senior party

senior party. Intellectual property. In an interference proceeding, the first person to file an application for a property’s legal protection, e.g., an invention patent or a trademark registration. • In the United States, merely being the first to file does not entitle the party to the protection. The proceeding’s administrator also takes other factors into account. For instance, in a patent-interference proceeding the invention’s conception date and the inventor’s diligence in reducing the invention to practice are relevant factors. Priority in the filing date is prima facie evidence that the senior party is the first inventor, so the challenger has the burden of proof. Cf. JUNIOR PARTY. [Cases: Patents 106(1). C.J.S. Patents §§ 159–162, 165.]

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词条贡献者

法律翻译王漾，在一家顶尖英国律师事务所的上海办公室担任全职法律翻译，专注翻译各类与大中华业务有关的法律文件。