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computer software protection act of 1984 An amendment to the Copyright Act of 1976, enacted to protect copyrighted computer programs against illegal copying. 17 USCA § 109.

computer software rental amendments act A 1990 statute prohibiting computer-program purchasers from leasing, renting, or lending the software for commercial gain. 17 USCA §§ 801-805.

computer-information transaction An agreement whose primary purpose is to create, modify, transfer, or license computer information or rights in computer information.

computus (kom-pya)-tas). [Latin computo "to count up; to reckon"). A writ to compel a guardian, bailiff, receiver, or accountant to render an accounting. Also spelled compotus.

comstock act See COMSTOCK LAW.

comstock law (kom-stok). An 1873 federal statute that prohibited mailing "obscene, lewd, or lascivious" books or pictures, as well as "any article or thing deSigned for the prevention of conception or procuring of abortions." Because of the intolerance that led to this statute, the law gave rise to an English word roughly equivalent to prudery - namely, comstockery. Also termed Comstock Act.

comstockery (kom-stok-ar-ee). (often cap.) Censorship or attempted censorship ofart or literature that is supposedly immoral or obscene.

con 1. Confidence <can game>. 2. Convict <excon>. 3. Contra <pros and cons>. 4. (cap.) Constitutional <Con. law>.

con game See CONFIDENCE GAME.

con man See CONFIDENCE MAN.

con,n See CONFIDENCE GAME.

conatus (ka-nay-tas). [Latin]. An attempt, esp. to commit a crime.

concealed debtor See DEBTOR.

concealed debtor- A debtor who hides from creditors, usu. with the intent to defraud the creditors or to avoid service of process, but does not leave the community or move out of state.

concealed weapon See WEAPON.

concealment 1. The act of refraining from disclosure; esp., an act by which one prevents or hinders the discovery of something; a cover-up. 2. The act of removing from sight or notice; hiding. 3. Insurance. The insured's intentional Withholding from the insurer material facts that increase the insurer's risk and that in good faith ought to be disclosed. Cf. NONDISCLOSURE. conceal, vb. "Concealment is an affirmative act intended or known to be likely to keep another from learning of a fact of which he would otherwise have learned. Such affirmative action is always equivalent to a misrepresentation and has any effect that a misrepresentation would have, .. ," Restatement (Second) of Contracts § 160 cmt. a (1979),

concealment rule The principle that a defendant's conduct that hinders or prevents a plaintiff from discovering the existence of a claim tolls the statute of limitations until the plaintiff discovers or should have discovered the claim. Also termed fraudulent-concealment rule.

concedo (kan-see-doh). [Latin]. I grant. This was formerly a term of conveyance.

concentration account A Single centralized bank account into which funds deposited at or collected at out-of-area locations are periodically transferred.

conception of invention The formation in the inventor's mind of a definite and permanent idea of a complete invention that is thereafter applied in practice. Courts usu. consider conception when determining priority of invention.

conceptum (kan-sep-tam). [Latin "seized"] Civil law. A theft in which the stolen item was searched for and found in someone's possession and in the presence of witnesses. See furtum conceptum under FURTUM.

concert of action See CONCERTED ACTION.

concert-af-action rule See WHARTON'S RULE.

concerted action An action that has been planned, arranged, and agreed on by parties acting together to further some scheme or cause, so that all involved are liable for the actions of one another. Also termed concert ofaction.

concerted activity Action by employees concerning wages or working conditions . Concerted activity is protected by the National Labor Relations Act and cannot be used as a basis for disciplining or discharging an employee. "Typical protected concerted activity involves union organizing, the discussion of unionization among employees, or the attempt by one employee to soliCit union support from another employee. But concerted activity need not involve a union, Activities by groups of employees unaffiliated with a union to improve their lot at their work place are deemed protected concerted activities," Douglas L. leslie, Labor Law in a Nutshell 84 (3d ed. 1992).

