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.
Disclaimer:
The information provided by Carthaginian Ventures Private Limited d/b/a Copperpod IP (“we,” “us” or “our”) on this site is for general informational purposes only. All information on the website is provided in good faith, however, we make no representation or warranty of any kind, express or implied, regarding the accuracy, adequacy, validity, reliability, availability, or completeness of any information on the site. Under no circumstance shall we have any liability to you for any loss or damage of any kind incurred as a result of the use of the site or reliance on any information provided on the site. Your use and and reliance on any information on the site constitutes your understanding, acceptance and agreement of these terms and conditions.
RAM
Revenue Accounting and Management System.
RAND
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.
RCD
Registered Community Design
RCE
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.
RD&D
Research, Design and Development
RE
Reexamination.
REPS
Re-examination Processing System.
RO
Receiving Office - the national Office or the intergovernmental organization with which an international application has been filed.
RPO
Recovery Point Objective.
RSI
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.
RTO
Recovery Time Objective.
RUP
Rational Unified Process.
Rack rate
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.
Record Copy
Original copy of an international application filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty maintained by the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organization.
Reexamination Proceeding
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).
Registered Mark
Trademark with the words "Registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office" or the letter "R" enclosed within a circle.
Registered Trademark - ®
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.
Registers of Traditional Knowledge
Registers can be analyzed from many different perspectives. According to their legal nature, registers can be termed either declarative or constitutive, depending upon the system under which they are established.
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.
Registration
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.
Registration Number
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.
Reissue Application
An application for a patent to take the place of an unexpired patent that is defective in one or more particulars (items or details).
Rejoinder
The rejoining (returning to active consideration) of claims previously withdrawn from consideration due to an election requirement.
Representation of Mark
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.
Representative
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
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.
Request (PCT)
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.
Request for Extension of Time to File a Statement of Use
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.
Request to Reinstate an Application
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.
Restriction
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
Reverse hold up refers to royalties below the fair rate.
Royalty 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
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
ratio decidendi
/reɪʃɪˌəʊ dɪˈsaɪdɛndɪ//reɪʃoʊ diˈsaɪdɛndɪ/
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.
ratio scripta
/reɪʃɪˌəʊ skrɪptə/ /reɪʃoʊ skrɪptə/
Latin for "written reason". The popular opinion of Roman law, held by those in the Medieval period.
rationae soli
/ræʃəˈnɑːe səʊlɪ/ /ræʃəˈnæ səˈlɪ/
Latin for "by reason of the soil". "Certain rights may arise by virtue of ownership of the soil upon which wild animals are found."
rebus sic stantibus
/ˈriːbəs sɪk stæntaɪbəs/
/ribəs sɪk stæntɪbəs/
Latin for "things thus standing". A qualification in a treaty or contract, that allows for nullification in the event fundamental circumstances change.
reddendo singula singulis
/rəˈdɛndəʊ sɪŋɡjʊla sɪŋɡʌlis/
/rɛdɛndoʊ ɪŋgjələ sɪŋgjəˈlɛis/
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.
res
/reɪs/ /reɪs/
Latin for "thing, matter, issue, affair".
res communis
/reɪs kɒmjʊnɪs/ /reɪs kɑmjunɪs/
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.
res derelictae
/reɪs dɛrɪlɪktə/ /reɪs dɛrəˌlɪktə/
Latin for "abandoned goods". Material property abandoned by its owner.
res gestae
/reɪs dʒɛstiː/ /reɪs dʒɛsteɪ/
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.
res judicata
/reɪs dʒuːdɪˈkɑːtə/ /reɪs dʒudɪˈkɑtə/
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.
res nullius
/reɪs nʌlaɪəs/ /reɪs nʌliəs/
Latin for "nobody's thing". Ownerless property or goods. Such property or goods are able and subject to being owned by anybody.
res publica
/reɪs pʊblɪˌkɑ/ /reɪs pʌblɪkə/
Latin for "public affair". All things subject to concern by the citizenry. The root of the word republic.
respondeat superior
/rɪˈspɒndəat suːˈpɪərɪə/
/rɪˈspɑndəat səˈpɪriər/
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).
restitutio in integrum
/rɛstɪˈtjuʃəʊ ɪn ɪntɪɡrəm/
/restɪˌtuːtoʊ ɪn ˈɪntəgrʌm/
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
revisio prioris instantiae
/rɪˈvɪzəʊ praɪərɪs ɪnˈstænʃɪˌeɪ/
/rɪˈvɪzoʊ praɪəris ɪnˈstænʃiˌeɪ/
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.