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Anton Piller Order

Anton Piller order

In British and British-derived legal systems, an Anton Piller order (frequently misspelt as Anton Pillar order) is a court order which provides for the right to search premises without prior warning. This is used in order to prevent the destruction of incriminating evidence, particularly in cases of alleged copyright or patent infringements. The first such order was issued in the case of Anton Piller KG vs Manufacturing Processes Limited in 1976. Because such an order is essentially unfair to the accused party, Anton Piller orders are only issued exceptionally, when # There is an extremely strong prima facie case against the respondent, # The damage, potential or actual, must be very serious for the applicant, and # There must be clear evidence that the respondents have in their possession incriminating documents or things and that there is a real possibility that they may destroy such material before an inter partes application can be made. In the UK, it has been reported that approximately 500 Anton Piller orders were made per year between 1975 and 1980. During the 1990s, this rate had dropped tenfold. Although the name persists in normal usage, the common law application of this order has been largely superseded by a statutory Search order under the Civil Procedure Act 1997.

Quotations

"Let me say at once that no court in this land has any power to issue a search warrant to enter a man's house so as to see if there are papers or documents there which are of an incriminating nature, whether libels or infringements of copyright or anything else of the kind. No constable or bailiff can knock at the door and demand entry so as to inspect papers or documents. The householder can shut the door in his face and say, 'Get out.' That was established in the leading case of Entick v. Carrington (1765), 19 State Tr. 1029. None of us would wish to whittle down that principle in the slightest. But the order sought in this case is not a search warrant. It does not authorise the plaintiff's solicitors or anyone else to enter the defendants' premises against their will. It does not authorise the breaking down of any doors, nor the slipping in by a back door, nor getting in by an open door or window ... The plaintiffs must get the defendants' permission. But it does do this: It brings pressure on the defendants to give permission. It does more. It actually orders them to give permission – with, I suppose, the result that if they do not give permission, they are guilty of contempt of court." -- Lord Denning.

Anton Piller orders outside United Kingdom

Anton Piller orders also constitute a common ex parte procedure in intellectual property related cases in some other countries, such as France. Anton Piller orders are known in France as "descriptive seizure orders", when the court order only allows the description of the alleged counterfeited goods and processes, or simply "seizure orders", when the court order also allows real seizure to take place in addition to the description measures. A descriptive seizure is enforced by a bailiff, usually accompanied by at least one expert. It can take place on the premises of the alleged infringer, but also at a trade fair for instance.

References

- [http://www.oiprc.ox.ac.uk/EJWP0401.html "Recent Developments in Anton Piller Orders: John and Jane Doe, rolling along in Canada"] Professor Jeff Berryman, University of Windsor, 2001. Category:Common law Category:United Kingdom law

United Kingdom

:For other meanings of the terms "United Kingdom" and "UK" , see United Kingdom (disambiguation) and UK (disambiguation). :For an explanation of terms like England, (Great) Britain and United Kingdom see British Isles (terminology). The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (usually shortened to the United Kingdom or the UK) is a country located off the north-western coast of continental Europe, surrounded by the North Sea, the English Channel, the Celtic Sea, the Irish Sea, and the Atlantic Ocean. It is composed of four constituent parts: three constituent countries—England, Scotland, and Wales—on the island of Great Britain, and the province of Northern Ireland on the island of Ireland. The border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland forms the United Kingdom's principal international land border, although there is a nominal frontier with France in the middle of the Channel Tunnel. The UK has several overseas territories and the Crown dependencies of the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands come under the UK's sovereignty. The UK also has close relationships with the fifteen other Commonwealth Realms, as they all share the same head of state. The UK is also one of the largest member states of the European Union and a founding partner of both the UN and NATO.
Terminology

