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invalid agreement See invalid contract under CONTRACT.

invalid agreement See invalid contract under CONTRACT.

invalid contract See CONTRACT.

invalid contract An agreement that is either void or voidable. - Also termed invalid agreement.

invalid will See WILL.

invasion 1. A hostile or forcible encroachment on the rights of another.

invasion of privacy by appropriation The use of anothers name or likeness for ones own benefit, esp. commercial gain. This misappropriation tort protects ones property right to the economic benefits flowing from the commercial use of ones face or name.

invasion of privacy An unjustified exploitation of ones personality or intrusion into ones personal activities, actionable under tort law and sometimes under constitutional law. See RIGHT OF PRIVACY.

invasion of privacy by intrusion An offensive, intentional interference with a persons seclusion or private affairs.

invasion of privacy by public disclosure of private facts The public revelation of private information about another in an objectionable manner. Even if the information is true and nondefamatory, a cause of action may arise.

invasion of privacy byfalse light The use of publicity to place another in a false light in the public eye. The false light mayor may not be defamatory or fictional but the public use must be one that a reasonable person would object to under the circumstances. See FALSE LIGHT (1).

invecta et illata (in-vek-ta et i-lay-ta). [Latin "(things) carried in and (things) brought in"]. Roman law. Goods brought onto a rural or urban leasehold by the lessee. The lessor held a tacit mortgage over the goods to ensure payment of rent. Cf. INTRODUCTA.

inveigle (in-vay-gal), vb. To lure or entice through deceit or insincerity <she blamed her friend for inveigling her into making the investment>. inveiglement, n.

invent To create (something) for the first time.

invented consideration Fictional consideration created by a court to prevent the invalidation of a contract that lacks consideration.

invented consideration See CONSIDERATION (1).

inventio (in-ven-shee-oh). [Latin] Roman law. A thing found; a finding. Beginning in the reign of Hadrian, the finder of treasure either acquired title to the property or shared it with the landowner on whose land it was found. See TREASURE TROVE; THESAURI INVENTIO. PI. inventiones (in-ven-shee-oh-neez).

invention A patentable device or process created through independent effort and characterized by an extraordinary degree of skill or ingenuity; a newly discovered art or operation. invention embraces the concept of nonobviousness. 2. The act or process of creating such a device or process. 3. Generally, anything that is created or devised. - invent, vb. The truth is, the word cannot be defined in such manner as to afford any substantial aid in determining whether a particular device involves an exercise of the inventive faculty or not. I n a given case we may be able to say that there is present invention of a very high order. In another we can see that there is lacking that impalpable something that distinguishes invention from simple mechanical skill. Courts, adopting fixed principles as a guide, have by a process of exclusion determined that certain variations in old devices do or do not involve invention; but whether the variation relied upon in a particular case is anything more than ordinary mechanical skill is a question which cannot be answered by applying the test of any general definition." McClain v. Ortmayer, 141 U.S. 419, 427,12 S.Ct. 76, 78 (1891). "An invention is any art, machine, manufacture, design, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, or any variety of plant, which is or may be patentable under the patent laws. 37 C.F.R. § 501.3(d)." 60 Am. Jur. 2d Patents § 894, at 601 n. 98 (1987).

inventive step In an invention, some advancement that is not obvious to a person reasonably skilled in the art. The European Patent Convention requires an inventive step to qualify for a patent. The term is roughly equivalent to nonobviousness in American patent practice.

inventively new Original in any way. The phrase is sometimes used to distinguish "new" in the usual sense from the term of art in patent law.

inventory 1. A detailed list of assets; esp., an executors or administrators detailed list of the probate-estate assets <make an inventory of the estate>. The term also sometimes denotes a divorcing spouses detailed list ofall his or her marital and separate assets and liabilities. Also termed inventory and appraisement. See PROBATE ESTATE; ACCOUNTING. 2. Accounting. The portion of a financial statement reflecting the value of a businesss raw materials, works-in-progress, and finished products <the companys reported inventory was suspiciously low>. 3. Raw materials or goods in stock <the dealership held a sale to clear out its October inventory>. 4. Bankruptcy. Personal property leased or furnished, held for sale or lease, or to be furnished under a contract for service; raw materials, work in process, or materials used or consumed in a business, including farm products such as crops or livestock <the debtor was found to have inventory that was valued at $ 300,000>. - inventory, vb. "Section 547 itself defines inventory and receivable. Do not use the U.CC definitions of these terms, or the definitions of them learned in business law classes. It is especially important to note that, for purposes of section 547, inventory includes farm products such as crops or livestock ...." David G. Epstein et ai., Bankruptcy § 6-35, at 351 (1993).

