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The Everyday Dictionary of Law

The Everyday Dictionary of Law provides legal vocabulary currently in use in common law jurisdictions such as most notably, in the United States. The dictionary is compiled specifically for commercial and intellectual property law practitioners, which provides simple definitions and meanings in American English, for legal terms (including Latin terms) used in formal correspondence, court proceedings, and motion practice as well as common language words that are frequently used in the same. It is a simple reference guide for attorneys, paralegals as well as casual readers who need to check the meaning of a particular legal term in due course of their work.

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J2EE

Java 2 Enterprise Edition.

JCCT

Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade.

JPO

Japan Patent Office.

JPTOS

Journal of the Patent and Trademark Office Society.

JV

Joint Venture - where businesses agree to share resources or expertise in order to achieve a specific objective

Joint Application

An application in which the invention is presented as that of two or more persons.

Joint Inventor

An inventor who is named with at least one other inventor in a patent application, wherein each inventor contributes to the conception of the invention set forth in at least one claim in a patent application.

Joint Work

A work prepared by two or more authors with the intention that their contributions be merged into inseparable or interdependent parts of a unitary whole.

jurat

/dʒʊəræt/ /dʒʊrˌæt/

Latin for "(He) swears". Appears at the end of an affidavit, where the party making the affirmation signs the oath, and the information on whom the oath was sworn before is placed.

jus

/dʒʌs/ /dʒʌs/

Latin for "law, right". Essentially: law.

jus accrescendi

/dʒʌs əˈkrɛsəndɪ/ /dʒʌs eɪkrəˈsɛndɪ/

Latin for "right of survivorship". Right of survivorship: In property law, on the death of one joint tenant, that tenant's interest passes automatically to the surviving tenant(s) to hold jointly until the estate is held by a sole tenant. The only way to defeat the right of survivorship is to sever the joint tenancy during the lifetime of the parties, the right of survivorship takes priority over a will or intestate succession rules.

jus ad bellum

/dʒʌs æd bɛləm/ /dʒʌs æd bɛləm/

Latin for "laws to war". Refers to legalities considered before entering into a war, to ensure it is legal to go to war initially. Not to be confused with ius in bello (q.v.), the "laws of war" concerning how war is carried out.

jus civile

/dʒʌs sɪˈviːlɪ/ /dʒʌs sɪvəli/

Latin for "civil law". A codified set of laws concerning citizenry, and how the laws apply to them.

jus cogens

/dʒʌs kəʊdʒənz/ /dʒʌs koʊdʒənz/

Latin for "compelling law". Internationally agreed laws that bear no deviation, and do not require treaties to be in effect. An example is law prohibiting genocide.

jus gentium

/dʒʌs dʒɛntɪəm/ /dʒʌs dʒɛnʃiəm/

Latin for "law of nations". Customary law followed by all nations. Nations being at peace with one another, without having to have an actual peace treaty in force, would be an example of this concept.

jus in bello

/dʒʌs ɪn bɛlɒ/ /dʒʌs ɪn bɛlɑ/

Latin for "law in war". Laws governing the conduct of parties in war.

jus inter gentes

/dʒʌs ɪnˈtɜː dʒɛntiːz/
/dʒʌs ɪnˈtɜr dʒɛntəz/

Latin for "law between the peoples". Laws governing treaties and international agreements.

jus naturale

/dʒʌs nætjʊˈreɪlɪ/ /dʒʌs nəˈtʊreili/

Latin for "natural law". Laws common to all people, that the average person would find reasonable, regardless of their nationality.

jus primae noctis

/dʒʌs praɪˈmi nɒkˈtɪs/
/dʒʌs praɪmə nɑktɪs/

Latin for "right of the first night". Supposed right of the lord of an estate to take the virginity of women in his estate on their wedding night.

jus sanguinis

/dʒʌs sæŋɡwɪnɪs/ /dʒʌs sæŋgwɪnɪs/

Latin for "right of blood". Social law concept wherein citizenship of a nation is determined by having one or both parents being citizens.

jus soli

/dʒʌs səʊlɪ/ /dʒʌs soʊlɪ/

Latin for "right of soil". Social law concept wherein citizenship of a nation is determined by place of birth.

jus tertii

/dʒʌs tɜːʃə/ /dʒʌs tɜrʃə/

Latin for "law of the third". Arguments made by a third party in disputes over possession, the intent of which is to question one of the principal parties' claims of ownership or rights to ownership.

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