- United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: The official name for the sovereign state
- United Kingdom: an abbreviation of United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
- Britain: an informal term that sometimes means United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and sometimes means Great Britain
- British: an informal term that sometimes means from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and sometimes means from Great Britain
- Great Britain (as a geographical term): the largest island of the British Isles
- Great Britain (as a political term): England + Wales + Scotland
- British Isles (as a geographical term): Great Britain + Ireland + many smaller surrounding islands. This term is disputed, please see below.
- Ireland (as a geographical term): the second largest island of the British Isles
- Ireland (as a political term): an abbreviation of the Republic of Ireland, a sovereign state on the island of Ireland
- Northern Ireland: a political region of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
- Ulster (as a geographical term): Often used to refer to Northern Ireland. It is derived from the Irish Language term 'Ulad.' It was one of the ancient Irish provinces (the others were Connaught, Leinster and Munster.). Although it is normally used to refer to Northern Ireland, Ulster also (traditionally) includes Counties Cavan, Monaghan and Donegal, which lie in the Republic of Ireland. The term Ulster is often favoured by the Protestant community.
History
Protestant Today's state is the latest of several unions formed over the last 1000 years. Scotland and England have existed as separate unified entities since the 10th century. Wales, under English control since the Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284, became part of the Kingdom of England by the Laws in Wales Act 1535. With the Act of Union 1707, the separate kingdoms of England and Scotland, having shared the same monarch since 1603, agreed to a permanent union as the Kingdom of Great Britain. The Act of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain with the Kingdom of Ireland, which had been gradually brought under English control between 1169 and 1691, to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland was formed in 1922, after bitter fighting which echoes down to the current political strife, the Anglo-Irish Treaty partitioned Ireland into the Irish Free State and Northern Ireland, with the latter remaining part of the United Kingdom. As provided for in the treaty, Northern Ireland, which consists of six of the nine counties of the Irish province of Ulster, immediately opted out of the Free State and to remain in the UK. The nomenclature of the UK was changed in 1927 to recognise the departure of most of Ireland, with the current name being adopted. 1927 The United Kingdom, the dominant industrial and maritime power of the 19th century, played a leading role in developing Western world ideas of property, liberty, capitalism and parliamentary democracy - to say nothing of its part in advancing world literature and science. At its zenith, the British Empire stretched over one quarter of the Earth's surface and encompassed a third of its population. The first half of the 20th century saw the UK's strength seriously depleted from the effects of World War I and World War II. The second half witnessed the dismantling of the Empire and the UK rebuilding itself into a modern and prosperous nation. The UK has been a member of the European Union since 1973. Its attitude towards further integration is conservative, and there is significant Euroscepticism in UK politics. It has not chosen to adopt the Euro, owing to internal political considerations and the government's judgement of the prevailing economic conditions.
Government and politics
The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy, with executive power exercised on behalf of the Queen by the Prime Minister and other cabinet ministers who head departments. The cabinet, including the Prime Minister, and other ministers collectively make up Her Majesty's Government. These ministers are drawn from and are responsible to Parliament, the legislative body, which is traditionally considered to be "supreme" (that is, able to legislate on any matter and not bound by decisions of its predecessors). The UK is one of the few countries in the world today that does not have a codified constitution, relying instead on customs and separate pieces of constitutional law. While the monarch is Head of State and holds all executive power, it is the Prime Minister who is the head of government. The government is answerable chiefly to the House of Commons and the Prime Minister is drawn from this chamber of Parliament by constitutional convention. The majority of cabinet members will be from the House of Commons, the rest from the House of Lords. Ministers do not, however, legally have to come from Parliament, though that is the modern day custom. The British system of government has been emulated around the world - a legacy of the United Kingdom's colonial past - most notably in the other Commonwealth Realms. The Prime Minister is chosen as the MP who can