The document discusses legal concepts across various chapters, focusing on crimes, torts, intellectual property, internet law, and contractual agreements. Key points include definitions of crimes and torts, the nature of legal contracts, protections under intellectual property law, and digital conduct regulations. It highlights distinctions in legal liability, governmental powers, and the impact of electronic communication on legal agreements.

1. Chapter 8 -- Crimes
1. Conduct that may be a misdemeanor in one
state may be a felony in another state.
2. A required element for a crime is that the
criminal party voluntarily commits the prohibited act (think
“gun to head”).
3. A person cannot commit a crime if the person
does not know that his or her conduct is criminal (think
“Honduran bony fish or short lobster).
4. The Fourth Amendment prohibits ALL
government searches of businesses.
5. Traditionally, extortion involves wrongful
demands made by public officials.
6. A company cannot be found guilty of a crime
that is committed by its agent.
7. If an employee wrongfully keeps money that
was entrusted to the employee by his or employer, the employee
has committed the crime of embezzlement.
8. Government officers do not need a search
warrant in order to inspect property that is in "plain view".
9. The Constitution guarantees individuals the
right to a speedy trial in criminal cases.
10. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act
allows a person to thwart encryption devices that copy right
holders place on copyrighted material if the person has

2. purchased the copyrighted item in question.
Chapter 9 -- Torts
11. One wrongful act may be both a crime and a
tort.
12. A person is not entitled to recover for
EVERY injury or loss that is caused by another person.
13. In general, tort liability will not be imposed
for an involuntary act even if the act harms another.
14. Under tort law, one owes a duty to society to
conform his or her conduct to a required standard (think: does
society sue the tortfeasor does the “somebody done me wrong”
individual plaintiff sue the tortfeasor?).
15. The U.S. government cannot be sued for
harm caused by the negligence of federal employees.
16. In some states, a plaintiff may recover for
emotional distress that is negligently caused by another.
17. Companies can now make commercial use of
the name or likeness of celebrities without first obtaining the
celebrities permission to do so because most states do not
recognize the tort of invasion of the right to publicity.
Chapter 10
18.

3. Patents are granted by state governments, not by the
federal government.
19.
Trademarks may be protected for up to three years prior to
the time that they are actually used.
20. A “term” acquires a secondary meaning when,
through prolonged use, the public has come to associate that
term with a particular product.
21. In general, mere ideas and concepts cannot be
copyrighted or patented.
22.
A trade secret may be disclosed without losing its legal
protection if it is restrictively disclosed to another person who
was aware of its secret nature.
23.
In general, a competitor is legally entitled to "reverse engineer"
or copy a product if the product is sold to the public and the
product has not been copyrighted or patented.
24.
A patent grants the exclusive right to use and sell the patented
item for 17 years.
25.
Copyright infringement of programs is determined by focusing
on the number of steps program share in common and NOT by
focusing on the similarity between significant program steps.
26.

4. Federal law expressly prohibits the pending of any computer
programs.
27.
A patent that has been issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark
Office may be invalidated if a party can prove in litigation that
the patented invention would be obvious to a person of ordinary
skill in the art.
Chapter 11
28.
Conduct on the Internet is subject to traditional rules of law as
well as new statutes and case law relating to cyberspace
activities.
29.
Communications sent via the Internet are not protected by the
U.S. Constitution.
30.
Phishing and pharming are criminal uses of computers by which
unscrupulous individuals obtain private financial information of
innocent parties.
31.
Employers do not have a right to look at employees’ e-mail
when it is communicated via the employer's e-mail system.
32.
The Fourth Amendment prohibits the government from
conducting unreasonable searches of a person's computer.
33.

5. Due process requires that a party being sued has a "nexus" with
a state before it can be sued in that state.
34.
The United States Supreme Court has held that entering into a
contract with a person in another state via the Internet is a
sufficient connection to constitutionally justify being sued in
that state.
35.
Federal securities law may apply to stock transactions
conducted via the Internet.
36.
Federal intellectual property law is not apply to the World Wide
Web.
37.
Congress recently enacted statute that makes a federal crime for
a web site to gather and disclosed any information regarding a
customer, regardless of their age, without first obtaining the
customers consent to such disclosure.
Chapter 12
38.
Every agreement is a valid, legally binding contract.
39.
Contracts may relate to virtually any type of legal transaction,
including performing services.
40.
Individuals and corporations can make contracts, but

6. government agencies cannot.
41.
In general, agreement is not a legally binding contract unless
the parties sufficiently indicate an intent to be legally bound by
the terms of the agreement.
42. The Electronic Signature is in Global and
National Commerce Act and the Uniform Electronic
Transactions Act generally provide
that electronic contracts are as valid as traditional ink signed
paper contracts.
43.
Informal contracts are not legally binding.
44.
An option contract is a contract that gives one party the
right or choice to accept an existing offer within a stated period
of time.
45.
A right of first refusal contract gives a party the right to
accept an offer only if another party subsequently decides to
make the offer.
46.
An offeree can accept an offer for a bilateral contract by
promising to perform the requested act. A contract is formed
when the offer he communicates this promise to the offeror.
47.
In some cases, a party may have a duty under “QUASI
CONTRACT” to pay for benefits received even though the

7. party never contractually agreed to pay for such benefits.
48.
QUASI CONTRACT requires that a person must pay for
any benefit that is ever received from another.
49.
If a party enters into an express contract agreed to
perform services for a stated price, then that party is entitled to
recover only that amount; the party is not entitled to quasi --
contract will recovery for the reasonable value of such services.
50.
The Starbucks trademark infringement cease and desist
letter and subsequent response from Exit Six Brewery were
funny, but quite illustrative of the issues involved in protection
of a profitable and widely known trademark.