A state statute establishing standards for offering and selling securities, the purpose being to protect citizens from investing in fraudulent schemes or unsuitable companies. [Cases: Securities Regulation 248–273. C.J.S. Securities Regulation §§ 3, 374–376, 379–411, 414.]
public domain. 1. Government-owned land. 2. Hist. Government lands that are open to entry and settlement. • Today virtually all federal lands are off-limits to traditional entry and settlement. 3. Intellectual property. The universe of inventions and creative works that are not protected by intellectual-property rights and are therefore available for anyone to use without
A tariff rate that members of a customs union, common market, or economic union uniformly apply to imports from nonmember nations. — Abbr. CXT. — Also termed tariff exterior commun (TEC).
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beneficium abstinendi (ben-[schwa]-fish-ee-[schwa]m ab-sti-nen-dI). [Latin “privilege of abstaining”] Roman law. The right of an heir to refuse an inheritance and thus avoid liability for the testator’s debts. “[T]hese heirs came also to be protected by the praetor, viz. by the jus or beneficium abstinendi. Provided they took care not to act as heir in any
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scope of a patent. Patents. The limits of a patent’s protection, as defined by the allowed claims. [Cases: Patents 165. C.J.S. Patents §§ 283, 287, 290, 293, 304.]
factor’s act. A statute protecting one who buys goods from a factor or agent by creating the presumption that the agent was acting on the owner’s behalf and with the owner’s approval. [Cases: Factors 58.]
term-of-art canon. In statutory construction, the principle that if a term has acquired a technical or specialized meaning in a particular context, the term should be presumed to have that meaning if used in that context. [Cases: Statutes 192.]
decolonization. Int’l law. The process by which a colonial power divests itself of sovereignty over a colony — whether a territory, a protectorate, or a trust territory — so that the colony is granted autonomy and eventually attains independence.
recognition clause. Real estate. A clause providing that, when a tract of land has been subdivided for development, the ultimate buyers of individual lots are protected if the developer defaults on the mortgage. • Such a clause is typically found in a blanket mortgage or a contract for deed.
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functionality. Trademarks. The quality of having a shape, configuration, design, or color that is so superior to available alternatives that giving the first user exclusive trademark rights would hinder competition. [Cases: Trade Regulation 43. C.J.S. Trade-Marks, Trade-Names, and Unfair Competition §§ 49–50.] aesthetic functionality. A doctrine that denies protection to the design of a product