command a majority in the House of Commons - usually the leader of the largest party or, if there is no majority party, the largest coalition. The current Prime Minister is Tony Blair of the Labour Party, who has been in office since 1997. In the United Kingdom the monarch has extensive theoretical powers, but his or her role is mainly, though not exclusively, ceremonial. The monarch is an integral part of Parliament (as the "Crown-in-Parliament") and theoretically gives Parliament the power to meet and create legislation. An Act of Parliament does not become law until it has been signed by the Queen (being given Royal Assent), although no monarch has refused to assent to a bill that has been approved by Parliament since Queen Anne in 1708. Although the abolition of the monarchy has been suggested several times, the popularity of the monarchy remains strong in spite of recent controversies. Support for a British republic usually fluctuates between 15% and 25% of the population, with roughly 10% undecided or indifferent [http://www.mori.com/mrr/2000/c000616.shtml]. The current monarch is Queen Elizabeth II who acceded to the throne in 1952 and was crowned in 1953. Parliament is the national legislature of the United Kingdom. It is the ultimate legislative authority in the United Kingdom, according to the doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty. It is bicameral, composed of the elected House of Commons and the unelected House of Lords, whose members are mostly appointed. The House of Commons is the more powerful of the two houses. The House of Commons has 646 members who are directly elected from single-member constituencies based on population. The House of Lords has 724 members (though this number is not fixed): hereditary peers, life peers, and bishops of the Church of England. The Church of England is the established church of the state in England. established church]] The two largest political parties are the Labour Party and Conservative Party. The UK has long had a two-party system, but in the last 20 years the Liberal Democrats have re-emerged as a large third party. The electoral system used for general elections is first-past-the-post. The constitution of the United Kingdom is un-codified and partially unwritten, which means that no single document regulates how the government works, and unwritten constitutional conventions are used extensively. The constitution is based on the principle that Parliament is the ultimate sovereign body in the country. There has long been a widespread sense of national identity in the Celtic nations. Throughout the late 19th century the UK debated giving Ireland home rule. The Scottish National Party was founded in 1934, and Plaid Cymru (Party of Wales) in 1925. Referenda for devolution succeeded in 1997 for Scotland and Wales and in 1998 for Northern Ireland. In 1999, the Scottish Parliament and the National Assembly for Wales were established, the former having primary legislative power. Proportional representation is used for the elections, which has resulted in a Labour-Liberal Democrat coalition government in Scotland. Due to internal disagreements, the Northern Ireland Assembly has been suspended since 2002.
Subdivisions
The United Kingdom is a country that is divided into four constituent parts:
- England
- Scotland
- Northern Ireland
- Wales The constituent parts of the United Kingdom have administrative subdivisions as follows:
- The regions and administrative counties of England
- The council areas of Scotland
- The counties and county boroughs of Wales
- The districts of Northern Ireland The Laws in Wales Act 1535 incorporated Wales and England into England and Wales for legal purposes. Although all four have historically been divided into counties, England's population is an order of magnitude larger than the others so in recent years it has for some purposes been divided into nine intermediate-level Government Office Regions. Each region is made up of counties and unitary authorities, apart from London, which consists of London boroughs. Although at one point it was intended that each or some of these regions would be given its own regional assembly, the plan's future is uncertain, as of 2004, after the North East region rejected its proposed assembly in a referendum. Scotland consists of 32 Council Areas. Wales consists of 22 Unitary Authorities, styled as 10 County Boroughs, 9 Counties, and 3 Cities. Northern Ireland is divided into 26 Districts. Also sometimes associated with the United Kingdom, though not constitutionally part of the United Kingdom itself, are the Crown dependencies (the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey, and the Isle of Man) as self-governing possessions of the Crown, and a number of overseas territories under the sovereignty of the United Kingdom.
Military
