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| Abandonment
| the failure to take all the steps to complete the application process
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| Abstract
| a concise paragraph found on the front page of an issued patent certificate that briefly describes the workings and features of the invention.
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| Allowance
| an acknowledgement by the governmental body that an application is eligible for registration. An eligible application is considered to be "allowed" for registration.
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| Amendment
| an answer to an office action issued by a governmental body, usually modifying, correcting, or deleting elements of an original application.
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| Apostille
| a simplified certification of notarized documents allowed by countries that belong to the Hague Convention. With an apostille the document is entitled to recognition in the country of intended use and no additional legalization is required.
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| Application
| a request to a governmental body of a country to formally recognize an applicant's rights in an invention, trademark or copyright.
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| Artistic work
| a visual representation such as a painting, drawing, map, photograph, sculpture, engraving or architectural plan.
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| Assignment
| the transfer of intellectual property rights from the owner to another party.
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| Author
| the creator of an artistic, literary, musical or dramatic work.
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| Berne Convention
| a copyright treaty established in Berne, Switzerland in 1886. The basic purpose of the treaty is for the protection of the rights of authors.
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| Boolean Search Logic
| a set of defined query terms based on comparative logic.
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| Certificate of Registration
| official confirmation of registration received from a governmental body.
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| Certification Mark
| a trademark that refers to a standard of quality for a product.
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| Claim
| a section of a patent wherein the invention is specifically defined a grammatically correct numbered sentence. There may be more that one claim and the claims may be independent.
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| Collective Mark
| a trademark that signifies affiliation with an organization that has set certain standards for membership.
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| Compulsory License
| a grant to use some form of intellectual property through a means set up by the government for a public interest.
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| Copyright
| protection for the particular expression of an idea which is created and fixed in a tangible form, such as writing or an audio visual work.
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| Disclaimer
| a statement that a certain word or portion of a trademark or an element of an invention is not protected.
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| European Patent Convention (EPC)
| a treaty that provides a single procedure for granting one "European patent" to an invention which will be valid, upon payment of an appropriate fee, in all EPC member countries.
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| Examination
| the procedures undertaken by a governmental body to ensure that the subject of an application should be granted registration.
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| Fair use
| a limited use of a copyrighted work allowed without the copyright owner's permission.
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| Fees
| specific sums required for governmental action on intellectual property examination, registration and maintenance.
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| Filing date
| the date a completed application is officially received by the governmental body.
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| First to File
| a patent and/or trademark system in which the first inventor or trademark owner to file an application for a specific invention or mark is entitled registration.
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| Front Page
| a term used to describe the first page of an issued patent certificate.
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| General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)
| an international agreement whose provisions affect international patent and trademark prosecution, protection and maintenance.
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| Genericide
| the misuse of a trademark by the public that allows it to become a generic term in the field.
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| Hague Convention (Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents)
| a treaty signed originally signed on October 5, 1961 which allows for the simplified certification of notarized documents without full legalization.
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| Infringement
| use by one party of intellectual property (such as copyright, trademark or patent) belonging to another party that causes damage to the rightful owner of the intellectual property.
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| Intellectual Property
| also referred to as "industrial property" it is an area of law which includes such assets as patents, trademarks and copyrights.
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| International Patent Classification (IPC)
| a system which is used by most countries in classifying their patent documents.
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| Internet
| a global computer network.
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| Lanham Act
| current version of the U.S. trademark law originally enacted on July 5, 1946.
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| Legalization
| administrative procedure to make a document legally acceptable for filing in a foreign jurisdiction.
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| License
| a legal agreement granting someone permission to use an intellectual property for certain purposes and under certain conditions.
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| Madrid Protocol
| a Protocol to the Madrid Arrangement which was adopted in 1989 and provides for the filing of international applications at the same time as the filing for the home national application. It also provides for the conversion of an
international application into a national application if the home registration fails within the first five years.
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Madrid Arrangement Concerning the International Registration of Marks
| a treaty originally signed in 1891 which offers trademark registration in various countries through a single application.
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| Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (MPEP)
| a manual published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. It is a guide to the patent practices and procedures of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
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| Moral Rights
| the non-economic rights which an artist acquires by the simple act of creating a work of art. "Moral" rights are rights that either affect or have the potential to affect the artist's personality and reputation.
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| Nonobviousness
| one of the prerequisites to receiving a patent. The invention must be original and not obvious to others who work or are otherwise competent in a particular field of knowledge.
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| Office Action
| an official written communication by a governmental body on the merits of an application.
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| Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property
| a treaty originally signed in 1883. Among other requirements, the Paris Convention requires member nations to recognize a "priority filing date" of an application that is first filed in a home country.
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| Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)
| a treaty concluded in 1970, it established centralized filing procedures for international patent applications and standardized the application format.
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| Patent
| a right granted by the government of a country which excludes other parties from making, using or selling an invention. The current United States Patent statutes provide for the protection of utility, plant, and design patents.
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| Power of Attorney
| a written authorization by one party known as a donor (such as an applicant) to an agent (such as an attorney) which allows the agent to act on behalf of the donor.
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| Prior Art
| any existing patents or patent applications or any other publication throughout the world, relevant to an invention.
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| Priority
| the benefit of an earlier filing date. A request for a priority date may be made by an applicant of a patent or trademark application within twelve months of the filing of another application for the same invention or trademark
in another country.
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| Prosecution
| the steps involved in following an application through to registration.
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| Provisional Application
| a temporary patent filing allowed in the United States to give the inventor priority rights allowed to inventors outside the United States.
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| Publication
| a public notice issued by a governmental body after an application has received preliminary governmental approval. This notice allows interested party that feels final registration would adversely effect their own intellecutal
property rights the opportunity to file notice with the governmental body objecting to the final registration.
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| Registration
| the granting of formal recognition of an intellectual property rights by a national government.
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| Right to Publicity
| the right of every human being to control the commercial use of his or her identity and likeness.
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| Search
| an investigation conducted to determine if any type of intellectual property belongs to another party.
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| Service Mark
| any word, name, symbol or device, or any combination thereof that is used by a manufacturer or merchant to identify its services and to distinguish them from the services of others.
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| Trade Name
| the name under which a company chooses to operate. A trade name is not necessarily a trademark.
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| Trade Related Intellectual Property Issues (TRIPS)
| an international agreement whose provisions affect international patent and trademark prosecution, protection and maintenance.
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| Trade Secret
| information, particularly competitive information, that is held secret by businesses.
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| Trademark
| any word, name, symbol or device, or any combination thereof that is used by a manufacturer or merchant to identify its products (or tangible goods) and to distinguish them from the products of others.
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| Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure (TMEP)
| a manual published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. It is a guide to the trademark practices and procedures of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
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| Universal Copyright Convention (UCC)
| a copyright treaty established in 1952 in Geneva, Switzerland. It is administered by UNESCO, a United Nations agency.
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| World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
| an organization based in Geneva, Switzerland which is concerned with the international protection and enforcement of intellectual property.
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