Law Dictionary
	Search:

patent-right dealer A person who buys and sells or brokers the sale or purchase of patent rights.

Patents A concession or representation by a patent applicant that an activity, knowledge, or a publication is priorart. An admission requires the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office examiner to consider the relevant item as prior art, even if it does not technically qualify as prior art. Also termed admission of prior art.

patent-term adjustment A compulsory extension of the time a utility or plant patent remains in force, following administrative delays in prosecuting the application. A provision of the American Inventors Protection Act of 1999, the extension is available for new applications, continuation applications, and divisional applications filed since May 29, 2000. Abbr. PTA. Cf. PATENT¬ TERM EXTENSION.

patent-term extension A lengthening of the time a patent remains in force, given to compensate inventors for time lost because of administrative delays such as interferences, secrecy orders, or appeals. The extension applies to original utility and plant patents issued after June 7, 1995 and before May 29, 2000. Its maximum length is five years. Cf. PATENT-TERM ADJUSTMENT.

patent-term guarantee An inventor s statutory right to extend the term of a patent if the application was delayed by the u.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The term can be extended up to five years if the application was delayed because ofan interference proceeding or appellate review, or if the PTa missed a statutory deadline for certain steps in the prosecution, or failed to grant the patent within three years of the filing date. The guarantee took effect May 29, 2000.

pater (pay-tar), n. [Latin] Father.

paterfamilias (pay-tar-fa-mil-ee-as or pah-tar-), [Latin) Roman law. The male head of a family or household, the senior ascendant male; esp., one invested with potestas (power) over another. Also termed homo sui juris. See patria potestas under POTESTAS.

paterna paternis (pa-tar-na pa-tar-nis). [Law Latin]. Goods acquired through the father descend to those connected with him. The phrase invoked the distinction between the succession of consanguinean half-brothers and uterine half-brothers. Ct: MATERNA MATERNIS.

paternal adj. Of, relating to, or coming from one s father <paternal property>. Cf. MATERNAL.

paternal line See LINE.

paternal property See PROPERTY.

paternal property Property that comes from the father of a party or other ascendants of the paternal stock.

paternalism A government s policy or practice of taking responsibility for the individual affairs of its citizens, esp. by supplying their needs or regulating their conduct in a heavyhanded manner. paternalistic, adj.

paternal-line descent See DESCENT.

paternal-line descent- Descent between two persons, traced through the father of the younger.

paternity (pa-tar-ni-tee). 1. The state or condition of being a father, esp. a biological one; fatherhood. Cf. FILIATION. 2. ATTRIBUTION RIGHT.

paternity action See PATERNITY SUIT.

paternity presumption See PRESUMPTION OF PATERNITY.

paternity suit A court proceeding to determine whether a person is the father of a child (esp. one born out of wedlock), usu. initiated by the mother in an effort to obtain child support. Also termed paternity action; parentage action; bastardy proceeding; bastardy process.

paternity test A test, usu. involving DNA identification or tissue-typing, for determining whether a given man is the biological father of a particular child. See DNA IDENTIFICATION; HUMAN-LEUKOCYTE ANTIGEN TEST; BLOOD-GROUPING TEST.

paterpatriae (pay-tar pay-tree-ee or pa-tree-ee). [Latin] Father of the country. See PARENS PATRIAE.

pathological intoxication An extremely exaggerated response to an intoxicant. This may be treated as involuntary intoxication if it is unforeseeable.

pathological intoxication See INTOXICATION.

pathology (pa-thol-a-jee), The branch of medical study that examines the origins, symptoms, and nature of diseases. pathological (path- a-loj-i-kal), adj. pathologist (pa-thol-a-jist), n.

patiens (pay-shee-enz), n. [Latin] A person who suffers or permits; the passive party in a transaction. Cf. AGENS (1).

patient A person under medical or psychiatric care.

patient s bill of rights A general statement of patient rights voluntarily adopted by a healthcare provider or mandated by statute, covering such matters as access to care, patient dignity and confidentiality, personal safety, consent to treatment, and explanation of charges.

