fixation. Copyright. The process or result of recording a work of authorship in tangible form so that it can be copyrighted under federal law. • Fixation occurs, for instance, when a live television broadcast is transmitted and simultaneously recorded on videotape. [Cases: Copyrights and Intellectual Property 12(1).]
suffrage (s[schwa]f-rij). 1. The right or privilege of casting a vote at a public election. — Also termed right to vote. [Cases: Elections 1. C.J.S. Elections §§ 1(1, 10), 2.] “In the United States suffrage is a privilege, franchise or trust conferred by the people upon such persons as it deems fittest to represent it
seminaufragium (sem-I-naw-fray-jee-[schwa]m), n. [Latin] Hist. A half-shipwreck, as when goods are cast overboard in a storm or when a damaged ship’s repair costs are more than the ship’s worth.
fairness doctrine. A former FCC rule that required the broadcast media to furnish a reasonable opportunity for discussion of conflicting views on issues of public importance. • The FCC abandoned the fairness doctrine in 1987. Cf. EQUAL-TIME DOCTRINE. [Cases: Telecommunications 435. C.J.S. Telegraphs, Telephones, Radio, and Television §§ 178–179, 183–187.]
De Laudibus Legum Angliae 〈拉〉〈英〉《英格兰法颂》；《英格兰法礼赞》 为英格兰法学家约翰·福蒂斯〔John Fortescue〕所着。作者在亨利六世时曾任王座法庭首席法官，该书是他和威尔士亲王及其他兰开斯特派〔Lancastrian party〕成员流亡法国时所着。流亡期间他曾被任命为御前大臣。本书采取作者与威尔士亲王对话的形式，用比较的方法探讨了英格兰法律的性质和优点，阐述了作为陪审制基础的伦理原则：宁肯放过有罪者也不能冤枉无辜者。作者警示后人，英格兰的某些君主力图引进大陆法仅仅是为了实行专断独行的统治，因为大陆法认为「帝王的意志有法律的效力」〔quod principi placuit legis habet vigorem〕。全书结尾处是关于一些英格兰法研究团体的情况。
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wardpenny, n. Hist. 1. Money paid in lieu of military service. 2. Money paid to the sheriff or castellains in exchange for watching and warding a castle. — Also termed wardage; warth.
Latin information 〈英〉拉丁诉讼 由国王、兰开斯特〔Lancaster〕公爵或康沃尔〔Cornwall〕公爵提起的具有民事诉讼性质的诉讼，以求追偿债务或获得侵权赔偿等。该种诉讼已被1947年《王权诉讼法》〔Crown Proceedings Act〕废除。 (→English information)
Brussels Act. Copyright. A 1948 revision of the Berne Convention mandating the life-plus-50-years copyright term as a minimum standard, extending the moral rights of attribution and integrity in most member countries to the full copyright term, extending the broadcast right to television, strengthening protection of several forms of copyright protection, and extending some protection to
pricking for sheriffs 〈英〉郡长阄定仪式 指每年举行的，由国王选定郡长的仪式。在仪式上，国王取一根银针，让针尖向下落向三个被提名者的名字，被扎中者为下一年度的郡长。尽管该仪式表面上体现公正，但事实上银针落向何人是事先决定的。该仪式不适用于康沃尔〔Cornwall〕与兰开斯特〔Lancaster〕两郡。
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intendment (in-tend-m[schwa]nt). 1. The sense in which the law understands something (the intendment of a contract is that the contract is legally enforceable). — Also termed intendment of law. 2. A decision-maker’s inference about the true meaning or intention of a legal instrument (there is no need for intendment, the court reasoned, when the text