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Glossary of Intellectual Property TermsAAPPELLATION OF ORIGIN [patent-trademark-copyright] -- A term that refers to both a

product's geographic origin and to its distinctive product characteristics caused by particular geographic conditions or methods of production. Some distinguish an appellation of origin froman "Indication of Source," which refers solely to the geographic origin of production. Roquefortcheese is an example of an appellation of origin because it designates both geographic origin and

product characteristics. "Paris" perfume is an indication of source, which refers only togeographic origin. The term "Geographic Denomination" encompasses both categories.

ASSIGNMENT [patent-trademark-copyright] – Assignment is a transfer of rights in intellectual property. An assignment of a patent, for example, is a transfer of sufficient rights so that therecipient has title to the patent. The assignment can be a transfer of all rights of exclusivity in the

patent, of an undivided portion (for example, a 50 percent interest), or of all rights within aspecified location (for example, a certain area of the United States). Transfer of anything less isconsidered to be a "license."

AUDIOVISUAL WORK [copyright] -- A copyrightable work consisting of images that arerelated, presented in a series and intended to be shown by the use of a machine, as well as anysound accompanying the work. A common example of an audiovisual work is a slide show, suchas that used in a sales presentation, a lecture or an introduction to a museum.

AUTHOR [copyright] -- Either the real person who creates a copyrightable work or theemployer, corporate or individual, of a person who creates a copyrightable work within the scopeof employment, or in some circumstances, the commissioning party of certain specified types of works. "Author" in copyright law includes not only writers of novels, plays, and treatises, butalso those who create computer programs, arrange data in reference books, choreograph dances,take photographs, sculpt stone, paint murals, write songs, record sounds and translate books fromone language to another.

ABA # A merican B ankers A ssociation number - Often referred to as the "transit routingnumber", is the nine (9) digit electronic address of a financial institution. The ABA number is

encoded in the MICR (Magnetic Ink Character Recognition) line of all checks, and is assigned toeach financial institution and each branch office of that financial institutionabandonment: A patent application becomes abandoned for failure to file a complete and proper reply as the condition of the application may require within the time period provided under 37CFR § 1.134 and § 1.136 unless an Office action indicates otherwise.

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Abandonment may be either of the invention or of an application . An abandoned application, inaccordance with 37 CFR §§ 1.135 and 1.138, is one which is removed from the Office docket of

pending applications.

ABANDONMENT : A trademark application that has been declared abandoned is " dead " andno longer pending. Abandonment occurs under several circumstances. The most common reasonis when the USPTO does not receive a response to an Office Action letter from an applicantwithin 6 months from the date the Office action letter was mailed. Another instance is when theUSPTO does not receive a Statement of Use (or request for an extension of time to file astatement of use) from an applicant within 6 months from the issuance of a Notice of Allowance ). Applications abandoned for failure to respond to an Office Action or a Notice of Allowance can be revived or reinstated in certain circumstances. For more information, seePetition to Revive and Request for Reinstatement .abstract of the disclosure: A concise statement of the technical disclosure including that which is

new in the art to which the invention pertains.

APPEAL (patent): Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences appeal (trademark) : Anapplicant who wants to contest a final refusal from an examining attorney may file an appeal tothe Trademark Trial and Appeal Board . An appeal is taken by filing a Notice of Appeal and

paying the appeal fee within six months of the mailing date of the action from which the appealis taken.

APPLICATION (patent) : An application for patent filed under 35 U .S .C . 111(a) that includesall types of patent applications (i.e., utility, design, plant, and reissue) except provisional

applications. The nonprovisional application establishes the filing date and initiates theexamination process. A nonprovisional utility patent application must include a specification ,including a claim or claims; drawings, when necessary; an oath or declaration; and the prescribedfiling fee .APPLICATION (trademark) : A document by which a person requests a federal trademark registration . To receive a filing date, an application must include (1) the applicant's name, (2) aname and address for correspondence, (3) a clear drawing of the mark sought to be registered, (4)a list of the goods or services , and (5) the application filing fee .

APPLICATION NUMBER (patent): the unique number assigned to a patent application whenit is filed. The application number includes a two digit series code and a six digit serial number assignment: a transfer of ownership of a patent application or patent from one entity to another.Record all assignments with the USPTO Assignment Services Division to maintain clear title to

pending patent applications and patents.

ASSIGNMENT : A transfer of ownership of a trademark application or trademark registrationfrom one entity to another. The USPTO recommends recording assignments with the USPTO

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Assignment Services Division to maintain clear title to pending trademark applications andregistrations. For information on how to record an assignment, see Recordation Form Cover Sheet .

ASSIGNE : The entity that is the recipient of a transfer of a patent application , patent , trademark application or trademark registration from its owner of record ( assignor ).

ASSIGNOR : The owner of record of a patent application , patent , trademark application or trademark registration who is transferring (assigning) ownership to another entity ( assignee )

B

BERNE CONVENTION [copyright-international] -- The major multilateral copyright treaty,signed in Berne, Switzerland, in 1886. The Berne Convention, whose members form the Berne

Union, is adhered to by nearly 150 nations, including the United States. The World IntellectualProperty Organization (WIPO) serves as the administering agency for the activities of the BerneUnion.

BEST MODE [patent] -- A condition for the grant of a valid patent. An inventor must describethe best method he or she knows for carrying out the invention.

BPAI : Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences

BPAIIS: Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences Information System

C

COMMUNITY TRADE MARK (CTM) [trademark-international] -- A trademark registrationgranted by the European Community Trademark Office and enforceable throughout EuropeanCommunity member nations. (See EUROPEAN COMMUNITY TRADEMARK.)

COMPILATION [copyright] -- A copyrightable work consisting of a collection and assemblyof pre-existing material. The assembly must exhibit at least minimal originality in the selection,organization and arrangement of the material without making any internal changes in it.

CONTRIBUTORY INFRINGEMENT [patent-trademark-copyright] -- Indirect infringementof intellectual property rights in which one person contributes to the direct act of infringement of another. Contributory infringement of a trademark, for example, occurs when a manufacturer of goods aids or encourages its distributors to pass off its goods as those of another manufacturer.

