Patent and Copyright Clause. The constitutional provision granting Congress the authority to promote the advancement of science and the arts by establishing a national system for patents and copyrights. U.S. Const. art. I, § 8, cl. 8. [Cases: Patents 3. C.J.S. Patents §§ 6–9.]
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cum piscariis (k[schwa]m pis-kair-ee-is). [Law Latin] Scots law. With fishings. • The phrase was used to convey an express grant of fishing rights without the necessity of also possessing the right for a prescribed period. Cf. CUM PISCATIONIBUS.
symbiotic-relationship test. The standard by which a private person may be considered a state actor — and may be liable for violating someone’s constitutional rights — if the relationship between the private person and the government is so close that they can fairly be said to be acting jointly. • Private acts by a private
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brand. Trademarks. A name or symbol used by a seller or manufacturer to identify goods or services and to distinguish them from competitors’ goods or services; the term used colloquially in business and industry to refer to a corporate or product name, a business image, or a mark, regardless of whether it may legally qualify
memorandum of alteration. English law. A patentee’s disclaimer of certain rights — such as rights to part of an invention that is not new and useful — to avoid losing the whole patent. • Until the mid-19th century, if a single patent was granted for two inventions, one of which was not new and useful,
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A decree or order that is sufficiently final to receive appellate review (such as an order granting summary judgment), or an interlocutory decree or order that is immediately appealable, usu. by statute (such as an order denying immunity to a police officer in a civil-rights suit). — Also termed reviewable issue. See COLLATERAL-ORDER DOCTRINE. [Cases:
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reciprocity (res-[schwa]-pros-i-tee). 1. Mutual or bilateral action (the Arthurs stopped receiving social invitations from friends because of their lack of reciprocity). 2. The mutual concession of advantages or privileges for purposes of commercial or diplomatic relations (Texas and Louisiana grant reciprocity to each other’s citizens in qualifying for in-state tuition rates). — Also termed mutuality
drilling-delay rental clause. Oil & gas. A provision in an oil-and-gas lease giving the lessee the right to maintain the lease from period to period during the primary term by paying delay rentals instead of starting drilling operations. • Lessees use drilling-delay rental clauses because courts have said that they obviate any implied covenant to
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Patents. Presumed to be good; entitled to the legal presumption that a patent was justified when issued and that challengers bear the burden of proving by clear and convincing evidence that the patent should not have been granted. • Defenses against infringement claims take one of three tacks: denying that the product infringes on the
Patents. A patent that is issued again, having broader claims than the original, surrendered patent. • Under 35 USCA § 251, a patent may be reissued, under certain circumstances, with broader claims than the original patent if the reissue application is filed within two years of the grant of the original patent. See INTERVENING RIGHTS.
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