The armed forces of the United Kingdom are known as the British Armed Forces or Her Majesty's Armed Forces, officially the Armed Forces of the Crown. Their Commander-in-Chief is the Queen and they are managed by the Ministry of Defence. Ministry of Defence The British Armed Forces are charged with protecting the United Kingdom and its overseas territories, promoting the United Kingdom's wider security interests, and supporting international peacekeeping efforts. They are active and regular participants in NATO and other coalition operations. The United Kingdom fields one of the most powerful and comprehensive military forces in the World. Its global power projection capabilities are second only to those of the United States Armed Forces. The British Army had a reported strength of 112,700 in 2004, including 7,600 women, and the Royal Air Force a strength of 53,400. The 40,900-member Royal Navy is in charge of the United Kingdom's independent strategic nuclear arm, which consists of four Trident Ballistic Missile Submarines, while the Royal Marines provide infantry units for amphibious assault and for specialist reinforcement forces in and beyond the NATO area. This puts total active duty military troops in the 210,000 range, currently deployed in over 80 countries. The UK's special forces, principally the SAS, provides elite commandos trained for quick, mobile, military responses; often where secrecy or covert operations are required. The Royal Navy is the second largest navy in the World in terms of gross tonnage. Despite the United Kingdom's wide ranging capabilities, recent pragmatic defence policy has a stated assumption that any large operation would be undertaken as part of a coalition. Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq (Granby, No-Fly-Zones, Desert Fox and Telic) may all be taken as precedent - indeed the last true war in which the British military fought alone was the Falklands War of 1982, in which military action was initiated by Argentina and the UK was fighting a defensive, rather than offensive, campaign. The British army has been actively involved in the Troubles in Northern Ireland. However, a programme of demilitarisation is being gradually implemented.
Geography
Troubles World Factbook Map of the United Kingdom]] Most of England consists of rolling lowland terrain, divided east from west by more mountainous terrain in the Northwest (Cumbrian Mountains of the Lake District) and north (the upland moors of the Pennines) and limestone hills of the Peak District by the Tees-Exe line. The lower limestone hills of the Isle of Purbeck, Cotswolds, Lincolnshire and chalk downs of the Southern England Chalk Formation. The main rivers and estuaries are the Thames, Severn and the Humber Estuary. The largest urban area is Greater London. Near Dover, the Channel Tunnel links the United Kingdom with France. There is no peak in England that is 1000 metres (3,300 ft) or greater. Wales is mostly mountainous, the highest peak being Snowdon at 1085 metres (3,560 ft) above sea level. North of the mainland is the island of Anglesey. The largest and capital city is Cardiff, located in South Wales. Scotland's geography is varied, with lowlands in the south and east and highlands in the north and west, including Ben Nevis, the UK's highest mountain at 1343 metres (4,406 ft). There are many long and deep-sea arms, firths, and lochs. A multitude of islands west and north of Scotland are also included, notably the Hebrides, Orkney Islands and Shetland Islands. The largest city is Glasgow. Northern Ireland, making up the north-eastern part of Ireland, is mostly hilly. The main cities are Belfast ('Beal Feirste' in Irish) and Londonderry / Derry ('Doire' in Irish). The province is home to one of the UK’s World Heritage Sites, the Giant's Causeway, which consists of more than 40,000 six-sided basalt columns up to 40 feett (12 m) high. In total it is estimated that the UK includes around 1098 small islands, some being natural and some being crannogs, a type of artificial island which was built in past times using stone and wood, gradually enlarged by natural waste building up over time.
Economy
artificial island The United Kingdom, a leading trading power and financial centre, has an essentially capitalist economy, the fourth largest in the world in terms of market exchange rates and the sixth largest by purchasing power parity (PPP) exchange rates. Over the past three decades, the government has greatly reduced public ownership by means of privatisation programmes, and has contained the growth of the Welfare State. Agriculture is intensive, highly mechanised, and efficient by European standards, producing about 60% of food needs with only 1% of the labour force. The UK has large coal, natural gas, and oil reserves; primary energy production accounts for 10% of GDP, one of the highest shares of any industrial state. Services, particularly banking, insurance and business services, account for by far the largest proportion of GDP. Industry continues to decline in importance, although the UK is still Europe's largest manufacturer of armaments, petroleum products, personal computers, televisions, and mobile telephones. Tourism is also important: with over 24 million tourists a year, between China (33) and Austria (19.1), the United Kingdom is ranked as the sixth major tourist destination in the world. The Blair government has put off the question of participation in the Euro system, citing five economic tests that would need to be met before they recommend that the UK adopts the Euro, and hold a referendum.
Society

