A fictitious name used in a legal proceeding to designate a person whose identity is unknown, to protect a person’s known identity, or to indicate that a true defendant does not exist. Cf. JANE DOE; RICHARD ROE. [Cases: Federal Civil Procedure 101; Parties 67, 73.C.J.S. Parties §§ 170, 172.]
distinguishable variation. Copyright. A detectable difference between two works. • Distinguishable variation is the standard for determining whether a work that is based on a work in the public domain can itself be copyrighted. Examples include translations of books and mezzotints of paintings. Some nontrivial originality is also required: exact copies are not protectable.
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Intellectual property. A special sense that a trademark or tradename for a business, goods, or services has acquired even though the trademark or tradename was not originally protectable. • The term does not refer to a subordinate or rare meaning, but rather to a later meaning that has been added to the original one borne
uncopyrightable, adj. (Of a work) ineligible for copyright protection either because the work lacks originality or because it is an idea, concept, process, or other abstraction that is not included in one of the eight covered classifications of copyrightable works. 17 USCA §§ 101–106. [Cases: Copyrights and Intellectual Property 4. C.J.S. Copyrights and Intellectual Property
Berne-minus, adj. Copyright. Of or relating to the second sentence of Art. 9(1) of the TRIPs Agreement, which provides that intellectual-property rights and duties under the Berne Convention will not be expressly enforced on noncomplying signators through the TRIPs Agreement. U.S. reluctance to expressly protect moral rights of authors and artists has been criticized as
bona fide occupational qualification. An employment qualification that, although it may discriminate against a protected class (such as sex, religion, or national origin), relates to an essential job duty and is considered reasonably necessary to the operation of the particular business. • Such a qualification is not illegal under federal employment-discrimination laws. — Abbr. BFOQ.
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dilution. 1. The act or an instance of diminishing a thing’s strength or lessening its value. 2. Corporations. The reduction in the monetary value or voting power of stock by increasing the total number of outstanding shares. 3. Constitutional law. The limitation of the effectiveness of a particular group’s vote by legislative reapportionment or political
quia timet (kwI-[schwa] tI-m[schwa]t orkwee-[schwa] tim-et). [Latin “because he fears”] A legal doctrine that allows a person to seek equitable relief from future probable harm to a specific right or interest. [Cases: Equity 17. C.J.S. Equity § 55.] “A second class of cases where equity courts act to prevent injury are known as ‘quia timet’
Rome Convention on Related Rights. Copyright. A 1961 treaty setting minimum standards for neighboring rights of performers, producers, and broadcasters. • The United States is not a signatory. Neighboring rights were not protected under the Paris Convention or the Berne Convention. They are part of the copyright protection under TRIPs. — Often shortened to Rome
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Software Directive. See DIRECTIVE ON THE LEGAL PROTECTION OF COMPUTER PROGRAMS.
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