law
beginner
10 sample questions
Intellectual Property MCQ Practice Test
Creative work legal protection
Q1. A photographer takes a picture of a famous landmark in a public place. The landmark is owned by a private company. Which of the following is true regarding the photographer's rights to the image?
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A. The photographer owns the copyright to the image, but the private company retains the right to reproduce the landmark. ✓
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B. The photographer owns the copyright to the image, and the private company has the right to reproduce the landmark.
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C. The photographer does not own the copyright to the image, as the private company retains the right to reproduce the landmark.
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D. The photographer owns the copyright to the image, and the private company owns the right to reproduce the landmark.
Explanation: In general, a photographer owns the copyright to an image they take, unless they have explicitly assigned the rights to someone else. However, if the image features a copyrighted work (such as a private company's landmark), the owner of that work may retain certain rights, such as the right to reproduce the landmark itself.
Q2. In a situation where a photographer captures an image of a public artwork, and the artwork is later sold to a new owner, who owns the copyright to the image?
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A. The photographer owns the copyright to the image. ✓
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B. The original owner of the artwork owns the copyright to the image.
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C. The new owner of the artwork owns the copyright to the image.
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D. The public has a perpetual license to reproduce the image.
Explanation: The photographer owns the copyright to the image because the image itself is an original work, and the photographer's capture of the image is protected by copyright law. The sale of the artwork does not affect the photographer's copyright.
Q3. A photographer takes a photo of a public art installation and sells it online. The artist who created the installation has not given permission for the use of their work. Which of the following is the photographer's best course of action?
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A. The photographer must remove the photo from sale immediately and give the artist a complimentary copy of the photo.
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B. The photographer can continue to sell the photo as it is a public art installation and therefore not protected by copyright.
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C. The photographer must obtain a license from the artist before continuing to sell the photo. ✓
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D. The photographer's use of the photo is considered fair use and is therefore allowed.
Explanation: The photographer's use of the photo without permission is considered copyright infringement, and they must obtain a license from the artist before continuing to sell the photo.
Q4. A photographer takes a photo of a public art installation, which is itself a copy of a famous painting. The photographer sells the photo to a client. Who owns the copyright to the photo?
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A. The photographer owns the copyright to the photo, as they created the final work. ✓
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B. The client who purchased the photo owns the copyright to the photo.
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C. The copyright to the photo is owned by the artist who created the public art installation, as they created the original work.
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D. The copyright to the photo is owned by the original artist of the famous painting, as the photo is a copy of their work.
Explanation: The photographer owns the copyright to the photo they took. They created a new, derivative work. The public art installation artist owns the copyright to the installation, and the original painter owns the copyright to the original painting. The client owns the physical copy of the photo, but not the copyright.
Q5. A photographer takes a photograph of a government-owned landmark from a public street in the United States. Who owns the copyright in the photograph?
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A. The photographer, as the author of the image ✓
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B. The government agency that owns the landmark
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C. No one, because the landmark is government property
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D. The photographer and the agency jointly
Explanation: Copyright in a photograph vests in its author — the photographer — the moment the image is fixed. Owning the depicted landmark confers no copyright in photos of it, and U.S. law (17 U.S.C. 120) even permits pictorial representations of architectural works visible from public places.
Q6. A photographer captures an image of a famous landmark, but the image is heavily edited to remove the landmark's name and any other identifying features. The photographer then sells the image as their own work. Which of the following best describes the photographer's action?
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A. fair use
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B. copyright infringement ✓
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C. derivative work
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D. idea misappropriation
Explanation: The photographer's action constitutes copyright infringement because they are profiting from someone else's work without permission. The fact that the image was heavily edited does not change the fact that the original image is still protected by copyright.
Q7. Under U.S. copyright law, may a photographer take and sell photographs of a copyrighted building that is visible from a public street?
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A. Yes — the architectural-works exemption permits depictions of buildings in or visible from public places ✓
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B. No — the architect's permission is required for any photograph
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C. Yes — because buildings are never copyrightable
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D. No — unless the architect is credited in each image
Explanation: 17 U.S.C. 120(a) authorizes pictorial representations of architectural works located in or ordinarily visible from public places, without the copyright owner's consent. Buildings are copyrightable — the exemption, not public domain status, is what permits the photos.
Q8. A photographer takes a picture of a famous landmark and publishes it on their website. The landmark is owned by a private company that has not registered any intellectual property rights. Which of the following is true?
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A. The photographer owns the copyright to the photograph. ✓
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B. The photographer has committed copyright infringement.
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C. The photographer has the right to use the image for any purpose.
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D. The photographer can only use the image for personal, non-commercial purposes.
Explanation: Since the photographer created the original work, they automatically own the copyright to the photograph, regardless of the landmark's ownership status.
Q9. A company's distinctive product packaging signals to consumers who makes the product. Which form of intellectual property protects such source-signifying packaging designs?
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A. Trade dress ✓
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B. Right of publicity
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C. Moral rights
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D. Plant variety rights
Explanation: Trade dress protects packaging, product configuration, and overall look-and-feel that signify commercial source. The right of publicity protects a human being's identity, moral rights protect authors' attribution and integrity, and plant variety rights cover new plant breeds.
Q10. A company downloads a photographer's image of a public sculpture and uses it, without permission, as the centerpiece of a national advertising campaign. Under U.S. copyright law, which statement is most accurate?
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A. The campaign likely infringes the sculptor's copyright, because public display does not grant reproduction rights ✓
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B. No infringement occurred, because the work stands in a public place
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C. No infringement occurred, because photographs of public art are always fair use
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D. Infringement occurred only if the sculpture is registered with the Copyright Office
Explanation: Unlike buildings (whose depiction from public places 17 U.S.C. 120(a) exempts), sculptures keep full copyright protection even when publicly sited, so commercial reproduction without a license infringes. Registration affects remedies, not liability.
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