Law definitions beginning with A

American Bankers Association number - often referred to as the "transit routing number", 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 to each financial institution and each branch office of that financial institution.
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Browse Related Terms: ABA #, ACH, EFT, eTEAS, OBI, PrinTEAS

Process by which the debtors estate would not benefit by the sale of certain property so the trustee will turn it back over to the debtor.
U.S. Courts - Cite This Source - This Definition
Browse Related Terms: assets, distribution, dividend, liabilities, liquidation, statement of intention, substantive consolidation, trustee

Abandonment occurs when a spouse brings cohabitation to an end without justification, without the consent of the other spouse, and without the intent of renewing cohabitation.
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Browse Related Terms: Equitable distribution, Malicious turning out of doors, Marital property, Non-marital property, Reconciliation

An actual or implied giving up of an application or invention by some positive act or failure to act within a reasonable or statutorily fixed time.
University of North Texas - Cite This Source - This Definition
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 37 CFR § 1.134 and § 1.136 unless an Office action indicates otherwise.

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 Office docket of pending applications.

-- see MPEP 711 for more -- see express abandonment

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Browse Related Terms: Abandonment of Invention, Abandonment of Patent Application, express abandonment, Invention, Abandoned, Petition to Revive, Revival of Abandoned Application

A trademark application that has been declared abandoned is "dead" and no longer pending. Abandonment occurs under several circumstances. The most common reason is when the USPTO does not receive a response to an Office Action letter from an applicant within 6 months from the date the Office action letter was mailed. Another instance is when the USPTO does not receive a Statement of Use (or request for an extension of time to file a statement 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, see Petition to Revive and Request for Reinstatement.
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Browse Related Terms: dead, eTEAS, notice of abandonment, petition to revive an application (trademark matters), request to reinstate an application, TEAS

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To relinguish rights in an invention. In the U.S., an invention is considered to be abandoned, if within a reasonable time after the invention is completed, no actions are taken to make the invention publicly known. MPEP 2134, MPEP 2138.03.
Robert M. Hunter, Ph.D. - Cite This Source - This Definition
Browse Related Terms: abandonment, Abandonment of Patent Application, express abandonment, Invention, Abandoned, Petition to Revive, Revival of Abandoned Application

To relinquish, either by express abandonment or by inaction, a patent application. Abandonment by inaction typically involves failure to take a required action (e.g., filing a incomplete response or not paying a fee) during the statutory period for taking the action. A U.S. patent application that was unavoidably or unintentionally abandoned, can be revived by petition. MPEP 711.
Robert M. Hunter, Ph.D. - Cite This Source - This Definition
Browse Related Terms: abandonment, Abandonment of Invention, express abandonment, Invention, Abandoned, Petition to Revive, Revival of Abandoned Application

Trustees declaration that the trustee has no interest in certain property because of lack of value, debtors exemption, or because it is burdensome to the administration of the estate.
U.S. Courts - Cite This Source - This Definition
Browse Related Terms: adequate protection, bankruptcy estate, exempt property, exemption, exemptions, exempt property, nonexempt property, objection to exemptions, prebankruptcy planning, property of the estate

activity based cost accounting - an accrual-based accounting method for determining unit-based costs of delivering services by allocating the costs to budgetary resources; it measures the performance and costs related to a specific activity or function.
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Browse Related Terms: C&A, certificate of mailing, express mail mailing label, USPS

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activity based management - a management methodology that combines ABC with business process analysis techniques to run, improve and measure performance for a business or organization.
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Browse Related Terms: BIA, FTAA, JCCT, materials transfer agreement, PBG, Proprietary Information, service component, Trade Name, trade secret

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Absolute divorce is the termination of a marriage by legal action, requiring a petition or complaint for divorce (or dissolution in some states, including California) by one party.
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a divorce in which the marriage is completely dissolved and both parties become single.
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Browse Related Terms: Annulment, Dissolution, Divorce, No fault divorce