patient-litigant exception An exemption from the doctor-patient privilege, whereby the privilege is lost when the patient sues the doctor for malpractice.

patient-physician privilege See doctor-patient privilege under PRIVILEGE (3)

patient-physician privilege See doctor-patient privilege.

patria (pay-tree-a or pa-tree-d), [Latin] 1. Roman law. The fatherland; a person s home area. 2. The country or the area within it, such as a county or neighborhood. 3. A jury, as when a defendant puts himself upon the country (ponit se super patriam). See CONCLUSION TO THE COUNTRY; GOING TO THE COUNTRY; PAYS. Though our Latin uses parria, our French uses pays, which descends from Latin pagus. The country of this formula is not our father-land but the country-side. 2 Frederick Pollock & Frederic W. Maitland, The History of English Law Before the Time of Edward 1624 n.l (2d ed, 1899),

patria potestas (pay-tree-a or pa-tree-a). [Latin "paternal power"] The authority held by the male head of a family (the senior ascendant male) over his legitimate and adopted children, as well as further descendants in the male line, unless emancipated. Initially, the father had extensive powers over the family, including the power of life and death; until Justinian s time, the father alone in his familia had proprietary capacity but he could give a son or slave a peculium. Over time, the broad nature of the patria potestas gradually became more in the nature of a responsibility to support and maintain family members. But except in early Roman history, a wife did not fall into her husband s power but remained in her father s until she became sui juris by his death. Also termed fatherly power. "The power of the father continued ordinarily to the close of his life, and included not only his own children, but also the children of his sons, and those of his sons sons, if any such were born during his lifetime.... Originally and for a long time the patria potestas had a terribly despotic character. Not only was the father entitled to all the service and all the acquisitions of his child, as much as to those of a slave, but he had the same absolute control over his person. He could inflict upon him any punishment however severe .... Consider now that the patria potestas had this character and extent down to the Christian era: that, in general, every citizen of the republic who had a living father was in this condition, unable to hold property, unable to acquire any thing for himself, wholly dependent on his father in property and person.

patria potestas See POTESTAS.

patriation The process of transferring constitution-related legislation or documents from a former colonial power to a nation that was once a dependency of that power. The word patriation is a Canadian neologism that describes the bringing of the Canadian Constitution to Canada, Although this may sound strange to non-Canadian readers, Canada s formal Constitution was, before 1982, to be found in a U.K. statute. Therefore, only the U.K. Parliament was competent to amend it and to formally terminate its authority over future constitutional amendments. As a U. K. statute, the Canadian Constitution had never been in Canada. Therefore, it could not be repatriated. Hence the use of the word patriation. Jean-Francois Gaudreault. Desbiens, The Quebec Secession Reference and the Judicial Arbitration ofConflicting Narratives About Law, Democracy, and Identity, 23 Vt. L. Rev, 793, 807 n.43 (1999).

patrician (pa-trish-an), Roman law. One of a privileged class of Roman citizens, as contrasted with plebeians. Originally probably the rank was only by birth. They monopolized all the priesthoods and probably their class was defined by religious prerogatives, but membership in the senate was not confined to patricians. They lost their monopolies by B.C. 300, but one consul continued to be a patrician, and they held at least half the priestly offices. Emperors could and did confer patrician status on favored individuals. The hereditary patricians disappeared in the third century A.D., but later emperors revived the title as a personal honor for faithful service.

patricide (pa-tra-sid), 1. The act of killing one s own father. 2. One who kills his or her father. Cf. PARRICIDE. patricidal, adj.

patrimonial (pa-tra-moh-nee-aI), adj. Of or relating to an inheritance, esp. from a male ancestor.

patrimonio ejus abest (pa-tra-moh-nee-oh ee-jas ab-est). [Latin]. That which is wanting from a person s estate. The phrase includes items held by one person but due to another, such as stolen goods or money for an unpaid debt.

patrimonium (pa-tra-moh-nee-am), n. [Latin] Roman law. Property that is capable ofbeing inherited; private property. Also termed patrimony.

patrimony (pa-tra-moh-nee). 1. An estate inherited from one s father or other ancestor; legacy or heritage. 2. Civil law. All of a person s assets and liabilities that are capable of monetary valuation and subject to execution for a creditor s benefit. 3. PATRIMONIUM.

