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compos sui (kom-pas s[y]OO-I), [Latin "master of one's self"] (Of a person) haVing control over one's own limbs, or having the power of bodily motion.

composite mark See composite trademark under TRADEMARK.

composite state See STATE.

composite state A state that comprises an aggregate or group of constituent states.

composite trademark See TRADEMARK.

composite work See WORK (2).

composition 1. An agreement between a debtor and two or more creditors for the adjustment or discharge of an obligation for some lesser amount; an agreement among the debtor and two or more creditors that the debtor will pay the creditors less than their full claims in full satisfaction of their claims. The preexisting-duty rule is not a defense to this type of agreement because consideration arises from the agreement by each creditor with each other to take less than full payment. Through the performance of this agreement, the debtor is discharged in full for the debts of the participating creditors. Also termed composition with creditors; creditors' composition; attermoiement. 2. The compensation paid as part of such an agreement. 3. A payment of money or chattels as satisfaction for an injury. In Anglo-Saxon and other early societies, a composition with the injured party was recognized as a way to deter acts of revenge by the injured party. compose, vb. "[T]he first theory of liability was in terms of a duty to buy off the vengeance of him to whom an injury had been done whether by oneself or by something in one's power. The idea is put strikingly in the Anglo·Saxon proverb, 'Buy spear from side or bear it,' that is, buy off the feud or fight it out. As the social interest in peace and order the general security in its lowest terms - comes to be secured more effectively by regulation and ultimate putting down of feud as a remedy, payment of composition becomes a duty rather than a privilege. The next step is to measure the composition not in terms ofthe vengeance to be bought off but in terms of the injury. A final step is to put it in terms of reparation." Roscoe Pound, An Introduction to the Philosophy of Law 74 (rev. ed. 1954).

composition deed See DEED.

composition deed- A deed reflecting the terms of an agreement between a debtor and a creditor to discharge or adjust a debt.

composition of matter One of the five types of patentable statutory subject matter, consisting of combinations of natural elements whether resulting from chemical union or from mechanical mixture, and whether the substances are gases, fluids, powders, or solids. This classification includes chemical compounds such as drugs and fuels, physical products such as plastics and particleboard, and new life forms made by genetic engineering. Its subject matter is always the substance itself, rather than the form or shape. Often shortened to composition. "[A] compOSition of matter describes what most people imagine to be the goal of the typical laboratory inventor, since it is usually a new chemical invention, although it can be any composition of materials, not limited solely to chemicals." Arthur R. Miller & Michael H. Davis. Intellectual Property in a Nutshell 21 (2d ed. 1990).

composition with creditors See COMPOSITIOK (1).

compossessio (kom-pa-zes[h]-ee-oh). [Latin] Civil law. Possession of a thing in common.

compound (kom- or kam-pownd), 1. To put together, combine, or construct. 2. To compute (interest) on the principal and the accrued interest. 3. To settle (a matter, esp. a debt) by a money payment, in lieu of other liability; to adjust by agreement. 4. To agree for consideration not to prosecute (a crime). Compounding a felony in this way is itself a felony. 5. Loosely, to aggravate; to make (a crime, etc.) more serious by further bad conduct.

compound duty See DUTY (4).

compound duty- A tax based on a combination of imported goods' weight, volume, or item count, plus a percentage of their value. Cf ad valorem duty; specific duty.

compound interest See INTEREST (3).

compound interest Interest paid on both the principal and the previously accumulated interest. Cf. simple interest.

compound journal entry See ENTRY (2).

compound journal entry- A journal entry requiring more than one debit and credit (as when revenue is received partly in cash and partly in securities).

compound larceny 1. See mixed larceny under LARCENY. 2. See aggravated larceny under LARCENY.

compound larceny 1. See aggravated larceny. 2. See mixed larceny.

compound offense An offense composed of one or more separate offenses. - For example, robbery is a compound offense composed oflarceny and assault. continuing offense. (I8c) A crime (such as a conspir¬acy) that is committed over a period of time, so that the last act of the crime controls when the statute of limitations begins to run.

