Bamako Convention on the Ban of the Import into Africa and the Control of Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Wastes Within Africa. A 1991 treaty prohibiting the importation of hazardous wastes into Africa and restricting the transfer of wastes among African nations. • The treaty’s objectives are to protect human health and the environment from the […]
abstract idea. Intellectual property. A concept or thought, removed from any tangible embodiment. • An abstract idea is one of the categories of unpatentable subject matter, along with natural phenomena and laws of nature. But a process that uses abstract ideas to produce a useful result can be patented. Copyright law likewise will not protect
Department of Homeland Security. The cabinet-level department of the federal government responsible for ensuring security within the U.S. borders and in its territories and possessions. • The Department has five major divisions: Border and Transportation Security, Emergency Preparedness and Response, Science and Technology, Information Analysis and Infrastructure, and Management. It was established in 2002 and
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subpoena (s[schwa]-pee-n[schwa]), n. [Latin “under penalty”] A writ commanding a person to appear before a court or other tribunal, subject to a penalty for failing to comply. — Also spelled subpena. [Cases: Witnesses 7. C.J.S. Witnesses §§ 20–22, 25.] Pl. subpoenas. alias subpoena (ay-lee-[schwa]s s[schwa]-pee-n[schwa]). A subpoena issued after an initial subpoena has failed. deposition
A person’s ideals, character, and private conduct, which are not valid governmental concerns if the individual is to be considered sovereign over body and mind and if the need to protect the individual’s physical or moral well-being is insufficient to justify governmental intrusion. • In his essay On Liberty (1859), John Stuart Mill distinguished between
recording act. A law that establishes the requirements for recording a deed or other property interest and the standards for determining priorities between persons claiming interests in the same property (usu. real property). • Recording acts — the three main types of which are the notice statute, the race statute, and the race-notice statute —
patent attorney. A lawyer who drafts and prosecutes patent applications, and who represents inventors in infringement suits and interference hearings. • In addition to a law license, a patent attorney must have a scientific or technical background, pass the patent bar examination, and be licensed by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. A 1996 federal law that provides additional health-insurance protections to employees by limiting the effect of preexisting conditions on an employee’s ability to obtain insurance; permitting an employee to enroll a new dependent acquired by birth, adoption, or marriage; making it easier for people to maintain insurance coverage while
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