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COPIES [copyright] -- As a noun, "copies" means the material objects that store or fixcopyrightable information other than sounds; as a verb, the act of copying.

COPYING [copyright-patent-trademark] -- In copyright law, "copying" denotes two separate but interrelated concepts. To constitute an infringement of copyright, a work must be a "copy" inthe sense that it is substantially similar to a copyrighted work, it must have been "copied" fromthe copyrighted work as opposed to being the result of coincidental, independent production or from being taken from the same source as the copyrighted work. Legal standards for infringement of copyright differ from those for patents and trademarks, neither of which require

proof of copying.

COPYRIGHT [copyright] -- An exclusive right granted or conferred by the government on thecreator of a work to exclude others from reproducing it, adapting it, distributing it to the public,

performing it in public, or displaying it in public. Copyright does not protect an abstract idea; it protects only the concrete form of expression in a work. To be valid, a copyrighted work musthave originality and possess a modicum of creativity.

COUNTERFEITING [trademark] -- The act of producing or selling a product containing asham mark that is an intentional and calculated reproduction of the genuine mark. A "counterfeitmark" is identical to or substantially indistinguishable from the genuine mark. Often, counterfeitgoods are made to imitate a popular product in all details of construction and appearance so as todeceive customers into thinking they are purchasing the genuine merchandise.

CYBERSQUATTING [trademark] -- "Cybersquatting" and "cyberpiracy" are synonymousterms that refer to the same type of unfair competition for Web sites. The typical "cybersquatter"is one who knowingly reserves with a registrar a domain name consisting of the trademark or name of a company for the purpose of selling the right to that domain name back to thelegitimate owner.

CANCELLATION PROCEEDING : A proceeding before the Trademark Trial and AppealBoard in which the plaintiff seeks to cancel an existing registration of a mark. The proceedingmay only be filed after issuance of a registration. A petition for cancellation may be filed by any

person who believes that he or she is or will be damaged by the registration of the mark.

CANCELED : Trademark registration is no longer active. It may be due to the registrant's failureto file the required continued use affidavit under Section 8 of the Trademark Act , to acancellation proceeding at the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board or to the outcome of a civilcourt action.

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CERTIFICATION MARK : any word, name, symbol, device, or any combination, used, or intended to be used, in commerce by someone other than its owner, to certify regional or other origin, material, mode of manufacture, quality, accuracy, or other characteristics of such person'sgoods or services, or that the work or labor on the goods or services was performed by membersof a union or other organization.

CHANGE OF NAME : Sometimes, owners of trademark applications and registrations changetheir names, even though the actual ownership of the application or registration has not beentransferred. When this occurs, trademark owners should record the name change with theUSPTO Assignment Branch to maintain a clear record of ownership. Name changes are recordedin the same manner as assignments. For information on how to record an assignment.

COLLECTIVE MARK : A Trademark or service mark used, or intended to be used, incommerce , by the members of a cooperative, an association, or other collective group or

organization, including a mark that indicates membership in a union, an association, or other organization.

COMMON LAW RIGHTS : property or other legal rights that do not absolutely require formalregistration in order to enforce them. Proving such rights for a trademark in court can be verydifficult, requires meticulous documentation, and places a heavy burden on the individual.Active Federal registration of trademark can provide a higher degree of legal protection andreadily-demonstrated evidence of ownership of a mark.

CURRENT FILING BASIS : In applications under §§1 and 44 of the Trademark Act , the

applicant may claim more than one basis, and may add or substitute a basis after filing theapplication. The “ current filing basis ” means the basis, as amended (changed after the initial or original filing ). If the basis has not been amended, the current filing basis is the same as theoriginal filing basis.

DESCRIPTIVE MARK : A Mark is considered merely descriptive if it describes an ingredient,quality, characteristic, function, feature, purpose or use of the specified goods or services. If amark is merely descriptive or deceptively misdescriptive of the goods or services to which itrelates, the mark will be refused registration on the Principal Register under §2(e)(1) of theTrademark Act, 15 U .S .C . §1052(e)(1).Examples of descriptive marks include: MEDICAL GUIDE for website services featuringmedical guides, DENIM for jeans, and SPICY SAUCE for salsa.

D

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DEPENDENT CLAIM [patent] -- A claim in a patent that refers back to a previous claim anddefines an invention that is narrower in scope than that in the previous claim. A dependent claimmust be written so as to be more restricted than the technology defined in the previous claim.

DERIVATIVE WORK [copyright] -- A work based on a pre-existing work that is changed,condensed, recast or embellished in some way.

DESCRIPTIVE MARK [trademark] -- A word, picture or other symbol that describessomething about the goods or services in connection with which it is used, such as purpose, sizeor color, the class of users or the end effect on users. A descriptive term is not considered to beinherently distinctive; to establish validity for registration or protection in court, it needs proof of acquired distinctiveness, known as "secondary meaning." (See SECONDARY MEANING,SUGGESTIVE MARK).

DESIGN PATENT [patent] -- A government grant of exclusive rights in a novel, nonobviousand ornamental industrial design. A design patent confers the right to exclude others frommaking, using or selling designs that closely resemble the patented design. A design patentcovers ornamental aspects of a design; its functional aspects are covered by a utility patent. Adesign patent and a utility patent can cover different aspects of the same article, such as anautomobile or a table lamp.

DIGITAL MILLENNIUM COPYRIGHT ACT [copyright] -- A major piece of U.S.legislation adopted in 1998 that extensively amended the copyright laws, in part to conform U.S.law to various treaty obligations, and in part to modernize the law to take into account various

new digital technologies.

DILUTION [trademark] -- A type of violation of a strong trademark in which the defendant'suse, while not causing likelihood of confusion, blurs the distinctiveness or tarnishes the image of the plaintiff's mark. To possess the selling power and recognition protected by the anti-dilutionstatutes, the mark must be relatively strong and famous.