compound offense See OI'FENSE (1).

compound policy See blanket policy under INSURANCE POLICY

compound policy See blanket policy.

compounder (kom- or kom-pown-dar). 1. One who settles a dispute; the maker of a composition. Also termed amicable compounder. See COMPOSITION (1). 2. One who knows of a crime by another and agrees, for a promised or received reward, not to prosecute.

compounding a crime The offense of either agreeing not to prosecute a crime that one knows has been committed or agreeing to hamper the prosecution. Also termed compounding a felony; (archaically) theftbote. See STIFLING OF A PROSECUTION. "If a prosecuting attorney should accept money from another to induce the officer to prevent the finding of an indictment against that person this would be compounding a crime if the officer knew the other was gUilty of an offense, but would be bribery whether he had such knowledge or not." Rollin M. Perkins & Ronald N. Boyce, Criminal Law 539 (3d ed. 1982).

compounding a felony See COMPOUNDING A CRIME.

comprehensive general-liability insurance Insurance that broadly covers an insureds liability exposure, including product liability, contractual liability, and premises liability. - Abbr. CGL insurance.

comprehensive general-liability insurance See INSURANCE.

comprehensive general-liability policy See INSURANCE POLICY.

comprehensive general-liability policy A broad-coverage commercial insurance policy covering a variety of general risks, esp. bodily injury and property damage to a third party for which the business entity is liable. This policy was first offered in 1940. It has largely been replaced by the commercial-general liability policy. Also termed CGL policy; general-liability policy. Cf. commercial general-liability policy.

comprehensive insurance Insurance that combines coverage against many kinds of losses that may also be insured separately. This is commonly used, for example, in an automobile-insurance policy.

comprehensive insurance See INSURANCE.

comprehensive nonliteral similarity Copyright. Similarity evidenced by the copying of the protected works general ideas or structure (such as a movies plot) without using the precise words or phrases of the work. - Also termed pattern similarity.

comprehensive nonliteral similarity See SIMILARITY.

comprehensive zoning plan A general plan to control and direct the use and development of a large piece of property. See ZONIKG.

comprint (kom-print). The surreptitious and supposedly illegal printing of another bookseller's copy of a work. Despite the word's appearance as a legal term in dictionaries since 1706, no such offense ever existed. The term, which is properly a verb meaning "to share in printing (a book)," was first given this erro neous definition by John Kersey when he produced a new edition of Edward Phillips's New World ofEnglish Words. It has occasionally been copied by legallexicograp hers ever since.

comprising (In the transition between the preamble and the body of a patent claim) including; having. This term does not limit the claim to the specified elements, so a later patent applicant's product or process cannot avoid infringement by merely adding another claim element. See closed-ended claim under PATENT CLAIM.

compromis (kom-pra-mee). [French]. 1. An agreement between two or more countries to submit an existing dispute to the jurisdiction of an arbitrator, an arbitral tribunal, or an international court. See compromissory arbitration under ARBITRATION.

compromis proper See ad hoc compromis under COMPROMIS.

compromise 1. An agreement between two or more persons to settle matters in dispute between them; an agreement for the settlement of a real or supposed claim in which each party surrenders something in concession to the other. Also termed compromise and settlement; (erroneously) compromise settlement. 2. A debtor's partial payment coupled with the creditor's promise not to claim the rest of the amount due or claimed. Cf. ACCORD; ACCORD AND SATISFACTION.compromise, vb.

compromise and settlement See COMPROMISE (1).

compromise verdict See VERDICT.

compromissarius (kom-pra-mi-sair-ee-as). [Latin] Roman law. See ARBITRATOR.

compromissory arbitration An international arbitration grounded on a mutual promise to define the scope of the dispute and abide by the arbitrator's decision. See COMPROMIS.

compromissory arbitration- See ARBITRATION.