concerted refusal to deal An agreement between two or more persons or firms to not do business with a third party. The parties to the agreement mayor may not be competitors. Concerted refusals to deal may violate § 1 of the Sherman Act and are analyzed under either the per se rule or the rule of reason, depending on the nature of the agreement. See BOYCOTT; PER SE RULE; RULE OF REASON.

concessi (kan-ses-I). [Latin]. 1. have granted. Concessi creates a covenant in a lease for years; it does not warrant title. Concessi often appeared in the phrase demisi, concessi, et ad firmam tradidi ("demised, granted, and let to farm"). Cf. DEDI. "Concessi (a word much used in Conveyances). In Law it creates a Covenant, as Dedi does a Warranty," Thomas Blount, Nomo·Lexicon: A Law-Dictionary (1670).

concessimus (kan-ses-a-mas). [Latin]. We have granted. Concessimus is a term of conveyance that creates a joint covenant on the part of the grantors.

concessio (kan-sesh-ee-oh). [Latin]. A grant. A term of conveyance used to convey incorporeal property. PI. concessiones. "Grants, concessiones; the regular method by the common law of transferring the property of incorporeal heredita· ments, or, such things whereof no livery can be had, For which reason all corporeal hereditaments, as lands and houses, are said to lie in livery; and the others, as advowsons, commons, rents, reversions, etc.. to lie in grant. .. , These therefore pass merely by the delivery of the deed." 2 William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England 317 (1766).

concession 1. A government grant for specific privileges. 2. The voluntary yielding to a demand for the sake of a settlement. 3. A rebate or abatement. 4. A contract in which a country transfers some rights to a foreign enterprise which then engages in an activity (such as mining) contingent on state approval and subject to the terms of the contract. concede, vb. concessive, adj.

concession bargaining A type of collective bargaining in which the parties negotiate the employees' giving back previously gained improvements in wages, benefits, or working conditions in exchange for some form of job security, such as protection against layoffs. Also termed employee givebacks; union givebacks. See COLLECTIVE BARGAINING.

concessit solvere (kan-ses-it sol-val-ree). [Latin "he agreed to pay"]. A form of debt action on a simple contract. The plaintiff alleged that the defendant had granted and agreed to pay to the plaintiff the sum sued for, but had not done so. TIle defendant responded with a plea of nunquam indebitatus ("never indebted"). See indebitatus assumpsit under ASSUMPSIT; NUNQUAM INDEBITATUS; common count under COUNT.

concessor (kan-ses-ar). A grantor. Cf. CONCESSUS.

concessum (kan-ses-am), [fr. Latin concedere "to grant"]. Granted. Judges used this term to signify their assent to a point made in argument; for example, a court might state that a particular proposition was concessum per totam curiam ("granted by the whole court").

concessus (kan-ses-as). A grantee. Cf. CONCESSOR.

conciliation 1. A settlement of a dispute in an agreeable manner. 2. A process in which a neutral person meets with the parties to a dispute and explores how the dispute might be resolved; esp., a relatively unstructured method of dispute resolution in which a third party facilitates communication between parties in an attempt to help them settle their differences. Some jurisdictions, such as California, have Family Conciliation Courts to help resolve problems within the family. Also termed (in sense 2) facilitation; conciliation procedure. Cf. MEDIATION; ARBITRATION. conciliate, vb. - conciliative, conciliatory, adj. conciliator, n.

conciliation court See small-claims court under COURT.

conciliation court See small-claims court.

conciliation procedure See CONCILIATION (2).

concilium (kan-sil-ee-am). [Latin "council"]. The sitting of a court to hear argument in a case; a motion requesting a day to present an argument. 2. CONCILIUM PLEBIS.