DISTRIBUTION RIGHT [copyright] -- One of the six exclusive rights held by a copyrightowner, under which the copyright owner has the exclusive right to distribute copies or

phonorecords of the work to the public by sale, lease or rental.Unlike the other rights of copyright, the distribution right is infringed merely by a transfer of

copies of the work, whether those copies were unlawfully or lawfully made, except under the"First Sale Doctrine." (See FIRST SALE DOCTRINE.)

DOMAIN NAME [trademark] -- The names and words that companies designate for their registered Internet Web site addresses, also referred to as a "URL." For example: www.coca-cola.com is a domain name identifying the site of the Coca-Cola Company. Technologically,

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each domain name is unique and cannot be shared. Domain names are registered on a first-come,first-served basis.

DURATION [patent-trademark-copyright-trade secret-right of publicity] -- The term or lengthof time that an intellectual property right lasts. As a result of the Uruguay Round AgreementsAct, U.S. law was changed, effective June 8, 1995, to adopt a patent term of 20 years from thedate on which the patent application was filed. A trademark continues in duration as long asthere is no abandonment of rights by nonuse or by acts that cause the term to lose its significanceas an indicator of origin and to become a generic name. The basic duration of a copyright is thelife of the author plus 70 years. Protection of information as a trade secret lasts as long as theinformation remains secret.

DESIGN PATENT APPLICATION : An application for a patent to protect against theunauthorized use of new, original, and ornamental designs for articles of manufacture

disclaimer: A patentee, whether of the whole or any sectional interest therein, may, on paymentof the fee required by law, make disclaimer (give up all or part of the owner's rights to enforceclaims) of any complete claim , stating therein the extent of their interest in such patent. Suchdisclaimers are required to be in writing and recorded in the USPTO, and are considered as partof the original patent to the extent of the interest actually possessed by the disclaimant and bythose claiming under him. Any patentee or applicant may disclaim or dedicate to the public theentire term, or any terminal part of the term (from a certain point in time through the projected end of the entire term) , of the patent granted or to be granted. There are two types of disclaimers:a statutory disclaimer and a terminal disclaimer .

DISCLAIMER : A statement that the applicant or registrant does not claim the exclusive right touse a specified element or elements of the mark . The purpose of a disclaimer is to permit theregistration of a mark that is registrable as a whole but contains matter that would not beregistrable standing alone, without creating a false impression of the extent of the registrant’sright with respect to certain elements in the mark.

DISCLOSURE : In return for a patent , the inventor gives as consideration a complete revelation(describes it) or disclosure of the invention for which protection is sought.DOCTRINE OF EQUIVALENTS : A judicially created theory for finding patent infringementwhen the accused process or product falls outside the literal scope of the patent claims . Theessential objective inquiry is: “Does the accused product or process contain elements identical or equivalent to each claimed element of the patented invention?”

E

ECONOMIC ESPIONAGE ACT (EEA) [trade secret] -- A U.S. statute, adopted in 1996, that provides criminal penalties for the theft of trade secrets. The EEA makes it illegal to steal or

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fraudulently obtain trade secrets for the benefit of a foreign government, instrumentality or agentand steal trade secrets that benefit "anyone other than the owner."

EQUIVALENTS, DOCTRINE OF [patent] -- A rule of claim interpretation under which a product or process, although not a literal infringement, is still an infringement if it performssubstantially the same way as the patented invention.

EFS : Electronic Filing System (for patent applications): Supports secure electronic filing of Patent application documents via the Internet enforceability of patent: enforceability of patent.

EPAS : E lectronic Patent Assignment System.

EPO : E uropean Patent O ffice.

ESTTA : Electronic System for Trademark Trials and Appeals.

ETAS : E lectronic T rademark Assignment System

eTEAS : electronic T rademark E xamination A pplication System - electronic trademark filingsystem. It allows the public to complete various trademark filings and transactions on-line.For example, eTEAS allows you to complete trademark applications , preliminary amendments,amendments to allege use /statements of use , responses to Office actions , and post registrationfilings online, and then submit them directly over the Internet, paying by credit card, electronicfunds transfer or an existing USPTO deposit account .

EXAMINATION COPY : A copy of an international application filed under the PatentCooperation Treaty maintained by the International Preliminary Examining Authority .

EXPRESS ABANDONMENT : A patent application may be expressly abandoned by filing awritten declaration of abandonment identifying the application in the United States Patent andTrademark Office.Express abandonment becomes effective when an appropriate official of the Office takes actionthereon. Express abandonment of the application may not be recognized by the USPTO beforethe date of issue or publication unless it is actually received by appropriate officials in time toact. Abandonment may be either of the invention or of an application . An abandoned application,in accordance with 37 CFR 1.135 and 1.138, is one which is removed from the USPTO docket of

pending applications.

EXPRESS MAIL MAILING LABEL : The filing date for Trademark documents is not thesame as for patent documents.

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F

FAIR USE [copyright-trademark] -- A defense to a charge of copyright or trademark infringement. For copyrights, U.S. courts consider four factors in determining if a fair use.

DEFENSE EXISTS : the purpose and character of the disputed use; the nature of thecopyrighted work; the importance of the portion used in relation to the work as a whole; and theeffect of the use on the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work. For trademarks,the secondary user must show that he or she is not using a descriptive, geographicallydescriptive, or personal name mark in a trademark sense but only to describe his or her goods or services or their geographic origin, or to name the person running the business.

FIELD OF USE RESTRICTION [general intellectual property-antitrust] -- A provision in anintellectual property license restricting the licensee to use of the licensed property only in a

defined product or service market.

FIRST SALE DOCTRINE [copyright] -- An exception to the exclusive right of a copyrightowner to distribute copies or phonorecords of the copyrighted work. Under this principle, thecopyright owner has the right to sell a copy of a book but not the right to control subsequentsales of that copy. (See DISTRIBUTION RIGHT.)

