[BUS5] “Apparent authority” binds a principal when the principal’s manifestations to a third party reasonably cause the third party to believe the agent is authorized to act on the principal’s behalf.

[BUS2] A real estate developer, Ms. Hart, approaches Mr. Lang, an officer of Apex Manufacturing, to ask whether Apex would be interested in purchasing a parcel of land located next to Apex’s main factory. Mr. Lang realizes the land would be highly valuable to Apex for future expansion, but instead personally purchases the property in his own name and later offers to lease it to Apex at a premium rate. Which fiduciary duty has Mr. Lang most likely violated?

For questions 11 – 14, please refer to the following passage: Chef Adam Jones, a Michelin star chef (a highly acclaimed designation) invents a new meat grinder that grinds meat faster and more uniformly than any device on the market. He filed a U.S. provisional patent application for his invention on August 1, 2023. He markets and demonstrates the device publicly at a major kitchen appliance trade show on October 1, 2023, and even disassembles it, showing its components and how it operates, constituting an enabling disclosure, because a person having ordinary skill in the art could make and use the device from this public demonstration without undue experimentation. Chef Jones also wants to publish a cookbook that includes original recipes, cooking tips, and personal stories. He is concerned about protecting the way he expresses the recipes through his original expression. Chef Jones is planning to open several restaurants across the U.S., and wants a business structure limits personal liability, is easy to manage, avoids corporate formalities, and avoids double taxation. [Inspired by the movie “Burnt.”]

[SEC6] Even if a company offers and sells securities only to investors within one state, it must comply with that state’s securities registration or exemption requirements (commonly called ‘blue sky’ laws).

[CR1] If there are aspects of the ED209’s software that are copyrightable, who would most likely own the copyright to the that code?

For questions 8-10, please use this fact pattern: Omni Consumer Products (OCP) hired Richard “Dick” Jones, president of the company, to invent a robot urban sentry unit, including being in charge of both hardware and software development. The first model was to bear the trademark “ED209.” Dick invented and designed the robot’s hardware. Dick Jones, who has been working for OCP for the last 20 years, works in a plush office at OCP’s corporate complex in Delta City. OCP pays him an annual salary of $250,000 (paid bimonthly by direct deposit), pays for his medical and dental insurance, and provides the labs and equipment that he needs to work on the robot sentry. Dick must be at the office no later than 9AM, and can leave no earlier than 6PM. His activities are strictly overseen by the Board of Directors and the Chairman of OCP, who reviews his designs and revisions every single day. Dick on behalf of OCP hired Seymour Berkhoff to invent and write the software for the ED209 robot. Seymour received a lump sum of $350,000 upon completion of the software. Seymour gives progress updates to Dick Jones every month, although he receives no suggestions or direction from Dick. Seymour pays for his own medical and dental benefits, and works out of his own basement in old Detroit. Seymour owns the laptop computer he uses to write the code with, and pays for his own internet access. OCP has no contracts or agreements with Seymour regarding the ownership of intellectual property. [Inspired by the movie “Robocop” and “La Femme Nikita.”]

[LIT2] Does the Massachusetts court most likely have personal jurisdiction over W.R. Grace & Co. and Beatrice Foods?

[TS1, TM2, and PAT5] Chef Adam is debating whether to, instead of publishing a cookbook, keep his sauce recipes as trade secrets, or apply for patent protection on the sauce (chemical composition, ingredients). As his business manager, you advise him to consider several factors. Which of the following is least relevant to deciding between trade secret, trademark, and U.S. patent protection?

The nurse notes that a medication has a half-life of 8 hours. If the patient’s last dose was at 8:00 AM, approximately what percent of the drug will remain in the body 16 hours later (by midnight)?

Several pathogens we discussed have been described as fastidious. In the context of microbiology, what does this term mean.