money that Mr. Brown had
> Judy Olsen, Kristy Johnston, and their mother, Joyce Johnston, owned seventy-eight acres of real property on Eagle Creek in Meagher County, Montana. When Joyce died, she left her interest in the property to Kristy. Kristy wrote to Judy, offering to buy J
> earwire Corp. Clearwire sent her a confirmation e-mail that included a link to its Web site. Clearwire also sent her a modem. In the enclosed written materials, at the bottom of a page, in small type was the Web site URL. When Reasonover plugged in the m
> The Baton Rouge Crime Stoppers (BCS) offered a reward for information about the “South Louisiana Serial Killer.” The information was to be provided via a hotline. Dianne Alexander had survived an attack by a person suspected of being the killer. She iden
> TracFone Wireless, Inc., sells phones and wireless service. The phones are sold for less than their cost, and TracFone recoups this loss by selling prepaid airtime for their use on its network. Software in the phones prohibits their use on other networks
> Ball writes to Sullivan and inquires how much Sullivan is asking for a specific forty-acre tract of land Sullivan owns. Ball then receives a letter from Sullivan stating, “I will not take less than $60,000 for the forty-acre tract as specified.” Ball imm
> International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) hired Niels Jensen as a software sales representative. According to the brochure on IBM’s “Sales Incentive Plan” (SIP), “the more you sell, the more earnings for you.” The brochure also stated that “the SIP pro
> Lawrence M. Clarke, Inc., was the general contractor for construction of a portion of a sanitary sewer system in Billings, Michigan. Clarke accepted Kim Draeger’s proposal to do the work for a certain price. Draeger arranged with two subcontractors to wo
> Ralph Ramsey insured his car with Allstate Insurance Co. He also owned a house on which he maintained a homeowner’s insurance policy with Allstate. Bank of America had a mortgage on the house and paid the insurance premiums on the homeowner’s policy from
> Robert Gutkowski, a sports marketing expert, met with George Steinbrenner, the owner of the New York Yankees, many times to discuss the Yankees Entertainment and Sports Network (YES). Gutkowski was paid as a consultant. Later, he filed a suit, seeking an
> Kim Panenka asked to borrow $4,750 from her sister, Kris, to make a mortgage payment. Kris deposited a check for that amount into Kim’s bank account. Hours later, Kim asked to borrow another $1,100. Kris took a cash advance on her credit card and deposit
> Thomas Rinks and Joseph Shields developed Psycho Chihuahua, a caricature of a Chihuahua dog with a “do-not-back-down” attitude. They promoted and marketed the character through their company, Wrench, LLC. Ed Alfaro and Rudy Pollak, representatives of Tac
> For employment with the Firestorm Smokejumpers—a crew of elite paratroopers who parachute into dangerous situations to fight fires—applicants must complete a series of tests. The crew chief sends the most qualified applicants a letter stating that they w
> Janine was hospitalized with severe abdominal pain and placed in an intensive care unit. Her doctor told hospital personnel to order around-the-clock nursing care for Janine. At the hospital’s request, a nursing services firm, Nursing Services Unlimited,
> Rocky Mountain Races, Inc., sponsors the “Pioneer Trail Ultramarathon,” with an advertised first prize of $10,000. The rules require the competitors to run 100 miles from the floor of Blackwater Canyon to the top of Pinnacle Mountain. The rules also prov
> Best Buy, a national electronics retailer, offered a credit card that allowed users to earn “reward points” that could be redeemed for discounts on Best Buy goods. After reading a newspaper advertisement for the card, Gary Davis applied for, and was give
> Operating out of an apartment in Secane, Pennsylvania, Hratch Ilanjian convinced Vicken Setrakian, the president of Kenset Corp., that he was an international businessman who could help Kenset turn around its business in the Middle East. At Ilanjian’s in
> Stephen Glass made himself infamous as a dishonest journalist by fabricating material for more than forty articles for The New Republic magazine and other publications. He also fabricated supporting materials to delude The New Republic’s fact checkers. A
> Mark Ramun worked as a manager for Allied Erecting and Dismantling Co., where he had a tense relationship with his father, who was Allied’s president. After more than ten years, Mark left Allied, taking 15,000 pages of Allied’s documents on DVDs and CDs,