concilium plebis (kann-sil-ee-am plee-bis). [Latin "assembly of the people"] Roman law. An assembly of the plebs gathered together to enact legislation. Often shortened to concilium. See PLEBISCITUM. Cf. comitia tributa under COMITIA. "Legislation was carried on to some extent by the Comitia Tributa and in an increasing degree by the assembly of the plebs alone, concilium plebis, which, in historical times, was also based on the tributal organisation. This assembly, presided over by a tribune of the plebs, was active from early times and there was early legislation on constitutional questions, enacted by that body and approved by the Senate, which was regarded as binding on the whole community. Its enactments, plebiscita, were often called, as binding the whole community, leges. .." W.W. Buckland, A Text-Book of Roman Law from Augustus to justinian 4 (Peter Stein ed., 3d ed. 1963). 'The pressure of plebeian agitation had led to the creation of tribunes of the plebs (494 B.C.) for the protection of individual citizens from oppreSSion, with the right to hold meetings of an assembly called the Concilium Plebis, which eventually became identical with the Comitia Tributa, except that it comprised only the plebeian members of the Roman people, without the patricians. The resolutions of this assembly (plebiscita) at first bound the plebeians only, but by an obscure development culminating in the passing of the Lex Hortensia of 287 B.C., they came to be binding as laws on the whole people, patricians and plebeians alike." William A. Hunter, Introduction to Roman Law 16 (F.H. Lawson ed., 9th ed. 1934).

concilium regis (kan-sa-ee-am ree-jis). [Latin "assembly of the king"]. A tribunal that, during the reigns of Edward I and Edward II, heard cases of extraordinary difficulty.

conclude 1. To ratify or formalize (a treaty, convention, or contract) <it can be difficult to amend a contract that the parties have already concluded>. 2. To bind; estop <the admissions concluded the party as a matter oflaw>. 3. Scots law. To sign (a contract, letter, etc.) for the sale of real property. This term most commonly appears in the phrase conclude missives.

conclusion 1. The final part ofa speech or writing (such as a jury argument or a pleading). 2. A judgment arrived at by reasoning; an inferential statement. 3. The closing, settling, or final arranging of a treaty, contract, deal, etc. See OPINION (2).4. Archaic. An act by which one estops oneself from doing anything inconsistent with the act. 5. See OPINION (3). "Conclusion is, when a man by his own act upon record hath charged himself with a duty or other thing. So if the sheriff, upon a capias to him directed, returns that he hath taken the body, and yet hath not the body in court at the day of the return, he shall be amerced ...." Termes de la Ley 102-03 (lst Am. ed. 1812).

conclusion of fact A factual deduction drawn from observed or proven facts; an evidentiary inference. Cf. FINDING OF FACT.

conclusion of law An inference on a question of law, made as a result of a factual showing, no further evidence being required; a legal inference. Cf. FINDING OF FACT; LEGAL CONCLUSION.

conclusion to the country The closing part of a pleading that requests the trial of an issue by a jury. Cf. GOING TO THE COUNTRY.

conclusional See CONCLUSORY.

conclusionary See CONCLUSORY.

conclusive Authoritative; decisive; convincing <her conclusive argument ended the debate>. Cf. CONCLUSORY.

conclusive evidence See EVIDENCE.

conclusive evidence- 1. Evidence so strong as to overbear any other evidence to the contrary. - Also termed conclusive proof. 2. Evidence that so preponderates as to oblige a fact-finder to come to a certain conclusion.

conclusive presumption See PRESUMPTION.

conclusive presumption A presumption that cannot be overcome by any additional evidence or argument <it is a conclusive presumption that a child under the age of seven is incapable of committing a felony>. Also termed absolute presumption; irrebuttable presumption; mandatory presumption; presumption juris et de jure. Cf. rebuttable presumption. Conclusive presumptions or irrebuttable presumptions are usually mere fictions, to disguise a rule of substantive law (e.g., the conclusive presumption of malice from an unexcused defamation); and when they are not fictions, they are usually repudiated by modern courts." John H. Wigmore, A Students Textbook of the Law of Evidence 454 (1935). "Conclusive presumptions, sometimes called irrebuttable presumptions of law, are really rules of law. Thus it is said that a child under the age of fourteen years is conclusively presumed to be incapable of committing rape. This is only another way of saying that such a child cannot be found guilty of rape." Richard Eggleston, Evidence, Proof and Probability 92 (1978).

