Law terms starting with P

344 terms

  1. proprietary information Information that is not generally known and that has competitive value, e.g., trade secrets and business information not generally known.
  2. Proprietor Owner; person who has legal right or title to anything.
  3. prosecute To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
  4. prosecution The process of fact finding and negotiation of patent claim language that occurs during the time that a patent application is pending and under…
  5. Prosecution History The history of the prosecution of a patent application. See Prosecution.
  6. prosecution history estoppel the other side of the coin from doctrine of equivalence; in patent infringement lawsuits, it tends to favor the accused infringer.
  7. Prosecutor A lawyer representing the government in a criminal case and the interests of the state in civil matters.
  8. Protest A communication by a member of the public to a patent office arguing and providing evidence that the granting of a patent would be improper. MPEP 1901.
  9. protocol An action plan for a clinical trial. The plan states what the study will do, how, and why.
  10. Provisional Application A type of U.S. utility patent application that is used to establish priority of invention. It need not contain a claim and cannot issue as a patent.
  11. 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).
  12. Proximate cause The last negligent act which contributes to an injury. A person generally is liable only if an injury was proximately caused by his or her action or by…
  13. Proxy If you own common stock in a US corporation, you have the right to vote on certain company policies and elect the board of directors by casting a proxy…
  14. proxy voting The practice of allowing a Senator to cast a vote in committee for an absent Senator.
  15. pseudo mark A way of locating a word mark that is comprised of an alternative or intentionally corrupted spelling of an English word.
  16. PSIPS Publication Site for Issued and Published Sequences -- also see bio-sequence listings
  17. PST (Personal Folder File) The place where Outlook stores its data (when Outlook is used without Microsoft Exchange Server). A PST file is created when a mail account is set up.
  18. PST file format File format used by the Microsoft Outlook personal information management (PIM) program, which includes email, task management and a calendar.
  19. PSTN Public Switched Telephone Network
  20. PTA Patent Term Adjustment -- see MPEP 2700 for more -- see PTA Calculation for more
  21. PTDL Patent and Trademark Depository Library -- see PTDL program
  22. PTE Patent Term Extension -- see MPEP 2700 for more -- see PTE Calculation for more
  23. PTO Patent and Trademark Office, former designation for USPTO also a type of form designation for forms generated by the USPTO (as in PTO-892)
  24. PTO (Patent and Trademark Office) the government agency, located in Arlington, Virginia, that is responsible for issuing patents.
  25. PTOL a type of form designation such as Form PTOL, meaning a Patent and Trademark Office Legal form
  26. PTOS Patent and Trademark Office Society
  27. public debt Cumulative amounts borrowed by the Treasury Department or the Federal Financing Bank from the public or from another fund or account.
  28. Public Defender Government lawyer who provides free legal defense services to a poor person accused of a crime.
  29. public defenders Represent defendants who can't afford an attorney in criminal matters.
  30. Public law That law such as traffic ordinances or zoning ordinances which applies to the public.
  31. Public Network A network that is part of the public Internet.
  32. Public Sale A sale or offer to sell an invention to a member of the public. A sale need not be public to bar a patent under U.S. law. MPEP 2133.03, MPEP 2133.03(b).
  33. Public Service Commission Also, Public Utilities Commission. A state agency which regulates utilities.
  34. Public Use Utilization of a completed invention in a nonexperimental manner in public, i.e.
  35. publication Any document that is available to the public anywhere in the world. MPEP 2128, MPEP 2128.01, MPEP 2128.02.
  36. publication for opposition If the examining attorney raises no objections to registration, or if the applicant overcomes all objections, the examining attorney will approve the mark…
  37. publication number a number assigned to the publication of patent applications filed on or after November 29, 2000.
  38. Published Application A patent application that has been published by a patent office during its prosection (before issue).
  39. Published Patent Application See Published Application.
  40. Pubs Patent Publication, Office of -- see Patent Publication for more
  41. Pulmonary Edema an abnormal buildup of fluid in the air sacs of the lungs.
  42. Punitive damages Money award given to punish the defendant or wrongdoer.
  43. Purchase agreement/purchase offer Also, sales agreement. Agreement between buyer and seller of property which sets forth the price and terms of a proposed sale.
  44. Putative Alleged; supposed; reputed.