> Facebook, Inc., launched a program called “Beacon” that automatically updated the profiles of users on Facebook’s social networking site when those users had any activity on Beacon “partner” sites. For example, one partner site was Blockbuster.com. When
> Methamphetamine (meth) is an addictive drug made chiefly in small toxic labs (STLs) in homes, tents, barns, and hotel rooms. The manufacturing process is dangerous, often resulting in explosions, burns, and toxic fumes. Government entities spend time and
> Internet giant Zoidle, a U.S. company, generated sales of £2.5 billion in the United Kingdom in 2013 (approximately $4 billion in U.S. dollars). Its net profits before taxes on these sales were £200 million, and it paid £6 million in corporate tax, resul
> Jason Trevor owns a commercial bakery in Blakely, Georgia, that produces a variety of goods sold in grocery stores. Trevor is required by law to perform internal tests on food produced at his plant to check for contamination. On three occasions, tests of
> Gary Peters fraudulently told an undocumented immigrant that Peters could help him obtain lawful status. Peters said that he knew immigration officials and asked for money to aid the process. The victim paid Peters at least $25,000 in wire transfers and
> George Castro told Ambrosio Medrano that a bribe to a certain corrupt Los Angeles County official would buy a contract with the county hospitals. To share in the deal, Medrano recruited Gustavo Buenrostro. In turn, Buenrostro contacted his friend James B
> Matthew Simpson and others created and operated a series of corporate entities to defraud telecommunications companies, creditors, credit reporting agencies, and others. Through these entities, Simpson and his confederates used routing codes and spoofing
> During the morning rush hour, David Green threw bottles and plates from a twenty-sixth-floor hotel balcony overlooking Seventh Avenue in New York City. A video of the incident also showed him doing cartwheels while holding a beer bottle and sprinting tow
> Jacqueline Barden was shopping for school clothes with her children when her purse and automobile were taken. In Barden’s purse were her car keys, credit and debit cards for herself and her children, as well as the children’s Social Security cards and bi
> Charles Byrd was in a minimum-security county jail awaiting trial. A team of sheriff’s deputies wearing T-shirts and jeans took Byrd and several other inmates into a room for a strip search without any apparent justification. Byrd was ordered to remove a
> Custom Copies, Inc., prepares and sells coursepacks, which contain compilations of readings for college courses. A teacher selects the readings and delivers a syllabus to the copy shop, which obtains the materials from a library, copies them, and binds t
> Rodney Klassen was employed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Without the USDA’s authorization, Klassen gave Jim Ludy, a grape grower, plant material for two unreleased varieties of grapes. For almost two years, most of Ludy’s plantings bore
> The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) denied Raymond Gianelli’s application for a patent for a “Rowing Machine”—an exercise machine on which a user pulls on handles to perform a rowing motion against a selected resistance. The PTO considered the dev
> SilverEdge Systems Software hired Catherine Conrad to perform a singing telegram. SilverEdge arranged for James Bendewald to record Conrad’s performance of her copyrighted song to post on the company’s Web site. Conrad agreed to wear a microphone to assi
> United Fabrics International, Inc., bought a fabric design from an Italian designer and registered a copyright to the design with the U.S. Copyright Office. When Macy’s, Inc., began selling garments with a similar design, United filed a copyright infring
> Redwin Wilchcombe composed, performed, and recorded a song called Tha Weedman at the request of Lil Jon, a member of Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz (LJESB), for LJESB’s album Kings of Crunk. Wilchcombe was not paid, but was given credit on the album as a p
> Kayla, a student at Learnwell University, owes $20,000 in unpaid tuition. If Kayla does not pay the tuition, Learnwell will not allow her to graduate. To obtain the funds to pay the debt, she sends e-mails to people that she does not know asking them for
> The following situations are similar, but each represents a variation of a particular crime. Identify the crime and point out the differences in the variations. 1. Chen, posing fraudulently as Diamond Credit Card Co., sends an e-mail to Emily, stating t
> After the unauthorized release and posting of classified U.S. government documents to WikiLeaks.org, the U.S. government began a criminal investigation. The government obtained a court order to require Twitter, Inc., to turn over subscriber information a
