A written quiz with a legal flavour to each question, that I hosted with Balaji Subramaniam at Interrobang 2018, NALSAR's annual QuizFest. The top score was 21/35.
4. RULES
⢠Written quiz.
⢠35 questions â 1 point each.
⢠Starred questions â 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30.
⢠Starred questions will be used as tie-breakers. Only the complete answer gets you the
star.
⢠Quizmasterâs decision will be final.
5. 1. WHAT IS THE COMMODITY BEING
REFERRED TO HERE?
⢠Britainâs entry into the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1973 conflicted with a ban
on a particular commodity that was already in place. The EEC specifically ruled on this issue
in 1978, clarifying that any discrimination against this commodity originating from other
EEC countries would be a breach of the Treaty of Rome, through which the EEC was
created.
⢠However, regulators within these countries were able to maintain restrictions on the
number of this commodity that could be used at any particular time, regardless of how
many were owned by an entity at the time. This situation would continue up until 1995,
when these restrictions were scrapped altogether.
⢠Further complications arose from the Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish being considered
foreign by the European regulator, but not by the English regulator. Ireland also had an
agreement with Britain, which meant that they were not considered foreign either.
8. 2. WHAT IS WHATSAPP BEING
ASKED TO REMOVE?
⢠Advocate Gurmeet Singh has served a legal notice to WhatsApp, which
has its largest user base in India, asking it to remove an oft-used feature.
⢠In support of his argument against the said infringement, Singh said: âAs
per the Indian Penal Code Sections 354 and 509, it is an offence to show
obscene, lewd, offensive gestures to females.â
⢠The notice was dictated by the convoluted logic that the abetment of
any offence (such as IPC 354/509) was also an offence, thus rendering
WhatsApp guilty.
11. 3. CONNECT (WITH A NAME), AND FITB.
(0.5+0.5)
⢠1968: The Beatlesâ â______ _______â and âPiggiesâ.
⢠1974: Neil Youngâs âRevolution Bluesâ
⢠1977: The Ramonesâ âGlad to See You Goâ
⢠1985: Sonic Youthâs âDeath Valley â69â
⢠1986: The Flaming Lipsâ âX Bluesâ
⢠1988: Ozzy Osbourneâs âBloodbath in Paradiseâ
⢠1988: U2âs â______ _______â
⢠1994: Nine Inch Nailsâ âPiggyâ and âMarch of the Pigsâ
⢠2001: System of a Downâs âAWTAâ.
18. *5. IDENTIFY THE TWO BOOKS FROM THIS REVIEW
OF THE LEGAL BATTLE SURROUNDING THEM â X, THE
CLASSIC ORIGINAL, AND Y, THE FAMOUS PARODIC
"UNAUTHORIZED RETELLING" OF X.
⢠The appeals court based its decision on the estimation that X was not an inviolable classic,
but was instead a flawed and indeed racist work. The court particularly singled out the fact
that the authorâs estate had prevented authorized sequels from discussing homosexuality
or miscegenation. The authorâs estate was trying to prevent re-evaluation or criticism of X,
and, implicitly, of its vision of the South. âTo the Eleventh Circuit, the time had come to de-
canonize X and its inviolability.
⢠Y is a fairly obvious study in contrasts with the original, and not just because of its simple
reversals of the racism in the original work (in Randall's story, it's the white characters who
are portrayed as foolish incompetents). Where the original protagonist was brave, vain,
irritating and -- above all -- interesting, Randall's Other is a simpering wraith. Cynara, the
real protagonist in Y, is described as being more beautiful and worthy than Other.
⢠Y is written from the perspective of another character, with the title made up of much of
the same words rearranged. Yâs title is an African American Vernacular English play on Xâs
title.
20. X - G O N E W I T H T H E W I N D
Y - T H E W I N D D O N E G O N E
21. 6. WHAT SPURRED THE REVIVAL
OF QUAALUDES? (0.5+0.5)
⢠Interest in quaaludes, a powerful sedative popular among housewives in the 1960s and
disco partiers in the 70s and 80s, peaked again in 2015 (after a similar peak in 2014).