Patriot Act See USA PATRIOT ACT.

patron 1. A regular customer or client of a business. 2. A licensee invited or permitted to enter leased land for the purpose for which it is leased. 3. A person who protects or supports some person or thing.

patronage (pay-tra-nij). 1. The giving of support, sponsorship, or protection. 2. All the customers of a business clientele. 3. The power to appoint persons to governmental positions or to confer other political favors. Also termed (in sense 3) political patronage. See SPOILS SYSTEM.

patronizing a prostitute The offense of requesting or securing the performance of a sex act for a fee; PROSTITUTION. Cf. SOLICITATION (3).

patronus (pa-troh-nas), n. [Latin], 1. Roman law. Someone who had manumitted a slave, and was therefore entitled to certain services from the slave. 2. ADVOWEE. PI. patroni (pa-troh-ni).

patruus (pa-troo-as), n. [Latin] Roman & civil law. A father s brother; a paternal uncle.

patruus magnus (pa-troo-as mag-nas), n. [Latin] Roman & civil law. A grandfather s brother; a great-unde.

patruus maximus (pa-troo-as mak-sa-mas). See ABPATRUUS.

pattern A mode of behavior or series of acts that are recognizably consistent <a pattern of racial discrimination>.

pattern jury charge See model jury instruction under JURY INSTRUCTION.

pattern jury instruction See model jury instruction.

pattern jury instruction See model jury instruction under JURY INSTRUCTION.

pattern of racketeering activity Two or more related criminal acts that amount to, or pose a threat of, continued criminal activity. This phrase derives from the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. See RACKETEERING.

pattern similarity See comprehensive nonliteral similarity under SIMILARITY.

pattern-or-practice case A lawsuit, often a class action, in which the plaintiff attempts to show that the defendant has systematically engaged in discriminatory activities, esp. by means of policies and procedures. Typically, such a case involves employment discrimination, housing discrimination, or school segregation. A plaintiff must usu. show that a defendant s behavior forms a pattern of actions or is embedded in routine practices but inferences of executive or official complicity may be drawn from a consistent failure to respond to complaints or implement corrective measures.

paucital (paw-si-tal), adj. Rare. See IN PERSONAM.

Pauline privilege The doctrine that a baptized person s marriage to a never-baptized person may be dissolved under certain circumstances, when dissolution is beneficial to the Roman Catholic Church. The privilege is ordinarily exercised when (1) the marriage was valid, (2) the baptized spouse now wishes to marry a Catholic, and (3) at the time of the marriage, both parties were unbaptized in any faith. Before the privilege can be exercised, (1) the unbaptized spouse must have deserted the baptized spouse without just cause, (2) the unbaptized spouse must still be unbaptized, (3) the baptized spouse must make the proper appeals to the Church, and (4) the Church must rule that the privilege is exercisable. There is uncertainty about the extent of the privilege. Cf. PETRINE PRIVILEGE.

pauper A very poor person, esp. one who receives aid from charity or public funds; INDIGENT. See IN FORMA PAUPERIS.

pauper s affidavit See poverty affidavit under AFFIDAVIT.

pauper s oath See OATH.

pauper s oath An affidavit or verification of poverty by a person requesting public funds or services. See poverty affidavit under AFFIDAVIT; IN FORMA PAUPERIS.

pauperies (paw-par-eez), n. [Latin "impoverishment"] Roman law. Damage done by a domesticated fourfooted animal. The animal s owner was liable for the damage. See actio de pauperie under ACTIO.

pauper's affidavit See poverty affidavit.

pawn 1. An item of personal property deposited as security for a debt; a pledge or guarantee. In modern usage, the term is usu. restricted to the pledge of jewels and other personal chattels to pawnbrokers as security for a small loan. 2. The act of depositing personal property in this manner. 3. The condition of being held on deposit as a pledge. 4. PIGNUS (1). Cf. BAILMENT (1); PIGNUS (4). pawn, vb.

pawnbroker One who lends money, usu. at a high interest rate, in exchange for personal property that is deposited as security by the borrower.