compromissum (kom-pra-mis-am), [Latin "mutual agreement"]. Roman law. An agreement to submit a controversy to arbitration.

compte arrete (kawnt a-ray-tay). [French "settled account"] An account stated in writing, and acknowledged to be correct on its face by the party against whom it is stated.

compter (kown-tar), A debtor's prison.

comptroller (kan-troh-lar). An officer ofa business or a private, state, or municipal corporation who is charged with duties usu. relating to fiscal affairs, including auditing and exam ini ng accounts and reporting the financial status periodically. Also spelled controller.

comptroller general of the united states The officer in the legislative branch of the federal government who heads the General Accountability Office . The Comptroller General is appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate. See GENERAL ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE.

comptroller of the currency See OFFICE OF THE COMPTROLLER OF THE CURRENCY.

compulsion 1. The act of compelling; the state of being compelled. "Compulsion can take other forms than physical force; but in whatever form it appears the courts have been indisposed to admit that it can be a defence for any crime committed through yielding to it and the law of the matter is both meagre and vague. It can best be considered under the heads of obedience to orders, martial coercion, duress per minas, and necessity." J.W. Cecil Turner, Kenny's outlines of Criminal Law 54 06th ed. 1952). 2. An uncontrollable inclination to do something. 3. Objective necessity; duress. compel, vb.

compulsory (kam-pal-sa-ree), Compelled; mandated by legal process or by statute <compulsory counterclaim>.

compulsory- An order that compels the attendance of a witness.

compulsory appearance An appearance by one who is required to appear by having been served with process.

compulsory appearance- See APPEARANCE.

compulsory arbitration Arbitration required by law or forced by law on the parties

compulsory arbitration- See ARBITRATION.

compulsory condition See CONDITION (2).

compulsory condition- A condition expressly requiring that a thing be done, such as a tenant's paying rent on a certain day.

compulsory counterclaim See COUNTERCLAIM.

compulsory counterclaim- A counterclaim that must be asserted to be cognizable, usu. because it relates to the opposing party's claim and arises out of the same subject matter. If a defendant fails to assert a compulsory counterclaim in the original action, that claim may not be brought in a later, separate action (with some exceptions). See Fed. R. Civ. P. 13(a).

compulsory disclosure See DISCLOSURE (2).

compulsory insurance Statutorily required insurance; esp., motor-vehicle liability insurance that a state requires as a condition to register the vehicle.

compulsory insurance See INSURANCE.

compulsory joinder The necessary joinder of a party if either of the following is true: (1) in that partys absence, those already involved in the lawsuit cannot receive complete relief; or (2) the absent party claims an interest in the subject of an action, so that partys absence might either impair the protection of that interest or leave some other party subject to multiple or inconsistent obligations. Fed. R. Civ. P. 19(a). - Also termed mandatory joinder.

compulsory joinder See JOINDER.

compulsory labor See FORCED LABOR.

compulsory license See I.ICENSE.

compulsory nonsuit See NONSUIT (2).

compulsory pilot See PILOT.

compulsory pilot A ship pilot entitled by law to guide a ship for a particular purpose, such as piloting the ship into harbor. The compulsory nature of the appointment relieves the vessel s owner of personal liability if the pilot causes a collision. Cf. voluntary pilot. The compulsory pilot presents a special problem. Statutes that impose a fine or imprisonment for the failure to take a pilot obviously create compulsory pilotage. Some statutes, however, allow the ship to refuse the pilot provided she pays his fee or half of it (half-pilotage). The Supreme Court has indicated that it does not regard the tendering of this alternative as amounting to compulsion. It makes a difference, because it is pretty well settled that if the pilotage is compulsory the respondeat superior nexus is broken, and the shipowner cannot be held personally liable for the fault of the pilot resulting in collision. The ship s liability in rem. however, is unaffected by the fact that the pilotage is compulsory. This is one of the more striking consequences of the endowment of the ship with a ju ristic personality independent of that of her owner, Grant Gilmore & Charles L. Black Jr., The Law of Admiralty § 7-16, at 520-21 (2d ed. 1975).