inventory fee A probate courts fee for services rendered to a decedents estate.

inventory search See SEARCH.

inventory search A complete search of an arrestees person before that person is booked into jail. All possessions found are typically held in police custody.

inventory-turnover ratio The result of dividing the cost of goods sold by the average value of inventory. This calculation is used to determine the effectiveness of the companys inventory-management policy.

inventus (in-ven-tas), p.pl. [Latin] Found. This word appears in various phrases, such as thesaurus inventus Ctreasure trove") and non est inventus ("he is not found").

inveritare (in-ve-ra-tair-ee), vb. [Law Latin] To make proof of a thing.

inverse condemnation An action brought by a property owner for compensation from a governmental entity that has taken the owner's property without bringing formal condemnation proceedings. Also termed constructive condemnation; reverse condemnation.

inverse condemnation See CONDEMNATION.

inverse floater See inverse-floating-rate note under NOTE (1).

inverse zoning See ZONING.

inverse-Erie doctrine See REVERSE-ERIE DOCTRINE.

inverse-floating-rate note See :SOTE (1).

inverse-order-of-alienation doctrine The principle that if a secured creditor has not collected on the mortgage or lien on a property sold off in successive parcels, the purchaser of the encumbered property may require the creditor to collect first from any parcel still held by the original owner, then from the parcel sold last, then next to last, and so on until the amount has been satisfied. The creditor must exhaust an asset before attempting to recover the balance of the mortgage or lien from the next most recently transferred asset. Also termed rule of marshaling liens.

inverso ordine (in-var-soh or-da-nee). [Latin]. Contrary to rule.

inverted market See BACKWARDATION.

invest 1. To supply with authority or power <the U.S. Constitution invests the President with the power to conduct foreign affairs>. See INVESTITURE (1). 2. To apply (money) for profit <Jillson invested her entire savings in the mutual fund>. 3. To make an outlay of money for profit <Baird invested in stocks>.

investigate 1. To inquire into (a matter) system-atically; to make (a suspect) the subject of a criminal inquiry <the police investigated the suspects involvement in the murder>. 2. To make an official inquiry <after the judge dismissed the case, the police refused to investigate further>.

investigating bureau See CREDIT-REPORTING BUREAU.

investigating magistrate See MAGISTRATE.

investigative detention See DETENTION.

investigative detention The holding of a suspect without formal arrest during the investigation of the suspect's participation in a crime Detention of this kind is constitutional only if probable cause exists.

investigative grand jury See GRAND JURY.

investigative grand jury A grand jury whose primary function is to examine possible crimes and develop evidence not currently available to the prosecution. Also termed investigatory grand jury.

investigatory detention See STOP AND FRISK.

investigatory interrogation See INTERROGATION.

investigatory interrogation Routine, nonaccusatory questioning by the police of a person who is not in custody.

investigatory power (in-ves-ta-ga-tor-ee). (usu. pl.) The authority conferred on a governmental agency to inspect and compel disclosure of facts germane to an investigation.

investigatory power See POWER (3).

investigatory stop See STOP AND FRISK.

investitive fact See FACT.

investitive fact (in-ves-tiv). A fact that confers rights. - Also termed coilative fact (ka-Iay-tiv).

investitive publication See PUBLICATION.

investitive publication The public distribution of an author s work on a scale large enough to qualify for federal statutory copyright protection. Since 1976 copyright has protected works since their creation, rather than their publication.

investiture (in-ves-ta-chuur). 1. The act offormally installing a person in a ceremony in which the person is clothed in the insignia of the offices position or rank; esp., the installation of a cleric in office. Also termed investment. 2. LIVERY OF SEISIN.

investment 1. An expenditure to acquire property or assets to produce revenue; a capital outlay.

investment adviser A person who, for pay, advises others, either directly or through publications or writings, about the value of securities or the advisability of investing in, purchaSing, or selling securities, or who is in the business of issuing reports on securities. The term generally excludes an employee of an investment adviser; a depository institution, such as a bank; lawyers, accountants, engineers, and teachers whose investment advice is solely incidental to the practice of their profeSSion; a broker-dealer whose advice is incidental to the conduct of business and who receives no special compensation for that adVice; and publishers of bona fide newspapers, newsmagazines, or business orfinancial publications of general, regular, or paid circulation.