⢠Doctors in the UK began prescribing the drug to patients who had trouble sleeping. By
the mid-1960s, the pill was being manufactured in the United States and prescribed to
housewives with trouble controlling their nerves and sleeping. But soon another use of
the drug was discovered: mix it with alcohol and achieve a âdrunken, sleepy highâ.
Quaaludes were banned soon after.
24. 2014 â WOLF OF
WALL STREET
2015-TRIAL OF BILL
COSBY
25. 7. WHAT WERE THE TWO
âDECEPTIVELY SIMILARâ WORDS?
⢠Khoday India Ltd (KIL) started producing this product in 1968 and got the trademark
registered in 1974. After 13 years, the SWDA, an industry body related to this product,
moved the Assistant Registrar Trademarks for cancellation of the registered trademark
of the product that belonged to KIL on the ground of its deceptive similarity to a
foreign mark.
⢠Under Section 11(a) of the Trade Mark Act, a mark, the use of which would be likely to
deceive or cause confusion shall not be registered as a trade mark.
⢠According to Brewerâs Dictionary of Phrase & Fable, the two similar words both mean
âbelonging to, native of, or characteristic ofâ a particular land.
⢠The caveat, however, is that âtheir application variesâ. Because these words are steeped
in history, their meaning is nuanced, and in some cases, even protected by law.
32. 9. THIS IS A LAW ON HOW TO
CORRECTLY PRONOUNCE WHAT?
⢠â1-4-105. Pronunciation of state name.
Whereas, confusion of practice has arisen in the pronunciation of the name of our state and
it is deemed important that the true pronunciation should be determined for use in oral
official proceedings.
And, whereas, the matter has been thoroughly investigated by the State Historical Society
and the Eclectic Society of Little Rock, which have agreed upon the correct pronunciation as
derived from history and the early usage of the American immigrants.
Be it therefore resolved by both houses of the General Assembly, that the only true
pronunciation of the name of the state, in the opinion of this body, is that received by the
French from the native Indians and committed to writing in the French word representing
the sound. It should be pronounced in three (3) syllables, with the final "s" silent, the "a" in
each syllable with the Italian sound, and the accent on the first and last syllables. The
pronunciation with the accent on the second syllable with the sound of "a" in "man" and
the sounding of the terminal "s" is an innovation to be discouraged.â
35. *10. WHAT WAS THE COPYRIGHT
VIOLATION?
⢠Flammarion, a French Publisher sought and received an injunction against Belgian
publisher La Cinquième Couche, the distributor of a comic book called Katz. The
Belgian publisher was ultimately forced to destroy all copies in stock.
⢠The plot of Katz is an attempt to subvert the theme of another book, by rejecting the
fatalism depicted in it by the original author. One reviewer stated - "Why did the
Germans murder the Jews, who did not fight back, while third parties like the Poles let
it happen? For the same reason that cats kill mice, who do not attack cats, while pigs
do not care about either: because that's the way it is".
37. K A T Z W A S T H E E X A C T
S A M E S T O R Y A S M A U S ,
B U T W I T H A L L T H E
C H A R A C T E R S D E P I C T E D
A S C A T S
38. 11. WHAT WAS THE FILM ORIGINALLY
NAMED?
⢠This 80s Bollywood film revolves around Nilofar, played by Salma Agha, and her
interactions with two men. Nilofar is married to a nawab called Wasim, who is consumed by
his work and hardly has time for her. Nilofar pines for her husband but is actively ignored
by him. One day, Wasim tasks Nilofar to throw a party for his acquaintances and she
obliges. However, as guests keep streaming in, there is no sign of Wasim. Distressed and
unable to answer questions about her husband's absence from their own home, Nilofar
retires to her room.
⢠The guests, miffed at not being attended to by the hosts, leave. This infuriates Wasim when
he returns and this is when the pivotal scene occurs.
â˘
⢠The film, produced and directed by BR Chopra was initially named differently. However, a
friend of Chopra's told him the film's name presented him with a difficult problem.
⢠Chopra thought this was a valid problem â one he fixed by changing the name of the film.
41. 12. ID X AND Y AND THE
REASON FOR THE LAWSUIT.
⢠This is Allen Ray Heckard. He sued X, and Y founder ____ ______ in Oregon state court,
alleging that they had ruined his life by making X so well-known.