Demographics
At the April 2001 census, the United Kingdom's population was 58,789,194, the third-largest in the European Union (behind Germany and metropolitan France) and the twenty-first largest in the world. Its overall population density is one of the highest in the world. Almost one-third of the population lives in England's prosperous south-east and is predominantly urban and suburban--with about 7.2 million in the capital of London. The United Kingdom's high literacy rate (99%) is attributable to universal public education introduced for the primary level in 1870 and secondary level in 1900 (except in Scotland where it was introduced in 1696). Education is mandatory from ages five through sixteen. referendum The Church of England and the Church of Scotland function as the official national religions in their respective countries, but most religions found in the world are represented in the United Kingdom. Anglicanism is the state religion that has been established in England since 1534 during the reign of King Henry VIII. During his reign, England broke ties with the Roman Catholic church and established the Church of England as the offical religion of England. Reforms to the nature of the church's relationship to the state have been ongoing, especially concerning the nature of the House of Lords and the appointment of a fixed amount of the lordships going to Lords Temporal, bishops of the Church of England. A group of islands close to continental Europe, the British Isles have been subject to many invasions and migrations, especially from Scandinavia and the continent, including Roman occupation for several centuries. Contemporary Britons are descended mainly from the varied ethnic stocks that settled there before the eleventh century. The pre-Celtic, Celtic, Roman, Anglo-Saxon, and Norse influences were blended on Great Britain under the Normans, Scandinavian Vikings who had lived in Northern France. Although Celtic languages persist in Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, the predominant language is English, which is a West Germanic language descended from Old English, featuring a large amount of borrowings from Norman French.The other indigenous languages include the Celtic languages; Welsh, the closely related Irish and Scots Gaelic, and the Cornish language; as well as Lowland Scots, which is closely related to English; Romany; and British Sign Language (Northern Ireland Sign Language is also used in Northern Ireland). Celtic dialectal influences from Cumbric persisted in Northern England for many centuries, most famously in a unique set of numbers used for counting sheep. Recent immigrants, especially from the Commonwealth, speak many other languages, including Bengali, Cantonese, Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu. The United Kingdom has the largest number of Hindi speaking peoples outside of the Indian sub continent.
Culture
Urdu The United Kingdom contains many of the world's leading universities, including the University of Cambridge, the University of Oxford and the University of London (which incorporates, amongst others, Imperial College and University College London), and has produced many great scientists and engineers including Sir Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin and Isambard Kingdom Brunel; the nation is credited with many inventions including the locomotive, vaccination, television, vacuum, and both the internal combustion and the jet engine. The English language has spread to all corners of the world (primarily because of the country’s empire) and is referred to as a ‘global language’. It is now taught as a second language more than any other around the world. Over the next few decades, it is estimated that approximately half the world’s population will be proficient in the language. Playwright William Shakespeare is arguably the most famous writer in the history of the English language; other well-known writers from the United Kingdom include the Brontë sisters (Charlotte, Emily, and Anne), Jane Austen, William Thackeray, J. R. R. Tolkien, John Milton, H. G. Wells and Charles Dickens. Important poets include Lord Byron, Robert Burns, Lord Tennyson and William Blake. Notable composers from the United Kingdom have included William Byrd, John Taverner, William Lawes, John Dowland, Thomas Tallis, and Henry Purcell from the 16th and early 17th centuries, and, more recently, Sir Edward Elgar, Sir Arthur Sullivan (most famous for working with librettist Sir W. S. Gilbert), Ralph Vaughan Williams and Benjamin Britten in the 19th and 20th. George Frideric Handel spent most of his composing life in England. The BBC is the oldest and perhaps the most respected broadcasting network on the globe, with the BBC World Service radio channel and its news output held in particularly high regard. The other main television networks are ITV, Channel 4, five (TV) and Sky Television. Popular programmes in the UK include the three soaps Eastenders, Coronation Street and Emmerdale, as well as the comedy news quiz Have I Got News For You and Reality TV shows Big Brother and The X Factor. Various British TV formats have been exported to other nations, notably Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, The Weakest Link and The Office. The UK was, with the US, one of the two main contributors in the development of rock and roll, and the UK has provided some of the most famous rock stars, including the Beatles, Queen, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, the Rolling Stones, The Who and many others. The UK was at the forefront of punk rock music in the 1970s with bands such as the Sex Pistols and The Clash, and the subsequent rebirth of heavy metal with bands such as Motörhead and Iron Maiden. In mid to late '90s, the Britpop phenomenon has seen bands such as Oasis, Blur, Radiohead and Coldplay gain international fame. The UK is also at the forefront of electronica, with British artists such as Aphex Twin, Talvin Singh, Nitin Sawhney and Lamb at the cutting edge. The United Kingdom was also associated with music from the Caribbean, with a large number of Jamaicans and other Caribbean nationals being present in the UK.
Sport
A great number of major sports originated in the United Kingdom, including football, golf, cricket, rugby, tennis and boxing. The national sport of the UK is association football, but the UK does not compete as a nation in any major football tournament. Instead, the home nations compete individually as England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. It is because of this unique four-team arrangement that the UK currently does not compete in football events at the Olympic Games. However, a united team will probably take part in the 2012 Summer Olympic Games, as these are hosted in London. The English and Northern Irish football associations have confirmed participation in this team while the Scottish FA and the Welsh FA have declined to participate. The UK also hosts many world-renowned football clubs, such as Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal in England and Rangers and Celtic in Scotland. Clubs compete in national leagues and competitions and some go on to compete in European competitions. Both forms of rugby are national sports. Rugby League originates from and is generally played in the North of England, whilst Rugby Union is played all over Britain. In Rugby League the UK plays as one nation - Great Britain - whilst in union it is represented by the four nations. England are the current holders of the Rugby Union World Cup. Every four years the British and Irish Lions (comprising the best players from England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland) tour other countries. Cricket is also played in the UK, although it is focussed in England. The Wimbledon Championships are an international tennis event held in Wimbledon in south London every summer and are seen as the most prestigious of the tennis calendar. Golf is one of the most popular participation sports played in the UK and St Andrews in Scotland is the sport's home course.
Miscellaneous topics