FIRST TO FILE [patent-trademark] -- For patents, a rule under which patent priority, and thusentitlement to a patent, is determined by which inventor was the first to file a patent application,rather than who was first to actually invent. This is the rule followed by almost every nation in

the world except the United States. For trademarks, priority among conflicting applications toregister trademarks is handled by publishing the application with the earliest filing date for

possible opposition by the applicant with the later filing date. In the United States, ownership of a trademark is determined by who was first to use it, not by who was first to file an applicationfor registration. Under the new intent-to-use system, an application for registration can be filed

prior to actual use of mark. (See INTENT-TO-USE APPLICATION.)FIRST TO INVENT [patent] -- A rule under which patent priority is determined by whichinventor was the first actually to invent, rather than who was the first to file a patent application.First to invent is the rule followed in the United States.FUNCTIONALITY [patent-trademark-copyright] -- That aspect of design that makes a productwork better for its intended purpose, as opposed to making the product look better or toidentifying its commercial source.fanciful marks: comprise terms that have been invented for the sole purpose of functioning as atrademark or service mark . Such marks comprise words that are either unknown in the language(e.g., PEPSI , KODAK , EXXON ) or are completely out of common usage (e.g., FLIVVER ).filing basis: The legal basis for filing an application for registration of a mark . The Trademark Act sets out five filing bases, and an applicant must specify and meet the requirements of one or

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more bases before the mark will be approved for publication for opposition or registration on theSupplemental Register. The five bases are: (1) use of a mark in commerce under §1(a) of theAct; (2) bona fide intention to use a mark in commerce under §1(b) of the Act; (3) a claim of

priority, based on an earlier-filed foreign application under §44(d) of the Act; (4) registration of amark in the applicant’s country of origin under §44(e) of the Act; and (5) extension of protectionof an international registration to the United States, under §66(a) of the Act and the MadridProtocol . The requirements for the bases are set forth in Trademark Rule 2.34 .filing refusal: also known as a final Office action , which makes "final" any outstanding refusalsor requirements. A proper response to a final Office action is a) compliance with therequirements or b) appeal to the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board .

GGENERIC NAME [trademark] -- A word used by most people to name a class or category of

product or service, such as "cellular phone." No one person may have trademark rights to a

generic name.GOOD WILL [trademark] -- The value of a business or of a line of goods or services that reflectscommercial reputation. A business with well-established good will could see all its tangibleassets destroyed, yet still own its reputation, its good will. Trademark infringement is a form of theft of good will, since a trademark or service mark is a symbol of a business' good will.GI: G eographical Indicationsgoods and services: goods are products. In the context of service marks , a service (1) must be areal activity; (2) must be performed to the order of, or for the benefit of, someone other than theapplicant; and (3) the activity performed must be qualitatively different from anythingnecessarily done in connection with the sale of the applicant’s goods or the performance of

another service.Hhome copy: a copy of an international application filed under the Patent Cooperation Treatymaintained by the receiving Office where the international application was filed.

IIDEA-EXPRESSION DICHOTOMY [copyright] -- The fundamental rule of law that copyrightdoes not protect an idea; copyright protects only specific expressions of an idea.INFRINGEMENT [general intellectual property] -- A violation of one of the exclusive rights of intellectual property. Infringement of a utility patent involves the making, using, selling, offeringto sell or importing of a patented product or process without permission. Infringement of adesign patent involves fabrication of a design that, to the ordinary person, is substantially thesame as an existing design, where the resemblance is intended to induce an individual to

purchase one thing supposing it to be another. Infringement of a trademark consists of theunauthorized use or imitation of a mark that is the property of another to deceive, confuse or mislead others. Infringement of a copyright involves reproducing, adapting, distributing,

performing in public or displaying in public the copyrighted work of someone else.

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INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY [patent-trademark-unfair competition-copyright-trade secret-moral rights] -- Certain creations of the human mind that have commercial value and are giventhe legal aspects of a property right. "Intellectual property" is an all-encompassing term nowused widely to designate as a group all of the following fields of law: patent, trademark, unfair competition, copyright, trade secret, moral rights and the right of publicity.INTENT TO USE APPLICATION [trademark] -- Since 1989, in the United States, an intent touse application has been an optional method of applying for federal registration of a mark on thePrincipal Register based on a declared good faith intention to use a mark on defined goods or services.INVENTION [patent] -- The human creation of a new technical idea and the physical means toaccomplish or embody the idea.IB: International Bureau - the secretariat of the WIPO which, among other functions, centralizesinformation of various kinds relating to the protection of intellectual property .information disclosure statement (IDS): a list of all patents, publications, U.S. applications, or

other information submitted for consideration by the Office in a non - provisional patentapplication filed under 35 U .S .C . § 111( a ) to comply with applicant's duty to submit to the Officeinformation which is material to patentability of the invention claimed in the non-provisionalapplication.For patent applications filed under 35 U .S .C . § 111( a ) , applicants and other individuals who are substantively involved in preparing or prosecuting a patent application mustsubmit to the Office information which is material to patentability (could render a claimunpatentable) as defined in 37 CFR § 1.56 . The provisions of 37 CFR § 1.97 and 37 CFR § 1.98

provide a mechanism for compliance with the duty of disclosure provided in 37 CFR § 1.56.The IDS must include a list of all patents , publications , U.S. applications , or otherinformation submitted for consideration by the Office. The USPTO provides forms for use in

the submission of an IDS, the PTO/SB/08a and PTO/SB/08b .intellectual property: Creations of the mind - creative works or ideas embodied in a form that can

be shared or can enable others to recreate, emulate, or manufacture them. There are four ways to protect intellectual property - patents , trademarks , copyrights or trade secretsintent to use: ITU - refers to the intent-to-use filing basis provided for in Trademark Act Section1(b), 15 U.S.C. 1051(b). Applicants who have not yet used (in commerce that can be regulated

by Congress) the mark they wish to register may file a trademark application under this filing basis. An "intent to use" application must include a sworn statement (usually in the form of adeclaration) that applicants have a bona fide intention to use the mark in commerce. A properlyworded declaration is included in the trademark application form for registration. The applicantor a person authorized to sign on behalf of the applicant must sign the declaration .Applicants who file based on "intent to use" must begin actual use of the mark in commerce andfile an Allegation of Use before the USPTO will register the mark. See definitions of " Amendment to Allege Use " and " Statement of Use " . There is an additional filing fee for theAllegation of Use.international application: an application filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty .IP: intellectual property

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issue date: the date that a patent application becomes a US patent.