⢠Heckard's claim that X and ______ were liable to the tune of $832 million because
Heckard was tired of the way he was treated seemed like a bit of a stretch. Specifically,
Heckard alleged "that Xâs high profile life style with the contribution of ____ ______ help
has infected an injury upon his [Heckard's] life style that, according to every reasonable
probability, will continue throughout the remainder of his life." He said that continual
public harassment because of the alleged resemblance "has troubled Heckardâs
nerves" and denied him peace of mind for at least 15 years, caused him trouble at
work, and inflicted emotional distress.
44. X - M I C H A E L J O R D A N
Y - N I K E
S U E D J O R D A N F O R L O O K I N G
T O O S I M I L A R T O H I M
45. 13. WHAT CLAIM WAS MADE?
⢠Janis and Gregory Kaighn filed a lawsuit against Donald Trump in September 2016, before
he won the election, claiming âDonald Trump is ineligible to run for president because he is
plainlyâŚâ
⢠In fact, the Kaighns say the Trump family has, for generations, been interfacing with a secret
dictatorship that was installed in the 1930s-40s to fix the outcome of the 2016 election. This
was a plan decades in the making to eventually undercut the government and put the
"Trump dictatorship" in power.
⢠Through a series of both impressive and baffling legal leaps, the couple claims that Donald
Trump is ineligible for the presidency due to a complex chain of events. They claim that
Donald Trump is associated with people who made up the fiction of communism for their
ends, this by their reasoning makes Donald Trump responsible in part for communism, and
no communist can run for the presidency.
48. 14. WHAT TERM?
⢠It fell on the son in 2011 to head the Parliamentary Standing Committee
on Law that would look into the bill that was first introduced by his
father.
⢠It was 31-year-old L.M. Singhvi, who in the early 1960s coined the term
and introduced the concept in India. Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru
had jestfully asked Mr. Singhvi, who was repeatedly urging for its
creation, âTo what zoo does this animal belong? Dr. Singhvi you must
indigenise it.â
⢠The Young Turk, who could converse in Sanskrit, then coined the Hindi
word and its associate. However, since he was an independent MP, he
could not get any legislation passed. In 2011, it fell on his son and
Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi and his committee to take a
51. *15. WHICH TWO TEXTS ARE BEING
REFERRED TO HERE?
⢠How can myths sustain entire empires? Two of the best-know myths of history are two
texts equally separated by the birth of Christ.
⢠Text A begins by invoking the gods Anu, Enlil and Marduk and lists about 300
judgments, given in the set formula: âIf such and such a thing happens, such is the
judgment.â For example,
⢠â196. If a superior man should blind the eye of another superior man, they shall blind
his eye.â
⢠Both texts A and B were not just documents of their time and place â they were
accepted by future generations as well. Both of them claim to outline universal and
eternal principles of justice, but are in obvious conflict with each other.
⢠The most famous assertion of text B, when translated into biological terms, reads:
⢠ââŚthat all men evolved differentlyâŚand that among these are life and the pursuit of
pleasure.â
53. A - C O D E O F
H A M M U R A B I ( 1 7 7 6 B . C . )
B - A M E R I C A N
D E C L A R A T I O N O F
I N D E P E N D E N C E ( 1 7 7 6
A . D . )
54. 16. WHAT IS BEING SPOKEN
ABOUT HERE?
⢠Section 34 charges ordinary citizens INR10,000 or 5,000, and SC/ST citizens INR5,000
or INR2,500. Section 158 specifies three ways of recouping this expenditure apart from
the obvious one:
a. Withdrawal;
b. Premature death;
c. Achieving the bare minimum of 16.67%
â˘
The system implemented here has spurred many protests, particularly from
Communists. Realistically, though, these amounts are pocket change - in one widely
followed December 2017 event, a single infinitesimal change to the percentage above
reportedly cost about double the amount charged.
56. S E C U R I T Y D E P O S I T
F O R C O N T E S T I N G A N
E L E C T I O N
57. 17. ID THE 1971 MOVIE
⢠In X, the protagonist, was required to sign a contract before he commenced his adventure.
However, it was long and full of fine print and thus summarily signed without being read.