Investment Advisers Act A 1940 federal statute administered by the Securities and Exchange Commission that regulates investment advisers. 15 USCA §§ 80b-I et seq.

investment bank A bank whose primary purpose is to acquire financing for businesses, esp. through the sale of securities . An investment bank does not accept deposits and, apart from selling securities, does not deal with the public at large. See INVESTMENT BANKER.

investment bank See BANK.

investment banker A person or institution that underwrites, sells, or assists in raising capital for businesses, esp. for new issues of stocks or bonds; a trader at an investment bank. See investment bank under BANK.

investment banking The business of underwriting or selling securities; esp., the marketing of new stocks or bonds. "The term investment banking can be used to encompass [underwriting, and acting as a dealer, broker, and market makerl. and any person in a firm performing any of those functions could be called an investment banker. By convention, however, those terms are used less broadly. In large securities firms, for example, there are a number of departments. The one most visible to the public handles trades for indiViduals. The technical term for the persons working with customers in that department is registered representative, but those persons are often called brokers or stockbrokers. Insiders would not call them investment bankers. A department almost inVisible to the public handles underwritings and performs a wide range of services primarily for client companies. Among those are: (1) assisting companies in the sale of securities, almost always in large amounts, to such private purchasers as insurance companies; (2) finding acquisition partners for companies that wish to acquire or be acquired by others; and (3) giving financial advice of various sorts to client companies. That department is likely to be called the investment banking department. In any case, its functions are at the heart of the insiders conception of investment banking." Larry D. Soderquist & Theresa A. Gabaldon, Securities Law 30 (1998).

investment bill See BILL (6).

investment bill A bill of exchange purchased at a discount and intended to be held to maturity as an investment. 7. A formal document or note; an instrument <bill of sale>. "The expression 'bill of sale' includes bills of sale, assign-ments. transfers, declarations of trust without transfer, inventories of goods with receipts thereto attached, or receipts for purchase-monies of goods, and other assur· ances of personal chattels, and also powers of attorney, authorities, or licences to take possession of personal chattels as security for any debt, and also any agreement, whether intended or not to be followed by the execution of any other instrument, by which a right in equity to any personal chattels, or to any charge or security thereon, shall be conferred .... " Joshua Williams, Principles of the Law of Personal Property 60 (11th ed. 1881) (tracking the definition in the [U.K.] Bills of Sale Act of 1878). "A transfer may be either an absolute assignment by way of gift or sale, or an assignment by way of mortgage or security only; but in either case when a written document of any sort is used to effect the transfer, the document is called technically a 'bill of sale.''' Arthur Weldon & H. Gibson Rivington, Gibson's Conveyancing 302 (14th ed. 1933).

investment company See COMPANY.

investment company A company formed to acquire and manage a portfolio of diverse assets by investing money collected from different sources. The Investment Company Act of 1940 defines the term as an issuer of securities that (1) is, holds itself out to be, or proposes to be engaged primarily in the business of investing, reinvesting, or trading in securities; (2) is engaged or proposes to engage in the business of issuing face-amount certificates of the installment type, or has been engaged in this business and has such a certificate outstanding; or (3) is engaged or proposes to engage in the business ofinvesting, reinvesting, owning, holding, or trading in securities, and owns or proposes to acquire investment securities having a value exceeding 40% of the value of the issuer's total assets (exclusive of government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis. 15 USCA § 80a-2(a)(16). Also termed investment trust. See REAL-ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST; MUTUAL FUND.

Investment Company Act A 1940 federal statute enacted to curb financial malpractices and abuses by regulating investment-company activities and transactions specifically, by requiring registration of investment companies and prohibiting transactions by unregistered companies; by making certain persons ineligible as affiliated persons or underwriters; by regulating affiliations ofdirectors, officers, and employees; by barring changes in investment policy without shareholder approval; and by regulating contracts of advisers and underwriters. 15 USCA §§ 80a-I et seq.

investment contract See INVESTMENT CONTRACT.

investment contract 1. A contract in which money is invested in a common enterprise with profits to come solely from the efforts of others; an agreement or transaction in which a party invests money in expectation of profits derived from the efforts of a promoter or other third party. 2. A transaction in which an investor furnishes initial value or risk capital to an enterprise, a portion of that amount being subjected to the risks of the enterprise. In such an arrangement, the investor typically does not receive the right to exercise control over the managerial decisions of the enterprise. "[A]n investment contract for purposes of the Securities Act means a contract, transaction or scheme whereby a person invests his money in a common enterprise and is led to expect profits solely from the efforts of the promoter or a third party.... It embodies a flexible rather than a static principle, one that is capable of adaptation to meet the countless and variable schemes devised by those who seek the use of the money of others on the promise of profits." SEC v. Howey Co., 32B U.S. 293. 29B-99, 66 S.Ct. 1100,1103 (1946).