The issue date is the date that patent rights can be exercised. U.S. patents are always issued onTuesdays.JJOINT AUTHORS [copyright] -- The collaborating creators of a single copyrightable work whomerge their separate contributions to the work. Joint authorship implies joint ownership of copyright in the work created. Co-owners of a copyright are treated as "tenants in common," witheach co-owner having an independent right to license the use of a work, subject to a duty of accounting to the co-owners for any profits.JOINT INVENTORS [patent]. Two or more inventors of a single invention who collaborate inthe inventive process.

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. See MPEP 2137.01 See also coinventor . JPTOS : Journal of the Patent and Trademark Office SocietyK KNOCK-OFF [patent-trademark-copyright] -- An identical copy of a work or product protected

by patent, trademark, trade dress, copyright. When used as a verb, the act of producing such acopy.KNOW-HOW [trade secret] -- Information that enables a person to accomplish a particular task or to operate a particular device or process.kind codes: WIPO Standard ST. 16 codes (kind codes) include a letter, and in many cases anumber, used to distinguish the kind of patent document (e.g., publication of an application for a

utility patent (patent application publication), patent, plant patent application publication, plant patent, or design patent) and the level of publication (e.g., first publication, second publication,or corrected publication).LLICENSE [patent-trademark-copyright] -- A permission to use an intellectual property right,under defined conditions -- as to time, context, market line or territory. In intellectual propertylaw, important distinctions exist between "exclusive licenses" and "nonexclusive licenses." Anexclusive license does not necessarily mean that this is the one and only license granted by thelicensor. In giving an exclusive license, the licensor promises that he or she will not grant other licenses of the same rights within the same scope or field covered by the exclusive license.However, the owner of rights may grant any number of nonexclusive licenses of the same rights.In a nonexclusive license, title remains with the licensor. A patent license is a transfer of rightsthat does not amount to an assignment of the patent. A trademark of service mark can be validlylicensed only if the licensor controls the nature and quality of the goods or services sold by thelicensee under the licensed mark. Under copyright law, an exclusive licensee is the owner of a

particular right of copyright, and he or she may sue for infringement of the licensed right. There

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is never more than a single copyright in a work regardless of the owner's exclusive license of various rights to different persons.LOGO [trademark] -- A graphic representation or symbol of a company name or trademark,usually designed for ready recognition. The term has no legal significance in the law of trademark.likelihood of confusion: a statutory basis ( Trademark Act Section 2(d), 15 U.S.C. Section1052(d), TMEP §1207 et seq . ) for refusing registration of a trademark or service mark because itis likely to conflict with a mark or marks already registered or pending before the USPTO.After an application is filed, the assigned examining attorney will search the USPTO records todetermine if such a conflict exists between the mark in the application and another mark that isregistered or pending before the USPTO. The USPTO will not conduct any preliminary searchesfor conflicting marks before an applicant files an application and cannot provide legal advice onwhether a particular mark can be registered.The principal factors considered by the examining attorney in determining whether there is a

likelihood of confusion are: (1) the similarity of the marks; and (2) the commercialrelationship between the goods and/or services listed in the application.To find a conflict, the marks do not have to be identical, and the goods and/or services do nothave to be the same. It may be enough that the marks are similar and the goods and/or servicesrelated. If a conflict exists between your mark and a registered mark, the examining attorney willrefuse registration on the ground of likelihood of confusion. If a conflict exists between your mark and a mark in a pending application that was filed before your application, the examiningattorney will notify you of the potential conflict and possibly suspend action on your application.If the earlier-filed application registers, the Examining Attorney will refuse registration of your mark on the ground of likelihood of confusion.

MMISAPPROPRIATION [unfair competition] -- A common-law form of unfair competitionwhere the defendant has copied or appropriated some item or creation of the plaintiff that is not

protected by either patent law, copyright law, trademark law or any other traditional theory of exclusive rights.MORAL RIGHTS [copyright-author's rights] -- Some European and other nations' legal systemsexpressly recognize certain rights of authors beyond those strictly recognized in copyright law.Moral rights generally fall into three categories: the right of an author to receive credit as theauthor of a work, to prevent others from falsely being named author and to prevent use of theauthor's name in connection with works the author did not create; the right of an author to

prevent mutilation of a work; and the right to withdraw a work from distribution if it no longer represents the views of the author.MUSICAL WORK [copyright] -- A category of copyrightable work expressed in notation or sounds. A musical work can be embodied and fixed in physical objects that are classified aseither "copies" (sheet music) or "phonorecords" (e.g., compact discs or tapes). A composer's

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song is covered by a musical work copyright, but a recording of the song is covered by a soundrecording copyright.Madrid Protocol: The "Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the InternationalRegistration of Marks" (Madrid Protocol) is an international treaty that allows a trademark owner to seek registration in any of the countries that have joined the Madrid Protocol by filing a singleapplication, called an “ international application .”MPEP : Manual of Patent Examining ProcedureN

NOTICE [patent-copyright-trademark] -- A formal sign or notification attached to physicalobjects that embody or reproduce an intellectual property right -- for example, the use of theword "patent" or its abbreviation, "pat.," together with the patent number, on a patented articlemade by a patent holder or his/her licensees. The formal statutory notice of U.S. trademark registration is the letter R in a circle symbol ®, "Reg. U.S. Pat. & Tm. Off.," or "Registered inU.S. Patent and Trademark Office." Many firms use informal trademark notices, such as

