Glossary

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Glossary

Abstract: The summary portion of a patent or publication describing an overview of the invention.

Action: Synonym for Lawsuit.

Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths. In some places it is called a Declaration.

Affirmed: In the practice of the appellate courts, the decree or order is declared valid and will stand as rendered in the lower court.

Anonymous Work: (As defined by the Copyright Statute) An "anonymous work" is a work on the copies or phonorecords of which no natural person is identified as author. 17 U.S.C. § 101.

Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.

Anticipation: The basis for refusing to issue a patent or invalidating a patent because every element of the claimed invention was previously disclosed in a single reference.

Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.

Appellate: About appeals; an appellate court has the power to review the judgment of another lower court or tribunal.

Architectural Work: (As defined by the Copyright Statute) An "architectural work" is the design of a building as embodied in any tangible medium of expression, including a building, architectural plans, or drawings. The work includes the overall form as well as the arrangement and composition of spaces and elements in the design, but does not include individual standard features. 17 U.S.C. § 101.
Assignment: A contract to transfer intellectual property rights from a prior owner (the assignor) to a new owner (the assignee).

Attorney-Client Privilege: A doctrine that protects confidential communication between a client seeking legal advice and her attorney. The purpose of the privilege is to foster open and honest communications so the attorney can provide the best possible representation. The privilege can be waived if certain procedures are not followed or by choice of the client.

Audiovisual Works: (As defined by the Copyright Statute) "Audiovisual works" are works that consist of a series of related images which are intrinsically intended to be shown by the use of machines, or devices such as projectors, viewers, or electronic equipment, together with accompanying sounds, if any, regardless of the nature of the material objects, such as films or tapes, in which the works are embodied. 17 U.S.C. § 101.

Bench Trial: Trial without a jury in which a judge decides the facts.

Berne Convention: (As defined by the Copyright Statute) The "Berne Convention" is the Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, signed at Berne, Switzerland, on September 9, 1886, and all acts, protocols, and revisions thereto. 17 U.S.C. § 101.

Best Edition: (As defined by the Copyright Statute) The "best edition" of a work is the edition, published in the United States at any time before the date of deposit, that the Library of Congress determines to be most suitable for its purposes. 17 U.S.C. § 101.

Best Mode: The best way to practice an invention. For example, if an invention works best at a certain temperature, that is the best mode. An inventor is required to disclose the best mode to the patent office.

Brief: A written statement submitted by the lawyer for each side in a case that explains to the judges why they should decide the case or a particular part of a case in favor of that lawyer's client. In some places it is called a Memorandum of Law.

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