The Everyday Dictionary of Law

Group Art Unit.

German Federal Patent Court

Geographical Indication. An identifier, or mark, used on products to show that they originate from a specific geographical region and that they adhere to a certain standard of production (such as traditional methods), or that they possess characteristics associated with that region.

General Information Concerning Patents.

Government Performance and Results Act.

German Patent and Trademark Office

General Services Administration, an agency of the U. S. government.

Terms that the relevant purchasing public understands primarily as the common or class name for the goods or services. These terms are incapable of functioning as trademarks denoting source, and are not registrable on the Principal Register under S2(f) or on the Supplemental Register. Examples include: CLASSES ONLINE for classes provided via the Internet, PIZZA.COM for pizza ordering and delivery services, and LIVE PLANTS for plant nurseries.

Article 2 of the Convention on Biological Diversity (1992) defines “genetic material” as “any material of plant, animal, microbial or other origin containing functional units of heredity.” It has also been suggested that genetic material can be understood “as material from any biological source where units of heredity are operating or having a function.”

Article 2 of the Convention on Biological Diversity (1992) defines “genetic resources” as “genetic material of actual or potential value.” Article 1 of the Decision 391 on Access to Genetic Resources of Andean Community (1996) defines “genetic resources” broadly as “all biological material that contains genetic information of value or of real or potential value.” The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Glossary for Fisheries defines the term as “germplasm of plants, animals or other organisms containing useful characters of actual or potential value. In a domesticated species it is the sum of all the genetic combinations produced in the process of evolution.”

The Convention for the Protection of Producers of Phonograms Against Unauthorized Duplication of Their Phonograms, concluded at Geneva, Switzerland, on October 29, 1971.

Goods are products.
In the context of service marks, a service (1) must be a real activity; (2) must be performed to the order of, or for the benefit of, someone other than the applicant; and (3) the activity performed must be qualitatively different from anything necessarily done in connection with the sale of the applicant's goods or the performance of another service.

This is when an application becomes a granted patent, meaning that the patent is in force

Means the entire interior space of an establishment, and any adjoining outdoor space used to serve patrons, whether on a seasonal basis or otherwise.

Also referred to as a Technology Center or TC - a unit of several Group Art Units in the mechanical, electrical, chemical or design area, managed by one or more Group Directors. Groups are more properly referred to as Technology Centers, or TCs.

May be abbreviated "AU," "GAU" or "Group Art Unit" on Office correspondence - a working unit responsible for a cluster of related patent art. Staffed by one supervisory patent examiner (SPE) and a number of patent examiners who determine patentability on applications for a patent. Group Art Units are currently identified by a four digit number, i.e., 1642.

Latin for "things weighing down". The basic element or complaint of a lawsuit.

Latin for "guardian for the case". An independent party appointed in family law disputes to represent parties that cannot represent themselves, such as minors, developmentally disabled, or elderly.