investment discretion The ability of a person to (1) determine what will be purchased or sold by or for another persons account, (2) decide what will be purchased or sold by or for the account even though another may have the responsibility, or (3) influence the purchase or sale of securities or property in a way that, according to an administrative agency such as the Securities and Exchange Commission, should be subject to the agencys governing rules and regulations.

investment income See unearned income (1) under INCOME.

investment income See unearned income (1).

investment indebtedness Debt incurred by a taxpayer to acquire or carry assets that may produce income. The Internal Revenue Code limits the amount of deductible interest on this type of debt.

investment property Any asset purchased to produce a profit, whether from income or resale.

investment security See SECURITY.

investment security An instrument issued in bearer or registered form as a type commonly recognized as a medium for investment and evidencing a share or other interest in the property or enterprise of the issuer.

investment tax credit A tax credit intended to stimulate business investment in capital goods by allowing a percentage of the purchase price as a credit against the taxpayers income taxes. The Tax Reform Act of 1986 generally repealed this credit retroactively for most property placed in service after January 1, 1986. - Abbr. ITC.

investment tax credit See TAX CREDIT.

investment trust See investment company under COMPANY.

investment-direction agreement A contract by which a trustee agrees not to diversify the trusts assets, even though the trustee has the legal right to do so, and the beneficiary agrees to hold the trustee harmless for any losses resulting from not diversifying. - Abbr. IDA.

investment-grade bond See BOND (8).

investment-grade bond A bond with a rating of BBB or better by the leading bond rating services. See INVESTMENT-GRADE RATING.

investment-grade rating Any of the top four symbols given to a bond after an appraisal of its quality by a securities-evaluation agency such as Moodys. The rating indicates the degree of risk in an investment in the bond. See A (8).

investor 1. A buyer of a security or other property who seeks to profit from it without exhausting the principal. 2. Broadly, a person who spends money with an expectation of earning a profit.

invidious discrimination (in-vid-ee-as di-skrim-a-nay-shan). See DISCRIMINATION.

invidious discrimination (in-vid-ee-as). Discrimination that is offensive or objectionable, esp. because it involves prejudice or stereotyping.

inviolability (in-vi-a-la-bil-a-tee). The quality or fact of being safe from violation.

inviolable (in-vi-a-la-bal), adj. Safe from violation; incapable of being violated. - inviolability, n.

inviolate (in-vi-a-lit), ad; Free from violation; not broken, infringed, or impaired.

invisible adj. Accounting. Not reported in a financial statement <invisible earnings>.

invitation In the law of negligence, the enticement of others to enter, remain on, or use property or its structures; conduct that justifies others in believing that the possessor wants them to enter. Cf. PERMISSION (3). - invite, vb.

invitation to negotiate A solicitation for one or more offers, usu. as a preliminary step to forming a contract. Also termed invitation seeking offers; invitation to bid; invitation to treat; solicitation for bids; preliminary letter; offer to chaffer. Cf. OFFER.

invited error An error that a party cannot complain of on appeal because the party, through conduct, encouraged or prompted the trial court to make the erroneous ruling.

invited error See ERROR (2).

invitee (in-vi-tee). A person who has an express or implied invitation to enter or use anothers premises, such as a business visitor or a member of the public to whom the premises are held open. The occupier has a duty to inspect the premises and to warn the invitee of dangerous conditions. Also termed licensee with an interest. Cf. LICENSEE (2); TRESPASSER; BUSINESS VISITOR (1).

inviter One who expressly or impliedly invites another onto the premises for business purposes. Also spelled invitor. Cf. INVITEE.

invito debitore (in-vi-toh deb-i-tor-ee). [Latin] Roman law. Without the consent of a debtor. A creditor could assign and a third party could pay a debt invito debitore.

invito domino (in-vi-toh dom-a-noh). [Latin] Roman law. Against the will of the owner. The common-law doctrine of theft was that the taking must be invito domino.

invito superiore (in-vi-toh s[y]oo-peer-ee-or-ee). [Law Latin]. Scots law. Without the consent of the superior. Ordinarily, a vassal could not renounce a fee without the superiors consent.

invitor See INVITER.