doctrine of equivalents. Patents. A judicially created theory for finding patent infringement when the accused process or product falls outside the literal scope of the patent claims. • The doctrine evolved to prevent parties from evading liability for patent infringement by making trivial changes to avoid the literal language of the patent claims. Graver Tank […]
doctrine of equivalents Read More »
A tax imposed when property is voluntarily and gratuitously transferred. • Under federal law, the gift tax is imposed on the donor, but some states tax the donee. [Cases: Internal Revenue 4200; Taxation 906.10. C.J.S. Internal Revenue §§ 493–494, 499, 557–565, 573–575; Taxation §§ 1783–1784.]
absorption, n. 1. The act or process of including or incorporating a thing into something else; esp., the application of rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution to actions by the states. 2. Int’l law. The merger of one nation into another, whether voluntarily or by subjugation. 3. Labor law. In a postmerger collective-bargaining agreement, a
accomplice ([schwa]-kom-plis). 1. A person who is in any way involved with another in the commission of a crime, whether as a principal in the first or second degree or as an accessory. • Although the definition includes an accessory before the fact, not all authorities treat this term as including an accessory after the
blank consent. A general authorization from a natural parent who voluntarily relinquishes a child for private adoption and allows adoption proceedings without further consent. • Jurisdictions are divided over whether a blank consent is valid if the natural parents do not identify and approve the prospective adoptive parents. — Also termed blanket consent; general consent.
volunteer. 1. A voluntary actor or agent in a transaction; esp., a person who, without an employer’s assent and without any justification from legitimate personal interest, helps an employee in the performance of the employer’s business. 2. The grantee in a voluntary conveyance; a person to whom a conveyance is made without any valuable consideration.
Property that the owner voluntarily surrenders, relinquishes, or disclaims. Cf. lost property; mislaid property. [Cases: Abandoned and Lost Property 1. C.J.S. Abandonment §§ 4, 7–8.]
abandoned property Read More »
sua sponte (s[y]oo-[schwa] spon-tee). [Latin “of one’s own accord; voluntarily”] Without prompting or suggestion; on its own motion (the court took notice sua sponte that it lacked jurisdiction over the case).
A search conducted after a person with the authority to do so voluntarily waives Fourth Amendment rights. • The government has the burden to show that the consent was given freely — not under duress. Bumper v. North Carolina, 391 U.S. 543, 548–49, 88 S.Ct. 1788, 1792 (1968). — Also termed consensual search. [Cases: Searches
A pension voluntarily granted by a public entity. • The gratuitous (rather than contractual) nature of this type of allowance gives the pensioner no vested rights in the allowance. [Cases: Pensions 2.]
gratuitous allowance Read More »