Practice question · Multiple choice
A trademark can be renewed indefinitely while a patent cannot be renewed at all. Why does the law treat the two monopolies so differently?
Hints
- Ask what the public loses while each monopoly runs.
- Does anyone lose by being unable to call their drink Coca-Cola?
Show the answer
C. Because a trademark harms no one by lasting and a patent does
Why
The public cost differs. Exclusive use of a name costs society almost nothing, while exclusive use of a technique blocks everyone else from applying it, so only the second is time-limited.
Practise Industrial and Intellectual Property
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More questions on Industrial and Intellectual Property
- Coca-Cola never patented its formula and has protected it for over a century. Patent protection lasts twenty…
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- Order the life of a patented invention.
- A startup with one product must fence its intangibles on a budget. Order the steps of a sensible IP strategy.
- Renewable or doomed to expire? Sort each right.