conclusive proof See conclusive evidence (1) under EVIDENCE.

conclusory (kan-kloo-za-ree or -sa-ree), Expressing a factual inference without stating the underlying facts on which the inference is based <because the plaintiff's allegations lacked any supporting evidence, they were merely conclusory>. Also termed conclusional; conclusionary. Cf. CONCLUSIVE.

concomitant (kan-kom-a-tant), Accompanying; incidental <concomitant actions>. - concomitant, n.

concomitant evidence See EVIDENCE.

concomitant evidence- Evidence that, at the time of the act, the alleged doer of the act was present and actually did it.

concord (kon-kord or kong-), 1. An amicable arrangement between parties, esp. between peoples or nations; a compact or treaty. 2. Archaic. An agreement to compromise and settle an action in trespass. "Concord is an Agreement made between two or more, upon a Trespass committed; and is divided into Concord executory, and Concord executed . .. one binds not, as being imperfect, but the other is absolute, and ties the Party." GilesJacob, A New Law-Dictionary (8th ed. 1762). 3. Archaic. An in-court agreement in which a person who acquired land by force acknowledges that the land in question belongs to the complainant. See DEFORCE. "Next comes the concord. or agreement itself. after leave obtained from the court; which is usually an acknowledgment from the deforciants (or those who keep the other out of possession) that the lands in question are the right of the complainant." 2 William Blackstone. Commentaries on the Laws of England 350 (1766). 4. Rist. The settlement of a dispute.

concordat (kon- or k;m-kor-dat). 1. An agreement between a government and a church, esp. the Roman Catholic Church. "The qual ification of a treaty as a concordat depends only upon its object and purpose, not upon the name or outward form chosen by the parties. Although the term originally was also used for treaties between States. it has increasingly become restricted to only those treaties concluded with the Holy See." Heribert Franz Kock, "Concordats," in 1 Encyclopedia of Public International Law 164 (1992). 2. An agreement between ecclesiastical persons concerning a benefice, such as a resignation or promotion. See BENEFICE. 3. An agreement between secular persons or entities.

concordatory (kan-kor-da-tor-ee), Of or relating to a concordat, esp. one between church and state in France.

concordia discordantium canonum (kon-kor-dee-a dis-kor-dan-shee-am ka-nohn-am). [Latin "the harmony of the discordant canons"]. A collection of ecclesiastical authorities compiled by Gratian, an Italian monk, ca. 1140. Gratian analyzed questions oflaw by drawing conclusions from side-by-side comparisons of a variety of texts. Later canonist scholarship usu. proceeded from Gratian's work. Also termed Decretum Gratiani; Decretum. "Another body of jurisprudence was coming into being. From humble beginnings the canon law had grown into a mighty system. Already it asserted its right to stand beside or above the civil law. The civil law might be the law of earth, ius soli; here was the law of heaven, ius poli. ... Many men had been endeavouring to state that law, but the fame of earlier labourers was eclipsed by that of Gratian. A monk of Bologna, that city which was the centre of the new secular jurisprudence, he published ... a book which he called Concordia discordantium canonum, but which was soon to become for all mankind simply the Decretum Cratiani, or yet more simply the Decretum. It is a great law-book. The spirit which animated its author was not that of a theologian. not that of an ecclesiastical ruler, but that of a lawyer .... The Decretum soon became an authoritative text-book and the canonist seldom went behind it.... The canonist had for it rather that reverence which English lawyers have paid to Coke upon Littleton ...." 1 Frederick Pollock & Frederic W. Maitland, The History of English Law Before the Time of Edward 1112-13 (2d ed. 1898).

