Chapter 16: Property and Its Acquisition
1. Property can be classified as either real or personal.
2. A fixed, original expression of a creative work can be protected by a trademark.
3. A unique word, mark, or symbol identifying products is called a servicemark.
4. Patents are good for ten years and are renewable.
5. Any kind of property may be acquired and transferred by contract.
6. The promise to make a gift creates a legal obligation.
7. Property intentionally placed somewhere but then forgotten is referred to as mislaid property.
8. Occupancy is a means of acquiring abandoned property.
9. The right of partition is one of the rights included in ownership in severalty.
10. In a tenancy by the entireties the co-owners must always be husband and wife.
11. Which of the following is not a way of acquiring real property?
A. adverse possession
B. eminent domain
12. Ownership of natural or man-made increases to personal property is acquired by
C. adoption.
D. annexation.
13. Allowing the public to use a trademark as a descriptive generic term or permitting competitors to refer to
similar products by the trademark may cause the original owner to
C. increase income from the trademark.
D. share ownership of the trademark.
14. Trade secrets are
C. the tools of the trade.
D. none of the above.
15. Gathering shells on a public beach is acquisition by
A. accession.
B. adaptation.
16. When one person owns all of the property involved it is legally termed
C. ownership in separation.
D. none of these.
17. A form of ownership that carries the right of survivorship is
C. tenancy in common.
D. all of these.
18. In some states, all property acquired during a marriage is presumed to be community property and a
one-half interest in such property is owned by
A. the children or heirs.
B. the community.
19. Which of the following is considered a type of intellectual property?
A. patent
B. trademark
20. A divorce or separation usually transforms a tenancy by the entireties into a
C. tenancy in severalty.
D. none of the above.
21. On Janette’s 16th birthday, her grandmother, Mildred, gives her a box containing a family heirloom
necklace. Upon giving her the box, Mildred says, “This is yours now. On your granddaughter’s 16th birthday,
you should pass this family heirloom on to her.” In this situation Mildred is a(n)
A. donee.
B. acquirer.
22. When Ed opens his own carpet-cleaning business, he creates a unique symbol that distinguishes his
company from other carpet-cleaning companies. This unique symbol is known as a(n)
A. copyright.
23. Bill, a bachelor, has purchased gold-plated baseball cards on a monthly basis for three years. Bill is the
exclusive owner of this collection. Which of the following terms correctly identifies his type of ownership?
C. individual property
D. community property
24. Which of the following statements is not true?
C. A trade secret is commercially valuable information.
D. An author can transfer ownership of his copyright to others.
25. A form of co-ownership limited to husband and wife is known as
A. separate property.
B. ownership in severalty.
26. While eating at your favorite restaurant, your napkin slips from your lap. You bend down to retrieve it and
find a diamond necklace on the floor under the edge of your booth. Which of the following statements is
correct?
A. As the necklace has been mislaid, you get to retain it until the true owner appears to reclaim it from you.
B. As the necklace has been mislaid, you must give it to the proprietor of the restaurant to hold it for the true
owner.
27. Jaime wants to upgrade his computer so he takes it to a local retailer. The retailer, however, confuses
Jaime’s order with another customer’s order and inadvertently adds more RAM than Jaime wanted, adds a
modem, and increases the megahertz. Jaime’s right to the increased value in his personal property is known as
C. adequacy.
D. both a and b.
28. Mark, Tom, Eileen, and Lucia decide to become co-owners of a time-share condominium. They want a form
of co-ownership that would allow for a right of survivorship in which a deceased co-owner’s interest could be
divided equally among the remaining three, regardless of contradictory provisions in a will. Which form of
co-ownership would satisfy their desires?
C. ownership in severalty
D. tenancy by the entireties
29. A gift given “causa mortis” is one given
C. to pay the mortician’s fees.
D. none of the above.
30. Which form of ownership allows the shares to be divided unequally and does not have a right of
survivorship?
A. joint tenancy
B. tenancy by the entireties
31. A patent is good for up to ____________________ years and is not renewable..
32. Steven, Katrina, and Dan co-own a piece of land near their city’s ever-expanding airport. Because their form
of co-ownership allows the ____________________, Dan can require the division of this property so that he
33. The copyright on a book written by a single author is good for ___________________ years past the death
of the author.
34. During their five-year marriage Brent and Brenda purchased, co-owned, and operated a 20-unit apartment
building. Their recent divorce changed this tenancy by the entireties into a(n) _________________________.
35. Copyrights and trademarks are examples of a type of intangible property known as ____________________
property.
36. Theo is the sole owner of a piece of property south of town. He is, therefore, said to own the property in
____________________.
37. A(n) ____________________ is a unique word, mark, or symbol that identifies a service and can be
protected at law.
38. Real property is defined as land, buildings, and things permanently attached to them called
____________________.
39. Basically, personal property is defined as anything that is not ____________________ property.
40. Shredded wheat and cellophane are examples of terms that were once protected trademarks but have since
become ____________________.
41. Bonnie wrote a poem that she recited immediately at a local coffeehouse. A writer in the audience copied
down the poem and published it under his name. Can Bonnie sue for infringement to reclaim ownership of her
intellectual property? Explain your answer.
42. Carla, Hazel, Maddy, and Gina decide to combine their money and purchase a piece of lake-front property
hoping to build a combined antique store/bread and breakfast. They opt for joint tenancy in which each of them
co-owns 25 percent of the property. Just two months prior to starting construction on the building Hazel decides
she wants to sell her 25 percent share of the land. The other three agree, and Hazel transfers her 25 percent to
Donna. Another month later Donna is tragically killed in an automobile accident. Carla, Maddy, and Gina
believe they can now claim Donna’s share due to the “right of survivorship.” Donna’s son, however, claims he
has a right to Donna’s share. Who is right in this situation and why?
Answers may vary slightly. The advantage of joint tenancy is the “right of survivorship” in the surviving joint