The Everyday Dictionary of Law

Revenue Accounting and Management System.

Reasonable and non-discriminatory terms (RAND), also known as fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory terms (FRAND). In patent terms, it relates to the granting or licensing of rights to a specific technology if it is fundamental to a standard within that technology area (such as, for example, GSM or GPRS). The owner of the protected technology is required to provide access to the intellectual property relating to that technology on a fair and reasonable basis, if a standards organization deems it essential to a specific standard.

Registered Community Design

Request for Continued Examination.
A request filed in an application in which prosecution is closed (e.g., the application is under final rejection or a notice of allowance) that is filed to reopen prosecution and continue examination of the application; requires the filing of a submission and payment of a fee.

Research, Design and Development

Reexamination.

Re-examination Processing System.

Receiving Office - the national Office or the intergovernmental organization with which an international application has been filed.

Recovery Point Objective.

Relative Specialization Index. Refers to a formula which is used to measure the comparative strength of a country in a specific research area, taking into account and mitigating the effect of the different sizes of each country. The formula is expressed thus:
RSI = log10 ( (n1/N1)/(n total / N total) )
Where: n1 = total country number of patents or publications in the research or technology area; N1 = total global number of patents or publications in the research or technology area; ntotal = total number of patents or publications in the country; Ntotal = total number of patents or publications worldwide.

Recovery Time Objective.

Rational Unified Process.

Rack rate, or program rate, refers to a licensing royalty rate, in which the intellectual property owner enables another party to license either all, or a defined part of a patent portfolio, that relates to a specific product at a set rate. It could be established as a percentage of the gross or net revenues on the sales of any product that makes use of the defined intellectual property.

Original copy of an international application filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty maintained by the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organization.

At any time during the enforceability of a patent any person may file a request for the USPTO to conduct a second examination of any claim of the patent on the basis of prior art patents or printed publications which that person states to be pertinent and applicable to the patent and believes to have a bearing on the patentability. In order for the request for reexamination to be granted, a substantial new question of patentability must be present with regard to at least one patent claim. The request must be in writing and must be accompanied by payment of a reexamination request filing fee as set forth in 37 CFR 1.20(c).

Trademark with the words "Registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office" or the letter "R" enclosed within a circle.

This represents a registered trade mark. The ® symbol can only be used in the countries where you have successfully registered your trade mark with the relevant trade mark register.

A declaratory regime relating to traditional knowledge recognizes that the rights over traditional knowledge do not arise due to any act of government but rather are based upon pre-existing rights, including ancestral, customary, moral and human rights. In the case of declarative registers, although registration does not affect the existence of such rights, it may be used to assist patent officials in analyzing prior art, and to support challenges to patents granted which may have directly or indirectly made use of traditional knowledge. In circumstances where these registers are organized in an electronic form and available through the Internet, it is important to establish a mechanism that ensures that entry dates of traditional knowledge are valid when carrying out searches related to novelty and inventiveness. A third function that these registers may have is to facilitate benefit–sharing between users and providers.

Federal registration of trademarks involves the establishment of rights in a mark based on legitimate use of the mark. Although federal registration of trademarks is not required to use a trademark, owning a federal trademark registration has several advantages, including notice to the public of the registrant's claim of ownership of the mark, a legal presumption of ownership nationwide, the exclusive right to use the mark on or in connection with the goods or services set forth in the registration, the ability to bring an action concerning the mark in federal court, the use of the U.S. registration as a basis to obtain registration in foreign countries, and the ability to file the U.S. registration with the U.S. Customs Service to prevent importation of infringing foreign goods.

A registered patent attorney/agent is assigned a registration number that they must include on patent correspondence and forms when representing others before the USPTO; individual applicants do not have a registration number and should leave this field blank on patent forms.

An application for a patent to take the place of an unexpired patent that is defective in one or more particulars (items or details).

The rejoining (returning to active consideration) of claims previously withdrawn from consideration due to an election requirement.

A clear depiction of the mark an applicant seeks to register. Every application must include a representation of the mark. The USPTO uses representations of marks to file marks in the USPTO search records and to print marks in the Official Gazette and on registration certificates.
For TEAS applications, if the mark is in standard character form, a separate page depicting the mark is not required. If the mark is a special form, (i.e., includes a design or stylized lettering), the applicant must attach a digitized image of the mark in .jpg format to the electronic submission.