⢠At the end of the movie, it was proclaimed this protagonist had "lost" because he had
breached the conditions of Section 37B of this fictional contract:
⢠"I, the undersigned, shall forfeit all rights, privileges, and licenses herein and herein
contained, ... Fax mentis incendium gloria cultum, ... Memo bis punitor delicatum!"
⢠Here, the Latin roughly translates to "To cultivate the burning torch of the mind...
mentioned twice for the punisher's pleasure." - a nonsense parody of legal jargon totally
unrelated to the "breach." Other clauses from the contract:
⢠"1. WHEREAS the management cannot be held responsible for any accidents, incidents, loss
of property or life or limb.
⢠2. WHEREAS for damage caused by lightning, earthquakes, floods, fire, frost or frippery of
any sort, kind or condition, consequently the undersigned take responsibility."
60. 18. WHAT WAS THE TRADEMARK
IN QUESTION?
⢠On 14 December, the Supreme Court gave a landmark judgment which held that
foreign brands would need to have "goodwill" (returning customers) in India, for them
to receive trademark protection.
⢠The plaintiff alleged that it came up with its trademark as early as 1997, and had used
it in Japan, America and Europe extensively, following which the Indian defendant
copied it. In response, the Indian company claimed that they were the first in India to
manufacture add-on chrome plated accessories, they had conceptualized their attempt
as â______ ______â (Hindi phrase meaning first attempt). They then claimed to have found
a similar word in a Latin dictionary, which they registered as an Indian trademark.
63. 19. ID X.
⢠Two brothers from Naples decided to start a brand of their own, and went hunting for
an attention-grabbing name. They discovered that X wasn't trademarked and decided
on that.
⢠Vincenzo and Giacomo Barbato weren't necessarily inspired by X's signature attire.
"The innovator par excellence was X, this was the spark," they said. As expected, Y's
legal department soon sent the brothers four large folders of legal documents and
went to war. But the brothers won the case.
⢠The brothers claim to now have full legal rights to use the name and logo worldwide,
and they're pushing forward with plans to expand into other product lines, including
electronics. They say they're looking for partnerships and "are in talks for a production
of electronics products with a Chinese brand." They're serious about potentially
releasing an Android-based "X Phone," but they insist they will keep it classy. "We will
not do anything low-level, you will never see the phones or TV shoddy with the brand
X".
66. *20. WHO WAS THIS?
WHAT FIRST DID HE ACHIEVE?
⢠Photographed here with Jawaharlal Nehru and Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, this man was a
lawyer by profession. He had completed his degree from the Utkal University in
Bhubaneshwar and then moved to England.
⢠Over there, he found office work at the Indian High Commission, where he worked all
day and studied for the bar in his free time. He passed his law exam in 1954 but
received fame when he achieved a âfirstâ in 1958, which was completely unrelated to his
profession. After this achievement, he remarked, âMother Earth never felt so secure, so
enchanting. The end of a journey â a long and lonely pilgrimage.â
69. M I H I R S E N â T H E F I R S T
I N D I A N T O S W I M
A C R O S S T H E E N G L I S H
C H A N N E L
70. 21. FILL IN THE BLANKS. THE
FIRST BLANK IS AN ACRONYM.
⢠The very first company to offer this insurance was through The St. Lawrence Agency in
Altamonte Springs, Florida. The company paid the claimant $1 per year until their
death or for 10 million years, whichever comes first. Over 20,000 people purchased the
said insurance. The insurance is normally purchased by someone looking for a unique
gift for someone that has everything, as most buyers name themselves the Beneficiary
according to Mike St. Lawrence, the Founder & CCBW of The ___ ________ Insurance
Company.
⢠The policy has been sold to about four thousand people (mostly in England and the
United States). At a cost of roughly $155 a year the GRIP policy would pay about
$160,000 to someone who could show that certain condition for X has been fulfilled .
The payment would double if the insured person was impregnated during the event.
73. 22. ID X.
⢠X was showing signs at an early age of the business acumen that would later serve him
so well. His regular interaction with customers at his parentsâ pizzeria helped hone his
communication skills â in both Italian and Dutch.
⢠Such an apparent business prodigy would have been forgiven for pursuing a lucrative
career in the corporate world, but that wasnât his passion. Football was, so in his early
20s X dropped out of his law degree and took the role of technical director at local
club FC Haarlem,.
