Patent Quiz

Question 1

What does a patent actually grant the holder?

Accepted Answer

The right to exclude others from making, using, or selling the invention for a limited time

Answer

The right to make and sell their invention

Answer

A trademark on the invention's name

Answer

A copyright on technical drawings

Question 2

How long does a US utility patent last?

Accepted Answer

20 years from the earliest non-provisional filing date

Answer

7 years from issue

Answer

14 years from issue

Answer

Forever, as long as fees are paid

Question 3

Roughly how much does it cost to DEFEND a patent suit through trial?

Accepted Answer

$1M–$5M+ depending on complexity

Answer

Around $10,000

Answer

$50,000–$100,000

Answer

Free, the loser pays

Question 4

What is a patent troll?

Accepted Answer

A non-practicing entity that acquires patents to extract licensing fees through litigation threats rather than producing goods

Answer

A patent attorney who specializes in litigation

Answer

Any company that sues over patent infringement

Answer

A USPTO examiner with a high rejection rate

Question 5

What's a typical settlement demand in a small-target patent-troll campaign?

Accepted Answer

$50,000–$500,000 — calibrated below defense cost

Answer

$5–$50

Answer

$5M–$50M

Answer

Always exactly $1 million

Question 6

35 U.S.C. § 103 governs which patentability requirement?

Accepted Answer

Non-obviousness — would a person of ordinary skill have found the combination obvious?

Answer

Subject-matter eligibility

Answer

Novelty

Answer

Best mode disclosure

Question 7

Which Supreme Court case codified the modern two-step abstract-idea test under § 101?

Accepted Answer

Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank International (2014)

Answer

eBay v. MercExchange (2006)

Answer

KSR v. Teleflex (2007)

Answer

TC Heartland v. Kraft (2017)

Question 8

What does Inter Partes Review (IPR) at the USPTO PTAB allow?

Accepted Answer

Challenging a patent's claims as anticipated or obvious based on patents and printed publications, with a 12-month deadline and lower burden than district court

Answer

Filing a new patent application

Answer

Suing the patent owner for damages

Answer

Appealing a trademark refusal

Question 9

You receive a patent demand letter from a law firm you've never heard of. What's the first thing you should do?

Accepted Answer

Don't reply, don't destroy any documents, save the letter, pull the patent, and get a patent litigation attorney

Answer

Call the sender to explain why you don't infringe

Answer

Pay the demand quickly to make it go away

Answer

Tweet about it publicly to shame the troll

Question 10

In Lumen View v. FindTheBest (2014), what made the case a touchstone for post-Octane fee-shifting?

Accepted Answer

It was one of the earliest cases where a court applied the new exceptional-case standard from Octane Fitness, ordering the troll to pay attorneys' fees

Answer

FindTheBest paid the largest patent settlement on record

Answer

The patent was held valid by the Supreme Court

Answer

Lumen View won a permanent injunction blocking FindTheBest