automatic-assignment doctrine. Trademarks. The rule that, absent evidence to the contrary, the sale of an entire business carries with it and transfers to the purchaser any common-law marks used in that business without the need for a written assignment. • For marks registered under the Lanham Act or under some state registration schemes, a written assignment is required to transfer an interest in a registered mark or in a pending application to register a mark. [Cases: Trade Regulation 102. C.J.S. Trade-Marks, Trade-Names, and Unfair Competition §§ 205, 207.]
automatic adjustment clause
automatic-adjustment clause. A provision in a utility-rate schedule that allows a public utility to increase its rates without a public hearing or state review, if certain operating costs, such as the price of fuel, increase. Federal Energy Regulatory Comm’n v. Mississippi, 456 U.S. 742, 102 S.Ct. 2126 (1982). [Cases: Electricity 11.3(4, 6); Public Utilities 128, 167. C.J.S. Electricity § 33; Public Utilities §§ 36, 44–46, 48, 87, 96.] AUTOMATIC-ASSIGNMENT DOCTRINE