> Kenneth Wheeler was angry at certain police officers in Grand Junction, Colorado, because of a driving- underthe-influence arrest that he viewed as unjust. While in Italy, Wheeler posted a statement to his Facebook page urging his “religious followers” t
> Mohammad Omar Aly Hassan and nine others were indicted in a federal district court on charges of conspiring to advance violent jihad (holy war against enemies of Islam) and other offenses related to terrorism. The evidence at Hassan’s trial included post
> Dartmouth College professor M. Eric Johnson, in collaboration with Tiversa, Inc., a company that monitors peer-to-peer networks to provide security services, wrote an article titled “Data Hemorrhages in the Health-Care Sector.” In preparing the article,
> Using special software, South Dakota law enforcement officers found a person who appeared to possess child pornography at a specific Internet protocol address. The officers subpoenaed Midcontinent Communications, the service that assigned the address, fo
> When she was in college, Jammie Thomas-Rasset wrote a case study on Napster, the online peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing network, and knew that it had been shut down because it was illegal. Later, Capitol Records, Inc., which owns the copyrights to a larg
> SeeYou, Inc., is an online social network. SeeYou’s members develop personalized profiles to share information— photos, videos, stories, activity updates, and other items—with other members. Members post the information that they want to share and decide
> CyberConnect, Inc., is an Internet service provider (ISP). Pepper is a CyberConnect subscriber. Market Reach, Inc., is an online advertising company. Using sophisticated software, Market Reach directs its ads to those users most likely to be interested i
> Why would someone post a negative review of a business that he or she had never patronized? Discuss the ethics of this practice.
> Suppose that Inhale had claimed a copyright in the design of a vodka bottle instead of a hookah. Would the result have been different? Why or why not?
> How should an invention be described in a patent application—in broad terms, specific terms, or both? Discuss.
> Suppose that Target had asked for a much broader range of Facebook material that concerned not just Nucci’s physical and mental condition at the time of her alleged injury but her personal relationships with her family, romantic partners, and other signi
> How does presuming that an indorsement is legitimate “without unambiguous evidence to the contrary” protect the transferability of a negotiable instrument?
> Suppose that the note had described the amount of the loan as “ONE MILLION SEVEN HUNDRED THOUSAND AND NO/100 ($1,007,000.00) DOLLARS.” What would have been the result?
> If AOA’s suit had fallen within the four-year statute of limitations of the UCC’s Article 2, could the seller have filed its claim on either the contracts or the notes? Explain.
> If Webster had made the chowder herself from a recipe that she had found on the Internet today, could she have successfully brought an action against its author for a breach of the implied warranty of merchantability? Explain.
> How might the parties have avoided the dispute in this case?
> What is Mahendra’s best argument that the forum-selection clause was, in fact, binding on National? Discuss.
> Suppose that Blasini had made no payments under the contract for the sale of the Attic’s assets. How should that circumstance affect the distribution of the insurance proceeds?
> What are the consequences for Daimler of the decision in this case?
> Would Plaza have been bound to the forum-selection clause if it had signed the subscription agreement as Moonmouth’s director but had no other relation to the agreement? Discuss.
> Is it unethical to give the interest of fighting terrorism precedence over an international legal principle?
> When rescission is awarded, what is the measure of recovery? What did the recovery include in this case?
> How does a college basketball team’s record of wins and losses, and its ranking in its conference, support the court’s decision in this case?
> What are compensatory damages? What is the standard measure of compensatory damages?
> Should Kolodin’s role in bringing about the “no contact” stipulation through her request for a protection order have rendered the doctrine of impossibility inapplicable? Explain.
> The repairs to the bus cost $1,341.50. Who should pay this amount? Why?
> How does the parol evidence rule save time and money for the parties to a dispute and the court that hears it? Discuss.
