BUG, Inc., a company based in the city of Springfield, in
the State of Columbia, U.S.A. designs, manufactures, and sells electronic
recording devices. These devices are used by law enforcement agencies (police,
FBI, etc.) to intercept and record sounds and voices. The equipment taps into
telephone wires, cell phone transmissions, and picks up sounds and voices
through the walls of a house or in open-air locations through the use of a
remote microphone.

For each question about BUG, Inc. below, please provide the
best answer of the four possible choices.

1. One of
the reasons BUG devices work so well is because the parts use a special alloy
of rare metals that are produced in BUG’s facility for certain of the parts.
Which of the following methods would be inconsistent with BUG using the law of
trade secrets to ensure that its devices are the only ones that use this alloy?

A. Limiting
the number of people who have access to the alloy’s composition

B. Requiring
all employees who handle the alloy to sign a non-disclosure agreement

C. Patenting
the manufacturing method for the alloy

D. Keeping
the blueprints for the devices under lock and key

2. One of
BUG’s main competitors is WIRETAP, Inc., a company based in the nearby state of
Deseret. A WIRETAP employee used a fake name and applied for a job at BUG. This
employee forwarded all of the e-mail he received to WIRETAP’s corporate
headquarters once a week for six weeks, and at the end of the six week period,
he was given access to the special alloy that BUG uses in its devices. He was
caught with a photocopy of the alloy’s formula and manufacturing method in his
briefcase when he left the BUG office. Which causes of action appear likely to
succeed in a civil lawsuit by BUG against WIRETAP?

A. Fraud

B. Civil
RICO

C. Misappropriation
of Trade Secrets

D. All of
the above.

3. If the
spy sues BUG based on the security guard’s conduct, what is the spy’s best
avenue for recovery of damages?

A. Civil
RICO

B. Defamation

C. Respondeat
Superior

D. Breach of
Contract

4. BUG wants
to start marketing its products to the public via the internet. However,
another company called “Columbia Cybersquatter Corporation” has
already obtained the rights to the web address www.buginc.com. What is the most
effective legal cause of action available to BUG to obtain the rights to this
website address?

A. Commercial
Defamation (or “disparagement”)

B. Violation
of Trademark

C. Conversion

D. Fraud

5. A member
of the Springfield Police Department was using one of BUG’s devices to monitor
potential criminal activity. The device included an earpiece that is supposed
to be inserted into the user’s ear so that the user can hear what the device is
recording. Unfortunately, the earpiece on this particular unit shorted out and
the unit caught fire. The police officer was badly hurt and will have some
level of permanent hearing damage. BUG is liable for these injuries if which of
the following is true:

A. BUG
should have anticipated that a short-out might cause a fire while the device
was in someone’s ear, but this possibility did not actually occur to anyone in
the company involved with the product, and no warning of this potential risk
was attached to the product itself.

B. The
specifications of the device are such that a short-out and fire will not
happen, but this particular unit was made defectively due to an employee not
paying attention while assembling the product.

C. The
device was manufactured according to specifications, but the specifications
included a defect that created a risk of the short-out and fire – even though
at the time the device was designed and manufactured, it was considered
“state of the art” for safety.

D. If any of
A, B, or C were true, BUG is liable for the police officer’s damages.