An exclusive right covering a new invention or
process that prevents anyone but the holder, or persons designated by the
holder, from making, using, or selling the invention or process.
A method by which companies that own patents for
different but related products may share their patents in an effort to increase
market share.
A form of business organization in which two or more
persons jointly own the business. Partners are personally liable for the
partnership's debts and liabilities.
In jury selection, a lawyer's right to reject a
potential juror without having to state a reason. Each side has a specified
number of such challenges.
In antitrust law, an approach used to determine the
presence of illegal monopoly power. The approach, which combines elements of
structural analysis and conduct approach, focuses on a company's market share,
how the company acquired that share, and how it uses it.
Those that are neither mandatory nor illegal.
Employers must bargain in good faith concerning mandatory subjects and may not
bargain about illegal subjects. All other subjects are categorized as
permissive and may or may not be the subject of collective bargaining.
In antitrust law, a restraint of trade that is
illegal in itself, as a matter of law. Unlike arrangements that are subject to
the "rule of reason, " a restraint in this category cannot be
justified on the ground that it is "reasonable."
The power of a court over the person of a defendant.
In general, any property that is not real property.
A process whereby a court disregards corporate immunity
and holds the officers of a corporation personally liable for the corporation's
actions and obligations.
The party who initiates a lawsuit.
An organization made up of private citizens appointed
by local officials to approve zoning changes and other changes in land use
planning ordinances.
A patent covering a plant that has been reproduced by
asexual means such as grafting or biotechnology.
The written statements of each party's claims and
defenses. Generally, they consist of the plaintiff's complaint,
the defendant's answer, and, in some cases, the plaintiff's reply.
A version of the utilitarianism theory holding that
if many people choose to do a particular thing, their preferences must be
accepted as valid for them. It is one of the foundations of the theory of the
free market.
A pamphlet inserted into the back of a law book,
updating it on new developments in the law.
A " shark-repellent" device (strategy to
prevent a tender offer) in which a target company adds provisions
to its corporate charter that penalize potential purchasers who
acquire more than a certain percentage of the company's stock.
The inherent power of state and local governments to
protect the public health, safety, and welfare.
A question that a court refuses to decide on the
ground that it is exclusively within the power of the executive or legislative
branch of the government. The definition of political question is considered
flexible; federal courts refuse to hear cases on political question grounds at
their discretion, when they feel compelled to defer to Congress or the
President.
In a pension plan, refers to the right of employees
to take an accumulated pension with them when they change employers.
Law that has been specifically enacted by valid
authority.
A theory holding that a law is truly a law if it has
the form of a law-that is, if it can be enforced. Its proponents believe that
laws are laws because of their form, not their content, and need not be moral
to be valid.
Refers to the period that begins once a registration
statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission becomes effective.
Until this period begins, a new security may not be sold to the public.
Practice in which a company with an overwhelmingly
strong position in a market attempts to drive out competitors or prevent new
businesses from entering the market by cutting prices to levels its competitors
could never match.
A doctrine providing that when there is a conflict
between a federal law and a state or local law regulating the same activity,
the federal law prevails.
An error made during a trial that substantially
affects the outcome, so as to justify reversal of the decision or a new trial.
A hearing before a judge or magistrate to determine
whether there is sufficient evidence to hold for trial a person
who has been arrested and charged with a crime.
A meeting between the judge and the opposing attorneys
prior to trial, intended to define the issues in dispute and
possibly lead to an out-of-court settlement.
The practice of charging different prices to different
customers, with the intention of reducing competition.
The agreement or conspiracy by a group of companies
to set mutually profitable prices for their products. Such agreements are per
se violations of the Sherman Act.
On the face of it. Refers to a fact presumed to be
true unless disproved, or a case that is strong enough for one
party to win unless the other party responds.
In the philosophy of legal positivism, the actual
directives requiring us to do or not to do things.
In antitrust law, a harmful effect on competition
resulting from price discrimination that injures a seller's competitors.
One who authorizes another, the agent, to conduct
business on his behalf.
A philosophic perspective developed by Jeremy Bentham
according to which actions are evaluated according to the balance of happiness
or unhappiness they produce when one considers alternatives.
Law affecting private individuals; for example, tort
and contract law.
An offering of securities that is made to a small
number of well,informed investors and is exempt from the registration
requirements of the securities Act of 1933.
A special advantage or benefit enjoyed by an individual or class.
A stateMent Made by a speaker who is immune from
liability as a matter of public policy. The privilege may be absolute (whereby
the speaker is immune from liability regardless of motive or purpose) or
conditional (whereby immunity is granted only when the statement was made in
good faith).
A direct relationship between two or more parties to
a contract. Traditionally in product liability law, a plaintiff had to be in
privity with a defendant in order to recover from that defendant. The modern
trend is for the duty of care to extend to third parties with whom a plaintiff
may not be in privity.
Reasonable grounds for belief that a crime was
committed and that a search or arrest warrant should be issued against a particular
suspect.
Constitutional safeguards, imposed by the Fifth and
14th Amendments, ensuring that no one may be deprived of liberty or property
without notice and a meaningful opportunity to be heard.
The rules and guidelines Under which legal systems
operate. Procedural law describes the mechanisms for resolving disputes and
enforcing the substantive laws.
A type of conglomerate merger in which one firm takes
over another whose products are related to the acquiring firm's products.
A branch of tort law involving claims brought for
personal injury, death, or property damage caused by the defective manufacture,
design, packaging, or labeling of a commercial product.
Doctrine under which a court may enforce a gratuitous
(freely made) promise if the person to whom the promise was made relied upon
it, the maker of the promise had reason to expect that the promise would be
relied on, and enforcing the promise is necessary in order to do justice.
A fee charged by a retailer to a wholesaler to cover
the cost of promoting the wholesaler's products. Prohibited by the Robinson
Patman Act.
A document providing financial data and background on
a company that offers new securities. It must be approved by the Securities and
Exchange Commission and then made available to prospective buyers before the
security may be sold.
In tort law, the primary cause of an injury, or that
which produced the injury and without which the accident would not have happened.
A defendant cannot be liable in tort unless his or her action or failure to act
was the proximate cause of the plaintiff's injury. proxy Written authorization
from a shareholder allowing another person to cast the shareholder's votes at a
corporation's annual meeting.
Information that the Securities and Exchange
Commission requires to be given shareholders in connection with the
solicitation of their proxies.
The body of law affecting the public generally.
Public law includes criminal law, constitutional law, administrative law, and
laws concerned with the structure of government.
A corporation that has outstanding shares of stock,
usually owned by a large number of people. Its shares are usually sold in a
stock exchange, and its directors, not its shareholders, are responsible for
corporate management.
An institution that operates at a profit while
meeting a specific need of the government; for example, the Federal National
Mortgage Association ("Fannie Mae").
Monetary damages that may be imposed on a defendant
in order to punish and deter. They are generally associated with tort, not
contract, actions and are awarded not for simply negligent behavior but for
acts that are considered reckless, malicious, or outrageous. Also known as
exemplary damages.
A type of conglomerate merger in which the products or
services of the merging firms are entirely unrelated.