"Brand," "TM," "Trademark, "SM," or "Service Mark," adjacent to words or other symbolsconsidered to be protectable marks. Notice of copyright consists of the letter C in a circle symbol©, or the word "Copr." or "Copyright," the copyright owner's name, and the year of first

publication. NOVELTY [patent] -- One of the three conditions that an invention must meet to be patentable. Novelty is present if every element of the claimed invention is not disclosed in a single piece of prior art.national stage application: an application which has entered the national phase of the PatentCooperation Treaty by the fulfillment of certain requirements in a national Office, which is anauthority entrusted with the granting of national or regional patents. Such an application is filed

under 35 U.S.C. §371 in the United States and is referred to as a " 371 application ."nonprovisional patent application: an application for patent filed under 35 U.S.C. 111(a) thatincludes all patent applications (i.e., utility, design, plant, and reissue) except provisional applications. The nonprovisional application establishes the filing date and initiates theexamination process. A nonprovisional utility patent application must include a specification , including a claim or claims; drawings , when necessary; an oath or declaration; and the prescribedfiling fee .notice of allowance: NOA - a written notification from the USPTO that a specific mark hassurvived the opposition period following publication in the Official Gazette , and hasconsequently been allowed for registration . It does not mean that the mark has registeredyet. Receiving a notice of allowance is another step on the way to registration.

Notices of allowance are only issued for applications that have been filed based on " intent touse " . The notice of allowance is important because the issue date of the Notice of Allowanceestablishes the due date for filing a statement of use . After receiving the Notice of Allowance,the applicant must file a statement of use or a request for an extension of time to file a statementof use within 6 months from the issue date of the notice. If the applicant fails to timely file a

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statement of use or a request for an extension of time to file a statement of use, theapplication will be abandoned.notice of publication: a written statement from the USPTO notifying an applicant that its mark will be published in the Official Gazette . If the examining attorney assigned to an applicationraises no objections to registration, or if the applicant overcomes all objections, the examiningattorney will approve the mark for publication. The notice of publication provides the date of

publication. Any party who believes it may be damaged by registration of the mark hasthirty (30) days from the publication date to file either an opposition to registration or arequest to extend the time to oppose .If no opposition is filed or if the opposition is unsuccessful, the application enters the next stageof the registration process. A Certificate of Registration will issue for applications based onuse or on a foreign registration under §44, or a Notice of Allowance will issue for intent - to -use applications .O

OBVIOUSNESS [patent] -- A condition of nonpatentability in which an invention cannot receivea valid patent because a person with ordinary skill in that technology readily can deduce it from publicly available information (prior art).ON SALE [patent] -- An inventor cannot obtain a valid patent if he or she waits for more thanthe one-year grace period to file a patent application after a product embodying the invention has

been placed "on sale."ORDINARY SKILL IN THE ART [patent] -- That level of technical knowledge, experience andexpertise possessed by the run-of-the-mill or ordinary engineer, scientist or designer in thetechnology that is relevant to the invention.OACS: O ffice Action Correspondence System - used by patent examiners to generate office

actions.OPLA: Office of Patent Legal Administration

PPASSING OFF [trademark]. (1) The substitution of one brand of goods when another brand isordered. (2) Trademark infringement where the infringer intentionally meant to mislead or deceive purchasers. (3) Trademark infringement where there is no proof of intent to deceive butlikelihood of confusion is proven. (4) In British-law countries, acts illegal under the commonlaw, apart from registered "trademark" law, and consisting of the misrepresentation of one'sgoods or services as those of a competitor, usually by using a similar mark.PATENT [patent] -- In the United States, a grant by the federal government to an inventor of theright to exclude others from making, using, or selling the invention. There are three verydifferent kinds of patents in the United States: a utility patent on the functional aspects of

products and processes; a design patent on the ornamental design of useful objects; and a plant patent on a new variety of living plant. Patents do not protect "ideas," only structures andmethods that apply technological concepts. In return for receiving the right to exclude othersfrom a precisely defined scope of technology, industrial design, or plant variety, which is the gist

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of a patent, the inventor must disclose fully the details of the invention to the public. This willenable others to understand the invention and enable them to use it as a steppingstone to further develop the technology. Once the patent expires, the public is entitled to make and use theinvention and is entitled to a full and complete disclosure of how to do so.PERFORMANCE [copyright] -- To recite, render, play, dance or act a copyrighted work,including the broadcast by radio or television of a performance and the reception of such a

broadcast. The exclusive right to "perform the copyrighted work publicly" is granted to all typesof copyrighted works, except for pictorial and sculptural works and sound recordings.PHONORECORDS [copyright] -- The material objects that store or fix copyrightable sounds,other than a soundtrack accompanying a motion picture. Phonorecords can be audiotapes,compact discs, computer chips that store sounds and the like.PIRACY [copyright-trademark] -- The act of exact, unauthorized and illegal reproduction on acommercial scale of a copyrighted work or of a trademarked product.PRIOR ART [patent] -- The existing body of technological information against which an

invention is judged to determine if it can be patented as being a novel and nonobvious invention.PROCESS CLAIM [patent] -- A claim of a patent that covers the method by which an inventionis performed by defining a series of steps to be followed. This is in contrast to a product claim or apparatus claim, which cover the structure of a product.PRODUCT-BY-PROCESS CLAIM [patent] -- A patent claim in which a product is claimed bydefining the process by which it is made. The product-by-process form of claim most often isused to define new chemical compounds, since many new chemicals, pharmaceuticals and drugs,which, as a practical matter, can be defined only by the process of making them.PRODUCT CLAIM [patent] -- A claim of a patent that covers a structure, apparatus or composition. This is in contrast to a "process claim," which covers a method or process.