> Was Cypress’s conduct unethical? Why or why not?
> Did Shivley’s misrepresentations rise to the level of fraud? Explain.
> At the time Holmes signed the release, Multimedia had not yet become a sponsor of the event. Should this fact have rendered the clause unenforceable? Explain.
> Could PAK Foods successfully contend that S.L.’s minority does not bar enforcement of the arbitration agreement because medical expenses are necessaries? Discuss.
> Why would any party agree to a covenant not to sue?
> How should an offeree indicate a definite lack of consent to a counteroffer?
> Assume that, instead of exchanging e-mails, the attorneys for both sides had had a phone conversation that included all of the terms to which they actually agreed in their e-mail exchanges. Would the court have ruled differently? Why or why not?
> How might the result in this case have been different if the court had allowed Wagner’s extrinsic evidence of the prior contract regarding Love Song to be used as evidence in this dispute?
> What did the amount of the jury’s award of $686,000 in damages represent? Explain.
> How did the objective theory of contracts affect the result in this case? Explain.
> Suppose that Case Western had tolerated Al-Dabagh’s conduct and awarded him a diploma. What impact might that have had on other students at the school? Why?
> Does an organization have an ethical obligation to secure a safe and harassment-free workplace for its employees? Discuss.
> Are Salvatore’s actions likely to affect his business’s ability to profit in the long run? Discuss.
> If Miller and Marcum had used smartphones and U.S. Cellular had stored its records in the “cloud,” would the outcome likely have been different? Explain.
> Why was Sisuphan convicted of embezzlement instead of larceny? What is the difference between these two crimes?
> Who is in the best position to evaluate the credibility of the evidence and the witnesses in a case? Why?
> Go to Appendix G at the end of this text and examine the excerpt of Case No. 3, Mills v. Chauvin. Review and then brief the case, making sure that your brief answers the following questions. 1. Issue: What document was at the center of the dispute in th
> Kodiak agrees to sell one thousand espresso machines to Lin to be delivered on May 1. Due to a strike during the last week of April, there is a temporary shortage of delivery vehicles. Kodiak can deliver the espresso makers two hundred at a time over a p
> Suppose that you are a collector of antique cars and you need to purchase spare parts for a 1938 engine. These parts are not made any more and are scarce. You discover that Beem has the spare parts that you need. You contract with Beem to buy the parts a
> Mountain Stream Trout Co. agreed to buy “market size” trout from trout grower Lake Farms, LLC. Their five-year contract did not define market size. At the time, in the trade, market size referred to fish of one-pound live weight. After three years, Mount
> Assume that you are manufacturing iPad accessories and that your business is becoming more successful. You are now considering expanding operations into another country. 1. One group will explore the costs and benefits of advertising internationally on
> Frances Morelli agreed to sell Judith Bucklin a house in Rhode Island for $177,000. The sale was supposed to be closed by September 1. The contract included a provision that “if Seller is unable to convey good, clear, insurable, and marketable title, Buy
> Review the discussion of the doctrine of mitigation of damages in this chapter. What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of this doctrine?
> ABC Clothiers, Inc., has a contract with John Taylor, owner of Taylor & Sons, a retailer, to deliver one thousand summer suits to Taylor’s place of business on or before May 1. On April 1, John receives a letter from ABC informing him that ABC will not b
> The concept of substantial performance permits a party to be discharged from a contract even though the party has not fully performed her or his obligations according to the contract’s terms. Is this fair? Why or why not? What policy interests are at iss
> Jason Novell, doing business as Novell Associates, hired Barbara Meade as an independent contractor. The parties orally agreed on the terms of employment, including payment of a share of the company’s income to Meade, but they did not put anything in wri
> Melissa Faraj owns a lot and wants to build a house according to a particular set of plans and specifications. She solicits bids from building contractors and receives three bids: one from Carlton for $160,000, one from Feldberg for $158,000, and one fro
> To download a specific app to your smartphone or tablet device, you usually have to check a box indicating that you agree to the company’s terms and conditions. Most individuals do so without ever reading those terms and conditions. Print out a specific