compulsory pilotage A requirement, imposed by law in some jurisdictions, that vessels approaching or leaVing a harbor must take on a licensed pilot to guide the vessel into or out of the harbor.

compulsory pilotage See PILOT AGE.

compulsory pooling Pooling done by order of a regulatory agency. Also termed forced pooling.

compulsory pooling See POOLING.

compulsory process A process, with a warrant to arrest or attach included, that compels a person to appear in court as a witness.

compulsory process See PROCESS.

compulsory process clause The clause of the Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution giving criminal defendants the subpoena power for obtaining witnesses in their favor.

compulsory purchase Rare. See EMINENT DOMAIN.

compulsory purchase 1. See EMINENT DOMAIN. 2. See EXPROPRIATION (1).

compulsory retirement Mandatory retirement based on a persons age, esp. as specified in a union contract, by corporate policy, or by statute.

compulsory retirement See RETIREMENT.

compulsory sale See SALE.

compulsory sale The forced sale of real property in accordance with either an eminent-domain order or an order for a judicial sale arising from nonpayment of taxes.

compulsory surrender 1. See EMINENT DOMAIN. 2. See EXPROPRIATION (1).

compulsory unitization See UNITIZATION.

compulsory-attendance law A statute requiring minors of a specified age to attend school. Compulsory-attendance laws do not apply to married persons. Also termed compulsory-school-attendance law. See AMISH EXCEPTION.

compulsory-counterclaim rule The rule requiring a defending party to present every counterclaim arising out of the same transaction or occurrence that is the basis of the plaintiffs claim. Fed. R. Civ. P. 13(a). Most courts hold that if a party does not timely bring a compulsory counterclaim, the party is estopped from asserting the claim.

compulsory-school-attendance law See COMPULSORYATTENDANCE LAW.

compurgation (kom-par-gay-shan), [Latin con"together" +purgare "to clear or purge"]. A trial by which a defendant could have supporters (called compurgators), frequently 11 in number, testify that they believed the defendant was telling the truth. Also termed wager of law; trial by oath. compurgatory, adj. "If a defendant on oath and in a set form of words will deny the charge against him, and if he can get a certain number of other persons (compurgators) to back his denial by their oaths, he will win his case. If he cannot get the required number, or they do not swear in proper form, 'the oath bursts,' and he will lose, Though oaths were used in the Roman law of procedure, this institution of compurgation was not known to it, It was, however, common to the laws of many of the barbarian tribes who overran the Roman empire. Because it was so common and so widespread the church adopted it. The case of King v. Williams in 1824 was the last instance of its use. It was finally abolished in 1833." 1 William Holdsworth, A History of English Law 305-08 (7th ed. 1956).

compurgator (kom-par-gay-tar). A person who appeared in court and made an oath in support of a civil or criminal defendant. Also termed oathhelper. See COMPURGATlON.

computer crime See CRIME.

computer crime- A crime involving the use of a computer, such as sabotaging or stealing electronically stored data. Also termed cybercrime.

computer matching The comparing ofcomputer records in two separate systems to determine whether the same record exists in both systems. The government, for example, uses computer matching to find persons who are both employed and receiving welfare payments and to find instances in which both divorced parents are claiming the same child on their income-tax returns. See COMPUTER MATCHING AND PRIVACY PROTECTION ACT OF 1988.

computer matching and privacy protecrion act of 1988 An act that allows governmental agencies, with certain limitations, to compare computerized records to establish or verify eligibility for benefits or to recoup payments on benefits. 5 USCA § 552a. See COMPUTER MATCHING.

computer programs directive See DIRECTIVE ON THE LEGAL PROTECTION OF COMPUTER PROGRAMS.

computer software protection act of 1980 An amendment to the Copyright Act of 1976, defining "computer program" as a literary work for copyright purposes and qualifying the exclusive rights of copyrighted software owners. 17 USCA §§ 117.