Glossary

Elizabeth Shieldkret
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Glossary

Opinion: A judge's written explanation of a decision of the court or of a majority of judges. A dissenting opinion disagrees with the majority opinion because of the reasoning and/or the principles of law on which the decision is based. A concurring opinion agrees with the decision of the court but offers further comment.

Oral Argument: An opportunity for lawyers to summarize their position before the court and also to answer the judges' questions.

Panel: (1) In appellate cases, a group of judges (usually three) assigned to decide the case;; (2) In the jury selection process, the group of potential jurors.

Parties: Plaintiffs and defendants (petitioners and respondents) to lawsuits, also known as appellants and appellees in appeals, and their lawyers.

Perform: (As defined by the Copyright Statute) To "perform" a work means to recite, render, play, dance, or act it, either directly or by means of any device or process or, in the case of a motion picture or other audiovisual work, to show its images in any sequence or to make the sounds accompanying it audible. 17 U.S.C. § 101.

Performing Rights Society: (As defined by the Copyright Statute) A "performing rights society" is an association, corporation, or other entity that licenses the public performance of nondramatic musical works on behalf of copyright owners of such works, such as the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI), and SESAC, Inc. 17 U.S.C. § 101.
Phonorecords: (As defined by the Copyright Statute) "Phonorecords" are material objects in which sounds, other than those accompanying a motion picture or other audiovisual work, are fixed by any method now known or later developed, and from which the sounds can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated, either directly or with the aid of a machine or device. The term "phonorecords" includes the material object in which the sounds are first fixed. 17 U.S.C. § 101.

Pictorial, Graphic, and Sculptural Works: (As defined by the Copyright Statute) "Pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works" include two-dimensional and three-dimensional works of fine, graphic, and applied art, photographs, prints and art reproductions, maps, globes, charts, diagrams, models, and technical drawings, including architectural plans. Such works shall include works of artistic craftsmanship insofar as their form but not their mechanical or utilitarian aspects are concerned; the design of a useful article, as defined in this section, shall be considered a pictorial, graphic, or sculptural work only if, and only to the extent that, such design incorporates pictorial, graphic, or sculptural features that can be identified separately from, and are capable of existing independently of, the utilitarian aspects of the article. 17 U.S.C. § 101.

Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.

Pleadings: Written statements of the parties in a civil case of their positions. In the federal courts, the principal pleadings are the complaint and the answer.

Precedent: A court decision in an earlier case with facts and law similar to a dispute currently before a court. Precedent will ordinarily govern the decision of a later similar case, unless a party can show that it was wrongly decided or that it differed in some significant way.

Procedure: The rules for the conduct of a lawsuit; there are rules of civil, criminal, evidence, bankruptcy, and appellate procedure.

Pretrial Conference: A meeting of the judge and lawyers to discuss which matters should be presented to the jury, to review evidence and witnesses, to set a timetable, and to discuss the settlement of the case.

Proprietor: (As defined by the Copyright Statute) For purposes of section 513, a "proprietor" is an individual, corporation, partnership, or other entity, as the case may be, that owns an establishment or a food service or drinking establishment, except that no owner or operator of a radio or television station licensed by the Federal Communications Commission, cable system or satellite carrier, cable or satellite carrier service or programmer, provider of online services or network access or the operator of facilities therefor, telecommunications company, or any other such audio or audiovisual service or programmer now known or as may be developed in the future, commercial subscription music service, or owner or operator of any other transmission service, shall under any circumstances be deemed to be a proprietor. 17 U.S.C. § 101.
Pro Se: A Latin term meaning "on one's own behalf"; in courts, it refers to persons who present their own cases without lawyers.

Pseudonymous Work: (As defined by the Copyright Statute) A "pseudonymous work" is a work on the copies or phonorecords of which the author is identified under a fictitious name. 17 U.S.C. § 101.

Publication: (As defined by the Copyright Statute) "Publication" is the distribution of copies or phonorecords of a work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending. The offering to distribute copies or phonorecords to a group of persons for purposes of further distribution, public performance, or public display, constitutes publication. A public performance or display of a work does not of itself constitute publication. 17 U.S.C. § 101.

Publicly: (As defined by the Copyright Statute) To perform or display a work "publicly" means -; (1) to perform or display it at a place open to the public or at any place where a substantial number of persons outside of a normal circle of a family and its social acquaintances is gathered; or

          (2) to transmit or otherwise communicate a performance or display of the work to a place specified by clause (1) or to 
          the public, by means of any device or process, whether the members of the public capable of receiving the performance or 
          display receive it in the same place or in separate places and at the same time or at different times.

17 U.S.C. § 101.

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