IndignitiesAn indignity is conduct which renders the other spouse's condition intolerable and life burdensome.
Individual CustodianAn individual employee may be the custodian of ESI located on his/her local computer(s), hard drives, media as well as specific network storage locations…
informal applicationan application that has been filed without one or more of the elements required to receive a filing date.
InformationAccusatory document, filed by a prosecutor, detailing misdemeanor charges against a party.
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 patent…
Informe previo a la sentenciaUn informe presentado al tribunal por el Departamento de Libertad Vigilada (Department of Probation), el cual contiene información acerca de los…
InfractionA violation of law not punishable by imprisonment. Minor traffic offenses generally are considered infractions.
infrastructureAn basic underlying framework or features of a system.
InfringeTo make, use or sell a patented invention in the jurisdiction and during the term of a patent.
Infringed LiterallyA situation wherein an issued patent is infringed (practiced without a license to do so) by a product or process that has all of features of the invention…
Infringement By EquivalentsInfringement in the situation that the infringing product or process does not have exactly the same features as the invention claimed in the patent but…
InherencyPresent in the essential character of something. MPEP 2173.05(v).
Inheritance taxA tax on property that an heir or beneficiary under a will receives from a deceased person's estate. The heir or beneficiary pays this tax.
Initial appearanceThe first hearing in court before a referee/judge. This is similar to an arraignment hearing on criminal cases.
initial hearingCourt proceeding in which the defendant learns of his rights and the charges against him and the judge decides bail.
InjunctionAn order or remedy issued by the court at the request of the complaining party, which forbids another party to do some act which he/she is threatening or…
inoperativenessThe failure of the invention to work due to either mechanical or methodical imperfections or due to incomplete or erroneous description of the invention…
Input deviceAny peripheral that allows a user to communicate with a computer by entering information or issuing commands (e.g., keyboard).
InsanityThe inability to know what one is doing and to decide if the action is right or wrong.
insider (of corporate debtor)A director, officer, or person in control of the debtor; a partnership in which the debtor is a general partner; a general partner of the debtor; or a…
insider (of individual debtor)Any relative of the debtor or of a general partner of the debtor; partnership in which the debtor is a general partner; general partner of the debtor; or…
InsolventWhen the total debt of an entity is greater than all of its property.
Inspectiona review or audit of areas, practices, procedures for compliance with existing policy.
Instant Messaging ("IM")Instant Messaging is a form of electronic communication which involves immediate correspondence between two or more users who are all online…
Intellectual PropertyCreations 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.
intent to useITU - refers to the intent-to-use filing basis provided for in Trademark Act Section 1(b), 15 U.S.C. 1051(b).
Intentional tortWrong perpetrated by one who intends to break the law.
inter partes reexamination-- see reexamination proceeding Inter partes reexamination practice primarily differs from ex parte practice in that the third party requestor may file…
Inter-Partition SpaceUnused sectors on a track located between the start of the partition and the partition boot record.
interferencea proceeding, conducted before the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences (Board), to determine priority of invention between a pending application and…
InterlacedTV & CRT pictures must constantly be refreshed. Interlace is to refresh every other line once/refresh cycle.
InterleaveTo arrange data in a noncontiguous way to increase performance. When used to describe disc drives, it refers to the way sectors on a disc are organized.
InterlocutoryTemporary; provisional; interim; not final.
Interlocutory AppealAn appeal that is filed before the trial court has entered its final order in the case.
Internal InquiriesA close examination of a matter in a search for information or truth that is internal to a company.
Internal Proficiency Testan exam process/instrument originating from within the laboratory system and used as a quality assessment sample.
International Telecommunication Union (ITU)An international organization under the UN headquartered in Geneva concerned with telecommunications that develops international data communications…
InternetA worldwide network of networks that all use the TCP/IP communications protocol and share a common address space.
Internet PublishingSpecialized imaging software that allows documents to be published on the Internet
InterrogatoriesA set or series of written questions propounded to a party, witness or other person having information or interest in a case; a discovery device.
InterrogatoriosPreguntas escritas presentadas por una de las partes que deben ser contestadas por escrito por la otra parte como parte del conjunto de actos procesales…
Intervening RightsA defense to an allegation of infringement. Intervening rights exist when a patent is later reissued with broader claims because of inadvertent errors in…
Intervention(IN-ter-VEN-shun) In medicine, a treatment or action taken to prevent or treat disease, or improve health in other ways.
IntestadoCuando una persona muere sin dejar testamento.
intranetA private network that uses Internet-related technologies to provide services within an organization.
InvalidIneffective or void under the law. A patent can be invalided if it was issued in error.
invalidationshowing that an invention is not deserving of patent protection by providing evidence that it is not new, not useful, or is obvious.
inventionany art or process (way of doing or making things), machine, manufacture, design, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, or…
Invention DisclosureFrom a legal standpoint, a description of an invention that would enable a person skilled in the art to which the invention pertains to build and use the…
inventorone who contributes to the conception of an invention. The patent law of the United States of America requires that the applicant in a patent application…
Inventor, JointA person who collaborates with another inventor in the conception of an invention. MPEP 605.07, MPEP 2137.01.
InventorshipThe condition of being an inventor under the law. MPEP 2137.01.
Inventorya detailed accounting of all items within a specified location. Examples include but are not limited to: evidence in the evidence vault, evidence in the…
Investigationan inquiry usually initiated by a government agency.
Involuntary bankruptcyA proceeding initiated by creditors requesting the bankruptcy court to place a debtor in liquidation.
involuntary filingA bankruptcy case that a creditor or group of creditors initiates.
IPWithin the peritoneal cavity (the area that contains the abdominal organs). Also called intraperitoneal.
IP AddressA string of four numbers separated by periods used to represent a computer on the Internet.
IPEAInternational Preliminary Examining Authority - either a national Office or an intergovernmental organization whose tasks include the establishment of…
IPERInternational Preliminary Examination Report (Form PCT/IPEA/409), produced by an International Preliminary Examining Authority, is a preliminary and…
ipr hygieneIntellectual Property Rights Hygiene is the process of ensuring that all sponsors of research that results in intellectual property protection and…