concourse (kon-kors-or-kong-). 1. The simultaneous existence of two actions based on the same facts, esp. a civil action and a criminal action; the concurrence of a public prosecutor in a private prosecution. 2. The concurrence of the public prosecutor to a criminal prosecution by a private person. "A private party may prosecute for the punishment of an offence perpetrated against himself, and for which the public prosecutor may refuse to prosecute at the public expense; but the concourse of the public prosecutor IS necessary, and it cannot be refused; or if refused, the case may proceed at the instance of the private party. Concourse is distinguished from Instance. In the former case the public prosecutor merely concurs or consents, whilst in the latter case he is also a principal party prosecuting for the public interest." Hugh Barclay, A Digest of the Law of Scotland 162 (3d ed. 1865). 3. A conflict among creditors or claimants. See CONCURSUS (1).

concubinage (kon-kyoo-ba-nij), 1. The relationship of a man and woman who cohabit without the benefit of marriage. [Cases: Marriage 22,40(4).] 2. The state of being a concubine. 3. A plea in a dower action made by a defendant who asserts that the plaintiff is the defendant's concubine rather than wife. "Concubinage, in common Acceptation is the Keeping of a Whore or Concubine: But in a legal Sense, it is used as an Exception against her that sueth for Dower, alledging thereby that she was not a Wife lawfully married to the Party, in whose Lands she seeks to be endowed, but his Concubine." Giles Jacob, A New Law·Dictionar-y(8th ed. 1762).

concubinatus (kon-kyoo-bi-nay-tas), n. [Latin "concubinage"] Roman law. A permanent, monogamous union of a man and a woman who are not legally married. Concubinatus was not prohibited by law, but carried fewer benefits than a legal marriage. Cf. JUSTAE NUPTIAE. "[C]oncubinage (concubinatus) ... was something to which we have no precise analogue in modern law, for. so far from being prohibited by the law. it was regulated thereby. being treated as a lawful connexion. It is almost a sort of unequal marriage (and is practically so described by some of the jurists) existing between persons of different station the man of superior rank. the woman of a rank so much inferior that it is not to be presumed that his union with her was intended to be a marriage." James 8ryce, "Marriage and Divorce under Roman and English Law," in 3 Select Essays in Anglo-American Legal History 806-07 (1909).

concubine (kong-kya-bin). 1. A woman who cohabits with a man to whom she is not married . A concubine is often considered a wife without title. A concubine's status arises from the permanent cohabitation of a man and a woman as husband and wife although without the benefit of marriage. Cf. commonlaw wife under WIFE; COURTESAN. 2. A secondary or inferior wife, usu. in a polygamous marriage, who lacks the full rights and privileges of the first wife . Although a concubine was expected to serve all the functions of a legitimate wife, she had no authority in the family or household, and was denied certain legal protections. For instance, her husband could easily disown she had no dower rights, and her children could not inherit from their father ifhe had children by his first wife. A concubine was also barred from certain spiritual comforts, such as churching after the birth of a child.

concubitor (kan-kyoo-bi-tohr), One who keeps a concubine.

concur (kan-kar), 1. To agree; to consent. 2. In a judicial opinion, to agree with the judgment in the case (usu. as expressed in the opinion of another judge), or the opinion of another judge, but often for different reasons or through a different line of reasoning. 3. (Of a house in a bicameral legislature) to accept an amendment passed by the other house. "When a bill has been amended in the second house and passed with the amendment, it is returned by that house to the house of its origin with a message stating the facts and requesting the house where the bill originated to concur in the amendment," National Conference of State Legislatures, Mason's Manual of Legislative Procedure § 766, at 553 (2000). 4. Civil law. To join with other claimants in presenting a demand against an insolvent estate.

concurator (kon- or kan--kyuur-a-tar). Civil law. A joint guardian or co-curator. See CURATOR.

concurrence 1. Agreement; assent. 2. A vote cast by a judge in favor of the judgment reached, often on grounds differing from those expressed in the opinion or opinions explaining the judgment. 3. A separate written opinion explaining such a vote. Also termed (in sense 3) concurring opinion. 4. Acceptance by one house in a bicameral legislature of an amendment passed by the other house.