External links

- [http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/state/nations/ BBC Nations] History of the nations within the UK.
- [http://www.bbc.co.uk British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)]
- [http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/uk.html CIA World Factbook: UK.]
- [http://www.direct.gov.uk Gateway to UK governmental services and websites.]
- [http://www.number-10.gov.uk Number 10 Downing Street]
- [http://www.statistics.gov.uk Office of National Statistics]
- [http://www.opsi.gov.uk Office of Public Sector Information] Source for all UK legislation 1987-present (successor to Her Majesty's Stationery Office).
- [http://www.macs.hw.ac.uk/britishisles/ The British Isles] Independent view of the UK.
- [http://www.royal.gov.uk The British Monarchy]
- [http://www.parliament.uk/ The United Kingdom Parliament]
- [http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=5703&Pos=&ColRank=1&Rank=272 Official Yearbook of the UK] factbook produced by the Office for National Statistics (years 2000 to 2005 available online).
- [http://www.ukcities.co.uk UK Cities] lists a variety of useful resources for every city in the UK.
- [http://www.justuk.org UK travel guide] United Kingdom for travellers.
- [http://www.world66.com/europe/unitedkingdom World66 Guide to United Kingdom] A travel guide written by its users.
- [http://www.multimap.co.uk www.multimap.co.uk] provides online maps and aerial photographs of the UK.
- [http://www.streetmap.co.uk www.streetmap.co.uk] an alternative to multimap.
- [http://www.freeworldmaps.net/europe/united-kingdom/map.html Physical map of United Kingdom.]
- [http://www.upmystreet.com www.upmystreet.com] detailed localised information about places in the United Kingdom.
- [http://www.parks.it/world/UK/Eindex.html UK Parks] National parks, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and other protected areas. ----
Category:British Isles Category:European countries Category:European Union member states Category:Members of the Commonwealth of Nations Category:Monarchies A als:Grossbritannien und Nordirland zh-min-nan:Liân-ha̍p Ông-kok ko:영국 ms:United Kingdom ja:イギリス simple:United Kingdom th:สหราชอาณาจักร