PUBLICATION [copyright]. The distribution of copies or phonorecords of a work to the public.PUBLIC DOMAIN [general intellectual property] -- The status of an invention, creative work and commercial symbol that is not protected by any form of intellectual property law. Items inthe public domain are available for free copying and use by anyone. The copying of items thatare in the public domain not only is tolerated but encouraged as a vital part of the competitive

process.PAIR : Patent Application Information RetrievalPatent and Trademark Depository Library: a library designated by the USPTO to receive copiesof patents, CD-ROMs containing registered and pending marks, and patent and trademark materials that are made available to the public for free. The libraries also actively disseminate

patent and trademark information and offer internet access to USPTO's online collections. patent family: A patent family is the same invention disclosed by a common inventor (s) and patented in more than one country. patent infringement: unauthorized making, using, offering to sell, selling or importing into theUnited States any patent ed invention

patent number : unique number assigned to a patent application when it issues as a patent

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patent pending: A phrase that often appears on manufactured items. It means that someone hasapplied for a patent on an invention that is contained in the manufactured item. It serves as awarning that a patent may issue that would cover the item and that copiers should be careful

because they might infringe if the patent issues. Once the patent issues, the patent owner willstop using the phrase "patent pending" and start using a phrase such as "covered by U.S. Patent

Number XXXXXXX." Applying the patent pending phrase to an item when no patentapplication has been made can result in a fine.PCT Regulations: provide rules concerning matters expressly refers to in the Patent CooperationTreaty , any administrative requirements, matters, or procedures, and concerning any detailsuseful in the implementation of the provisions of the Patent Cooperation Treaty . The rules must

be adopted by the Assembly of WIPO.POWER: Patent Cooperation Treaty Operations Workflow and Electronic ReviewPPAC: Patent Public Advisory Committee

provisional patent application: a provisional application for patent is a U. S. national application

for patent filed in the USPTO under 35 U .S .C . § 111(b). It allows filing without a formal patentclaim , oath or declaration, or any information disclosure (prior art) statement. It provides themeans to establish an early effective filing date in a nonprovisional patent application filed under 35 U .S .C § 111(a) and automatically becomes abandoned after one year. It also allows the term"Patent Pending " to be applied.PTA: Patent T erm AdjustmentPTDL :Patent and Trademark Depository LibraryPTE: Patent T erm E xtensionPTO : Patent and Trademark Office, former designation for USPTOalso a type of form designation for forms generated by the USPTO (as in PTO-892)

PTOL :a type of form designation such as Form PTOL, meaning a Patent and Trademark OfficeLegal formPTOS : Patent and Trademark Office Society

publication number : a number assigned to the publication of patent applications filed on or after November 29, 2000. It includes the year, followed by a seven digit number, followed by a kindcode . Example 200011234567A1R REDUCTION TO PRACTICE [patent] -- The physical part of the inventive process thatcompletes and ends the process of invention. After a reduction to practice, the invention iscomplete for patent law purposes.RENEWAL [trademark-copyright] -- The extension of a registration of a trademark or theextension of a copyright.REVERSE ENGINEERING [trade secret-copyright] -- A method of obtaining technicalinformation by starting with a publicly available product and determining what it is made of,what makes it work or how it was produced. The engineering effort goes in the reverse directionof usual engineering efforts, which start with technical data and use it to produce a product. If the

product or other material that is the subject of the reverse engineering was obtained properly, the

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process of reverse engineering is not infringement of any trade secrets in the data embodied in a product and it is legitimate and legal competitive behavior.RIGHT OF PUBLICITY [general intellectual property] -- The inherent right of every human

being to control the commercial use of his or her identity.record copy: original copy of an international application filed under the Patent CooperationTreaty maintained by the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organization.recordation form cover sheet: USPTO form that trademark owners use to record trademark assignments (changes in ownership of marks for applications and registrations) and a trademark owner’s change of entity name. The form is PTO - TM -1594 .reexamination proceeding: at any time during the enforceability of a patent any person may file arequest for the USPTO to conduct a second examination of any claim of the patent on the basisof prior art patents or printed publications which that person states to be pertinent and applicableto the patent and believes to have a bearing on the patentability ( see 37 CFR 1.501 ). 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 beaccompanied by payment of a reexamination request filing fee as set forth in 37 CFR 1.20( c ) .registration number: a registered patent attorney /agent is assigned a registration number thatthey must include on patent correspondence and forms when representing others before theUSPTO; individual applicants do not have a registration number and should leave this field blank on patent forms.SSECONDARY MEANING [trademark] -- A meaning for a trademark or service mark thatcustomers associate with a particular brand of products or services. For trade symbols that arenot inherently distinctive, distinctiveness must be acquired to be protected by a trademark or

service mark. This acquired distinctiveness is knows as "secondary meaning" because it isacquired second in time to the primary meaning of a word. For example, a word such as "best"for milk is regarded as descriptive and not inherently distinctive. The primary meaning is thatmilk thus described is purported to be the best. To achieve exclusive trademark rights for a

product called "Best Milk," a seller using this word must use it so that it achieves a secondarymeaning denoting that all milk marked "best" comes from a single commercial source.SERVICE MARK [trademark] -- A word, slogan, design, picture or any other symbol used toidentify and distinguish services (retail sales services, airlines services, insurance, investmentservices and the like) as opposed to a product.SKILL IN THE ART [patent] -- An ordinary level of proficiency in the particular technology inwhich an invention is made.SOUND RECORDING [copyright]. A category of copyrightable work consisting of the soundsthat are recorded in a phonorecord.SPECIAL 301 [international trade] -- U.S. statutory provisions requiring annual review of tradeagreement rights and foreign trade practices of U.S. trading partners that deny benefits to theUnited States or unjustifiably restrict or burden U.S. commerce. The Trade Act of 1974, asamended by the Special 301 provisions of the 1988 Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act,