concurrency 1. The quality or fact of being concurrent in jurisdiction; joint right or authority. 2. Criminal procedure. An identical duration for two or more criminal sentences assessed against the same defendant.

concurrent 1. Operating at the same time; covering the same matters <concurrent interests>. 2. Having authority on the same matters <concurrent jurisdiction>.

concurrent cause One of two or more causes that Simultaneously produce a result.

concurrent cause- See CAUSE (1).

concurrent condition See CONDITION (2).

concurrent condition- A condition that must occur or be performed at the same time as another condition, the performance by each party separately operating as a condition precedent; a condition that is mutually dependent on another, arising when the parties to a contract agree to exchange performances simultaneously. Also termed condition concurrent. "Conditions concunent are acts that the parties to a contract are under duties of performing concurrently, the act of each party being separately operative as a condition precedent. The act is not concurrent with the legal relation affected, but only with the act of the other party." William R. Anson, Principles of the Law of Contract 412-13 (Arthur L. Corbin ed., 3d Am. ed. 1919).

concurrent consideration See CONSIDERATION (1).

concurrent consideration- Consideration arising at the same time as other consideration, or where the promises are simultaneous.

concurrent covenant See COVE!'lANT (1).

concurrent covenant- A covenant that reqUires performance by one party at the same time as another's performance.

concurrent estate See ESTATE (1).

concurrent estate- Ownership or possession of property by two or more persons at the same time. In modern practice, there are three types of concurrent estates: tenancy in common, joint tenancy, and tenancy by the entirety. Also termed concurrent interest. "A concurrent estate is simply an estate - whether present or future, defeasible or non-defeasible, in fee simple, in tail, for life, or for years that is owned by two or more persons at the same time. O transfers 'to A and B and their heirs.' A and B own a present concurrent estate in fee simple absolute." Thomas F. Bergin & Paul G. Haskell, Preface to Estates in Land and Future Interests 53 (2d ed. 1984).

concurrent finding See FINDING OF FACT.

concurrent finding- (usu. pl.), Identical factual findings by two different tribunals on a specific issue of fact.

concurrent interest See concurrent estate under ESTATE (1).

concurrent interest See concurrent estate under ESTATE (1 ).

concurrent jurisdiction 1. Jurisdiction that might be exercised simultaneously by more than one court over the same subject matter and within the same territory, a litigant having the right to choose the court in which to file the action. 2. Jurisdiction shared by two or more states, esp. over the physical boundaries (such as rivers or other bodies of water) between them. Also termed coordinate jurisdiction; overlapping jurisdiction. Cf. exclusive jurisdiction. "In several cases, two States divided by a river exercise concurrent jurisdiction over the river, no matter where the inter-state boundary may be; in some cases by the Ordinance of 1787 for organizing Territories northwest of the Ohio River, in some cases by Acts of Congress organizing Territories or admitting States, and in some cases byagreements between the States concerned." 1 Joseph H. Beale, A Treatise on the Conflict of Laws § 44.3, at 279 (1935).

concurrent jurisdiction See JURISDICTION.

concurrent lease See LEASE.

concurrent lien See LIEN.

concurrent negligence See NEGLIGENCE.

concurrent policy One of two or more insurance policies that cover the same risk. Concurrent insurance policies are stated in almost identical terms so that liability can be apportioned between the insurers.

concurrent policy See INSURANCE POLICY.

concurrent power A political power independently exercisable by both federal and state governments in the same field of legislation.

concurrent power See POWER (3).

concurrent registration The approved recording of identical or similar marks by multiple owners if each mark was commercially used before the owners applied for registration and the risk of consumer confusion is slight. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office may impose restrictions on each mark's use to prevent consumer confusion.

concurrent remedy One of two or more legal or equitable actions available to redress a wrong.

concurrent remedy See REMEDY.

concurrent representation See REPRESE!'lTATIO!'l (2).