pawnee One who receives a deposit of personal property as security for a debt.

pawnor One who deposits an item of personal property as security for a debt. Also spelled pawner.

pax regis (paks ree-jis), n. [Latin "the king s peace"]. 1. The government s guarantee of peace and security of life and property to all within the law s protection. 2. VERGE (1).

pay any bank A draft indorsement that permits only banks to acquire the rights of a holder until the draft is either returned to the customer initiating collection or specially indorsed by a bank to a person who is not a bank. UCC § 4-20l(b).

pay on death account A bank account whose owner instructs the bank to distribute the account's balance to a beneficiary upon the owner's death. Unlike a joint-and-survivorship account, a pay-ondeath account does not give the beneficiary access to the funds while the owner is alive. Abbr. POD account. Also termed pay-on-death bank account.

payable See account payable under ACCOUNT.

payable (Of a sum of money or a negotiable instrument) that is to be paid. An amount may be payable without being due. Debts are commonly payable long before they fall due.

payable after sight Payable after acceptance or protest of nonacceptance. See sight draft under DRAFT.

payable date See DATE.

payable date- Corporations. The official date on which shareholder dividends or distributions become payable. Also termed record date.

payable on demand Payable when presented or upon request for payment; payable at any time.

payable to bearer Payable to anyone holding the instrument.

payable to order Payable only to a specified payee.

payback method An accounting procedure that measures the time required to recover a venture s initial cash investment.

payback period The length of time required to recover a venture s initial cash investment, without accounting for the time value of money.

paydown A loan payment in an amount less than the total loan principal.

payee One to whom money is paid or payable; esp., a party named in commercial paper as the recipient of the payment. Cf. PAYOR.

payer See PAYOR.

pay-if-paid clause See CLAUSE.

pay-if-paid clause In a construction contract, a provision that makes the general contractor's payment to the subcontractor for work performed contingent on whether the property owner pays the general contractor for the work.The subcontractor must assume the risk of nonpayment if the owner fails to pay the general contractor. Courts in some states have held that this risk-shifting violates public policy. Cf. pay-when-paid clause.

paying quantities Oil & gas. An amount of mineral production from a single well sufficient to justify a reasonably prudent operator to continue producing from that welL. Most jurisdictions interpret the language "for so long thereafter as oil and gas is produced in habendum clauses to mean so long as paying quantities are produced. See HABENDUM CLAUSE.

payment 1. Performance of an obligation by the delivery of money or some other valuable thing accepted in partial or full discharge of the obligation. 2. The money or other valuable thing so delivered in satisfaction of an obligation.

payment bond A bond given by a surety to cover any amounts that, because of the general contractor's default, are not paid to a subcontractor or materials supplier. "[T]he bond serves two purposes: it assures the owner a lien-free project, and it induces suppliers and subcontrac· tors to accept work on the project, perhaps at a lower price, because of the assurance that they will be paid. Since no additional charge is generally made for a payment bond when a performance bond is being purchased, the two are usually issued simultaneously." Grant S. Nelson, Real Estate Finance Law§ 12.2, at 881 (3d ed. 1994).

payment bond See BOND (2).

payment date See DATE.

payment date Corporations. The date on which stock dividends or interest checks are paid to shareholders.

payment in due course A payment to the holder of a negotiable instrument at or after its maturity date, made by the payor in good faith and without notice of any defect in the holder s title. See HOLDER IN DUE COURSE.

payment intangible A general intangible under which the account debtors principal obligation is a monetary obligation. DCC § 9-102(a)(61).

payment intangible See INTANGIBLE.

payment into court A party s money or property deposited with a court for distribution after a proceeding according to the parties settlement or the court s order. See INTERPLEADER.

payoff See KICKBACK.

payola (pay-oh-la). An indirect and secret payment for a favor, esp. one relating to business; a bribe.

pay-on-death account See ACCOUNT.

pay-on-death bank account See pay-an-death account under ACCOUNT.

payor One who pays; esp., a person responsible for paying a negotiable instrument. Also spelled payer. See DRAWEE; PAYEE.