One who stands for or acts on behalf of another. A patent attorney or patent agent may represent the inventors named in a patent application.

Reputation refers to the esteem in which a person is held by others. Reputation appears under the umbrella of author’s moral rights protection. At the Brussels Revision Conference of the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works (1971), preference was given to “honor” and “reputation,” found to be more objective concepts reflecting personal interests of the author, as opposed to “moral” or “spiritual interests,” which are wider concepts. In the eventuality of harm, there is a difference between harm to the reputation and harm to the author’s moral or spiritual interests. It is not enough that the author does not like what was done to her work; the action taken must also reflect badly on her in the public eye.

Form PCT/RO/101, filed with an international application in a receiving Office, which includes an indication of applicant(s) and a designation of one or more Contracting States.

Extension Request - a sworn statement signed by the owner or a person authorized to sign on behalf of the owner, stating that the applicant still has a bona fide intention to use the mark in commerce, and needs additional time to use the mark in commerce. A filing fee per class of goods/services must accompany the Extension Request.
The Extension Request, if granted, gives the owner an additional six (6) months to either: (1) use the mark in commerce and file a Statement of Use; or (2) file another Extension Request.
You may continue to file Extension Requests every six (6) months. However, you must use the mark and file a Statement of Use within three (3) years of the issue date of the Notice of Allowance. The USPTO will not register a mark if, after thirty-six (36) months of the issue date of the Notice of Allowance, a Statement of Use has not been filed.

If an application is abandoned due to a USPTO Office error, an applicant may file a request to reinstate the application, instead of a petition to revive. There is no fee for a request for reinstatement. You must file a request for reinstatement within two months of the issue date of the notice of abandonment. You must include a true copy of the document that was timely submitted, and a copy of an acceptable form of proof of receipt in the USPTO.

If two or more independent and distinct inventions are claimed in a single application, the examiner may require the applicant to elect (designate) a single invention to which the claims will be restricted (limited to). This requirement is known as a requirement for restriction (also known as a requirement for division). Such requirements will normally be made before any action on the merits; however, it may be made at any time before final action (final rejection).

Reverse hold up refers to royalties below the fair rate.

A royalty rate is a payment made by one party, the licensee (the user of intangibles), to another party, the licensor (the owner of intangibles), for the use of intangibles owned by the licensor.

Royalty-stacking refers to the situation where a licensee must pay royalties to multiple parties in order to commercialise a product. The royalties are said to be stacked, one on top of another

Latin for "reason for the decision". The point in a legal proceeding, or the legal precedent so involved, which led to the final decision being what it was.

Latin for "written reason". The popular opinion of Roman law, held by those in the Medieval period.

Latin for "by reason of the soil". "Certain rights may arise by virtue of ownership of the soil upon which wild animals are found."

Latin for "things thus standing". A qualification in a treaty or contract, that allows for nullification in the event fundamental circumstances change.

Latin for "referring solely to the last". The canon of construction that in a list of items containing a qualifying phrase at the end, the qualifier refers only to the last item in the list.

Latin for "thing, matter, issue, affair".

Latin for "common to all". Property constructs like airspace and water rights are said to be res communis – that is, a thing common to all, and that could not be the subject of ownership. With airspace, the difficulty has been to identify where the fee simple holder's rights to the heavens end. Water is a bit more defined – it is common until captured.

Latin for "abandoned goods". Material property abandoned by its owner.

Latin for "things done". Differing meaning depending on what type of law is involved. May refer to the complete act of a felony, from start to finish, or may refer to statements given that may be exempt from hearsay rules.

Latin for "a matter judged". A matter that has been finally adjudicated, meaning no further appeals or legal actions by the involved parties is now possible.

Latin for "nobody's thing". Ownerless property or goods. Such property or goods are able and subject to being owned by anybody.

Latin for "public affair". All things subject to concern by the citizenry. The root of the word republic.

Latin for "Let the master answer". A concept that the master (e.g. employer) is responsible for the actions of his subordinates (e.g. employees).

Latin for "total reinstatement". (1) Restoration of something, such as a building or damaged property, to its original condition. (2) In contract law, when considering breach of contract and remedies, to restore a party to an original position

Latin for "review of the court below''. Appeal by way of rehearing or pure appeal (aka appeal stricto sensu); the scope is limited to errors of law and no new factual findings are possible; the case is traditionally remitted to the originating court below for re-judgment.