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authorizes the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to identify and investigate potential violatingcountries, recommend the suspension of trade agreement concessions and the imposition of duties and import restrictions and enter into agreements to eliminate the burdens or restrictionson U.S. trade.SUBSTANTIAL SIMILARITY [copyright] -- The degree of resemblance between a copyrightedwork and a second work that is sufficient to constitute copyright infringement by the secondwork. Exact word-for-word or line-for-line identity does not define the limits of copyrightinfringement. U.S. courts have chosen the flexible phrase "substantial similarity" to define thatlevel of similarity that, together with proof of validity and copying, will constitute copyrightinfringement.SUGGESTIVE MARK [trademark] -- A word, picture or other symbol that suggests, but doesnot directly describe, something about the goods or services in connection with which it is usedas a mark. A suggestive term is considered to be inherently distinctive and needs no proof of secondary meaning for registration or protection in court. For example, polar bear for parkas and

coats merely suggests the kind of protection that a polar bear has from the cold. (SeeDESCRIPTIVE MARK.)search: After a trademark application is filed, the USPTO will conduct a search of USPTOrecords for conflicting marks as part of the official examination process. The official search isnot done for the applicant but rather to determine whether the mark applied for can be registered.The USPTO advises applicants and/or their representatives to search the records before filing theapplication. A search may be conducted through TESS , or by visiting the Trademark PublicSearch Library, between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. at Madison East, 1st Floor, 600 Dulany Street,Alexandria, VA 22313. Use of the Public Search Library is free to the public. Also, certaininformation may be searched at a Patent and Trademark Depository Library . These libraries have

CD-ROMS containing the database of registered and pending marks, and Internet access to theTrademark Electronic Search System ( TESS ).TTRADE DRESS [trademark] -- The totality of elements in which a product or service is

packaged or presented, such as the shape and appearance of a product or container or the cover of a book or magazine. These elements combine to create a visual image presented to customersand are capable of acquiring exclusive legal rights as a type of trademark or identifying symbolof origin.TRADEMARK [trademark] -- (1) A word, slogan, design, picture, or any other symbol used toidentify and distinguish goods. (2) Any identifying symbol, including a word, design, or shape of a product or container, that qualifies for legal status as a trademark, service mark, collectivemark, certification mark, trade name or trade dress. Trademarks identify one seller's goods anddistinguish them from goods sold by others. They signify that all goods bearing the mark comefrom or are controlled by a single source and are of an equal level of quality. A trademark isinfringed by another if the second use causes confusion of source, affiliation, connection or sponsorship.

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TRADE NAME [trademark] -- A symbol used to identify and distinguish companies, partnerships and businesses, as opposed to marks used to identify and distinguish goods or services.TRADE SECRET (trade secret] -- Business information that is the subject of reasonable effortsto preserve confidentiality and has value because it is not generally known in the trade. Suchconfidential information will be protected against those who obtain access through improper methods or by a breach of confidence. Infringement of a trade secret is a type of unfair competition.TARR: Trademark Application and Registration Retrieval systemUSPTO’s online database for monitoring federal trademark applications and registrations. UsingTARR, applicants, trademark owners and the public may check the status of pending trademark applications and registrations. To access information about a specific mark, users must providethe associated serial number or registration number of the record they seek.TDR: Trademark Document Retrieval system

Online retrieval of documents from the electronic case file for federal trademark applications andregistrations. To access information about a specific mark, users must provide the associatedserial number,registration number, reference number, or international registration number of therecord they seek.TEAS: Trademark Electronic Application SystemUSPTO's electronic filing system. It may be used to file a variety of documents with the USPTO,including new trademark applications, amendments to allege use, statements of use, responses toOffice actions, and changes of address, just to name a few.TICRS: Trademark Image Capture & Retrieval SystemA system used within the USPTO to scan, store and provide access to images of papers

associated with trademark registrations.TIS: Trademark Information SystemTLT: Trademark Law TreatyTMEP: Trademark Manual of Examining ProcedureTMOG: Trademark Official Gazette

UUNFAIR COMPETITION [general intellectual property] -- Commercial conduct that the lawviews as unjust. A person injured by an act of unfair competition is entitled to relief in a civilaction against the perpetrator of the act. Trademark infringement long has been considered unfair competition. Other legal categories recognized as being types of unfair competition are falseadvertising, product disparagement/trade libel, infringement of a trade secret, infringement of theright of publicity and misappropriation.UTILITY [patent] -- The usefulness of a patented invention. To be patentable, an invention mustoperate and be capable of use, and it must perform some "useful" function for society.

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WWORLD INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ORGANIZATION (WIPO) [international] -- One of the 16 "specialized agencies" of the United Nations system. WIPO, located in Geneva, wascreated in 1967 and is responsible for the promotion of intellectual property protectionthroughout the world. WIPO fulfills this responsibility by promoting cooperation among nationsin intellectual property matters, administering various "unions" and other treaty organizationsfounded on multilateral treaties and creating model laws for adoption by developing nations.WORK MADE FOR HIRE [copyright] -- A work prepared by an employee within the scope of his or her employment or a commissioned work that the parties agree in writing to treat as a work made for hire. The real person, partnership, or corporation for whom the work was prepared isconsidered to be both the "author" and the owner of copyright from the moment of creation of the work.WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION (WTO) [international] -- WTO is the only globalinternational organization dealing with the rules of trade among nations. Located in Geneva, it

was created at the end of the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade(GATT) negotiations in December 1993 to oversee the operation of GATT. The WTO enteredinto force with respect to the United States on January 1, 1995. The WTO often plays much thesame role in world financial and economic affairs as the United Nations does in political affairs.Activities of the WTO include: administering trade agreements; acting as a forum for tradenegotiations; settling trade disputes; reviewing national trade policies; assisting developingcountries in trade policy issues through technical assistance and training programs; andcooperating with other international organizations. One hundred forty-eight nations are membersof the WTO (as of June 2005), accounting for more than 97 percent of world trade.X

X patent: In the 46 years prior to the Great Fire of 1836 , the United States government hadissued about 10,000 patents. Most of these could never be revived again, but Congress acted torestore those records that could be reconstructed from private files and reproduce models whichwere deemed critical. Patents whose records were not restored were cancelled. There were a totalof 2,845 patents restored, most of which were eventually given a number beginning with "X".All patents after the date of the establishment of the Patent Office in July 1836 were numbered asa new series (without the X), beginning with a new Patent No. 1 to John Ruggles. A smallnumber of the new series patents had been destroyed in the Great Fire but they were quicklyrecovered from their owners' records. X files bear numbers that range from X000001 toX011280. X0000001 is the first patent, issued to Samuel Hopkins in 1790