⢠He later recalled how, in typically bold fashion, he had achieved such a drastic rise in
the clubâs ranks at such a young age, and with no prior experience in a similar position.
âThe president of Haarlem came to eat us with every Friday,â he said. âI was always
telling him that he knew nothing about football. So one day he takes me aside and
says âlisten, you try itâ.â And with that, X was appointed technical director.
⢠X's accounting company is called Maguire Tax & Legal. It derives its name from the
sports management film Jerry Maguire. But it is evident that he is not as liked as
Maguire, the sports agent with a conscience played by Tom Cruise.
80. 24. ID X AND Y.
⢠X vs. USTA is a 1977 New York Supreme Court decision that was
brought by X, alleging discrimination on the basis of gender, in violation
of New York Human Rights Law. She found the odds firmly stacked
against her, with the other side bringing in witness after witness to
prove their account of the legal battle.
⢠To Xâs surprise, her lawyer had only one witness for her, but that witness
proved to be crucial towards determining the outcome of the case. An
affidavit from Y, who is now in the news, saying that X could not be
denied was all it took for X to win the case and go on to make history.
82. X - R E N Ă E R I C H A R D S â
T H E F I R S T T R A N S G E N D E R
W O M A N T O P L A Y I N A
P R O F E S S I O N A L T E N N I S
T O U R N A M E N T
Y â B I L L I E J E A N K I N G
83. *25. ID X AND Y. WHAT IS
BEING SPOKEN ABOUT?
⢠X is presumed dead after all of the city witnesses his death. Interestingly, the court also
manages to presume that Y is dead.
⢠The law establishes that exposure 'to a specific peril of death' might suffice to establish
death in absentia, even if the three-year statutory period has not yet run."
⢠X clearly meets the requirements, so he could easily be declared dead without a body.
This is the classic scenario for âspecific perilâ: missing planes, wreckage of boats
found, houses burned to the ground, that sort of thing.
⢠But none of this applies to Y. One explanation is that the city was overrun for several
months with widespread executions, lootings, murders, and violence. In the wake of
tens of thousands of deaths, with intentional executions disproportionately focused
on wealthy scions, Y may be in âspecific peril of deathâ. So while thereâs no body, and
while the three-year statutory period hasnât run, courts would likely declare that Y had
faced such âspecific peril of deathâ that this forms a sufficient basis to declare him
dead in absentia, and to begin the disposition of his estate.
85. X - B A T M A N
Y - B R U C E W A Y N E
T H E E N D O F T H E D A R K
K N I G H T R I S E S
86. 26. WHY DID THIS PLOT OF LAND BECOME
(IN)FAMOUS?
⢠This site was formerly known as the Allenby Barracks.
On 18 January 1989, on the basis of the Helms
Amendment, an agreement was signed by William
Brown and Moshe Gatt according to which this 7.7
acre plot of land was leased for a rent of $1 per
annum for ninety-nine years renewable. The original
ownership of the site is a hotly contested matter, and
was so especially after this lease was signed.
90. 27. WHAT WAS SPECIAL ABOUT
THIS BUCKET?
⢠While its legality became a topic for hot debate in India, it
provided KFC in Canada an innovative marketing ploy to
enhance sales. Comprising ten chicken tenders, waffle fries, a
medium side, medium gravy and a pair of dips, the selling
point of the bucket was that even in times of volatility and
instability, âthe Colonelâs Original Recipe is as good as
alwaysâ. The bucket cost about C$20, and sold out relatively
quickly after its launch.
93. 28. WHICH COMPANY WAS
TARGETED, AND WHAT WAS THE
DEMAND MADE?
⢠The Indian Patents Act, 1970 was passed by the Indira Gandhi government, and contained
the following two clauses -
⢠â3. What are not inventions.âThe following are not inventions within the meaning of this
Act,â
⢠(d) the mere discovery of a new form of a known substance which does not result in the
enhancement of the known efficacy of that substance or the mere discovery of any new
property or new use for a known substance or of the mere use of a known process,
machine or apparatus unless such known process results in a new product or employs at
least one new reactant.
⢠(e) a substance obtained by a mere admixture resulting only in the aggregation of the
properties of the components thereof or a process for producing such substance;â
⢠These two clauses were used in 1977 by George Fernandes, then Union Minister for
95. C O C A - C O L A W A S
A S K E D T O
R E V E A L I T S
F O R M U L A O R
L E A V E T H E
C O U N T R Y
96. 29. HOW WAS THIS PAINTING IN
CONTRAVENTION OF THE LAW?
⢠Following Sonnabendâs, one of Rauschenbergâs lifelong champions, death in 2007, her heirs
entered a curious debate with the IRS regarding the work. The laws of America make it
illegal to buy, sell, barter, or possess a ____ _____ in the U.S.
⢠However, Canyon was allowed to remain in Sonnabendâs collection because Rauschenberg
had provided a notarized statement saying that the act in question had taken place before
the lawsâ passage, but because it could not be sold, the familyâs appraisers had valued it at
zero. The IRS disagreed, ruling that it was worth far more, and assessed an estate tax and
penalties on the heirs. The resolution they reached allowed the family to donate the work
to a U.S. institution in exchange for dropping the tax claim. Thus, in 2012, Canyon was
generously donated to The Museum of Modern Art, where it joins five other Combines, to
provide an in-depth representation of this key aspect of Rauschenbergâs career.
104. 31. IN WHAT CONTEXT HAS THIS
SECTION BEEN INVOKED THIS
PAST WEEK?
⢠Section 3 of the Public Order Act, 1986 provides:
⢠â(1) A person is guilty of affray if he uses or threatens unlawful violence towards another
and his conduct is such as would cause a person of reasonable firmness present at the
scene to fear for his personal safety.
⢠(2) Where 2 or more persons use or threaten the unlawful violence, it is the conduct of
them taken together that must be considered for the purposes of subsection (1).
⢠(3) For the purposes of this section a threat cannot be made by the use of words alone.
⢠(4) No person of reasonable firmness need actually be, or be likely to be, present at the
scene.
⢠(5) Affray may be committed in private as well as in public places.
⢠âŚâ
110. 33. WHOM ARE THE MICE AN
ALTERNATIVE TO?
⢠Security agencies have found an efficient alternative in the form of switching to using
mice. While they may be less fun to have around, mice have the potential to be more
accurate than their counterparts. Another advantage of the mice is that they donât
need to continually be motivated. In contrast, their larger counterparts must be
periodically sent on dummy missions so they donât become bored with the game. Mice
are good for about four hour shifts at a time with a useful lifespan of about 18 months,
all supposedly without need to re-train or re-motivate. They also can be trained much
faster and cheaper, and in extremely high numbers for mass and quick deployment.
⢠As an example of how the mice might be deployed, the aforementioned security
company notes small containers with the hidden mice can be strategically placed at
airports in locations where passengers walk by or are made to pause for a moment.
When the hidden mice (possibly large groups of them) sense whatever theyâve been
trained to alert for, they press a button alerting the authorities, all in a much less visible
fashion, and not prone to reacting to handler bias or, in this case, even have a handler
visible to the mice at all.
113. 34. WHO WAS MUNOZâ NEW
CLIENT?
⢠As a location scout for Hollywood projects filming in his native Mexico, Carlos Munoz
Portal spent his workdays roaming the country, searching for landscapes that would
look great on screen. By age 37, he had racked up an impressive list of credits that
included the drug war thriller âSicarioâ and the James Bond film âSpectre.â
⢠In 2017, Munoz hopped in the car to hunt for locations for a new client.
⢠Several hours later, he was dead.
⢠Local police found Munoz in his car slumped over in the driverâs seat in a field about
an hour north of Mexico City, according to the attorney generalâs office in Mexico
state. He had been shot multiple times.
116. 35. WHAT PRACTICE WAS
FOLLOWED IN THE KERALA HC?
⢠The petitioner, Chandramohan, contended that following this superstitious practice,
the fear of which originated from Christianity, was against secularism - a basic feature
of the Constitution.
⢠The Registrar General of the Kerala High Court opposed the petition and stated that
this decision was purely administrative in nature, and was taken on the basis of
recommendations of a committee of Judges headed by the High Court Chief Justice.
He also denied that the decision was based on religious grounds or any extraneous
reasons.
⢠The controversy was over the new building of the Kerala High Court at Kochi, which
was inaugurated by the CJI himself on February 11, 2006.