Court

:This article is about courts of law. For alternative meanings see: court (disambiguation). A court is an official, public forum which a sovereign establishes by lawful authority to adjudicate disputes, and to dispense civil, labour, administrative and criminal justice under the law. In common law countries, the courts are the central means for dispute resolution, and it is generally understood that all persons have a right to bring their claims before a court. Similarly, those accused of a crime have the right to present their defenses before a court.

Types of courts

Some courts may function with a jury that make decisions about the facts before the court under the direction of the judge. In other courts, decisions of both fact and law are made by the judge or judges; this is particularly common in appellate courts (where juries are rarely found in most jurisdictions). Juries are far less common in courts outside the Anglo-American common law tradition. The extent of a court's power (authority) to hear the various matters which come before its "jurisdiction" – may stem from a provision of a written constitution, from an enabling statute, or, for example in English law, it may be inherent, deriving from the common-law origin of the court.

Civil law courts and common law courts

The two major models for courts are the civil law courts and the common law courts. Civil law courts are based upon the judicial system in France, while the common law courts are based on the judicial system in Great Britain. In most civil law jurisdictions, courts function under an inquisitorial system. In the common law-system most courts follow the adversarial system. Procedural law governs the rules by which courts operate: civil procedure for private disputes (for example); and criminal procedure for violation of the criminal law.

Operations

Most courts conduct their official business in a courtroom, a physical space designed to accommodate the purposes of having arguments and evidence presented before a judge and, if applicable, a jury. Sometimes, multiple courtrooms are located in a specialized building called a courthouse. Both uni-personal and pluri-personal courts exist. The various matters which come before a pluri-personal court usually come into the ambit of a particular judge, or of a judicial officer (such as a court commissioner) serving in the capacity of a judge pro tem. Every court has a presiding judge and may have one or more other judges and/or judicial officers assigned to various court departments.

Tribunal

See arbitration. http://thefreedictionary.com/tribunal

External links

- [http://www.courttv.com/sitemap/ Court TV] (coverage of major US trials)
- [http://news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/jacko/camj11204mediaord.pdf Example of order on media request to permit coverage, with possible reasons for and against, and possible conditions] Category:Court systems ja:裁判所

Evidence (law)

The law of evidence governs the use of testimony (eg. oral or written statements, such as an affidavit) and exhibits (eg. physical objects) or other documentary material which is admissible (ie. allowed to be considered by the trier of fact, such as jury) in a judicial or administrative proceeding (eg. a court of law).

Relevance and related social policy concerns

In every jurisdiction, evidence must conform to a number of rules and restrictions in order to be admissible. Evidence must be relevant - that is, it must have a propensity to show that a fact at issue in the proceeding is more or less likely. In common law jurisdictions, relevant evidence may still be excluded if it is unfairly prejudicial, confusing, or cumulative. Social policies also operate to exclude relevant evidence. For example, many jurisdictions prohibit the introduction of evidence of liability insurance, subsequent remedial measures, settlement offers in civil trials, or plea negotiations in criminal trials, because courts do not wish to discourage parties from carrying insurance, fixing hazardous conditions, offering to settle, or pleading guilty to crimes.

Authentication

Certain kinds of evidence, such as documentary evidence, may be subject to further restrictions such as the best evidence rule, which requires certain documents to be produced unless they can shown to be unavailable.

Witnesses

In common law systems, all evidence must be introduced by or through a witness, who has been sworn under oath. The law of evidence governs the direct examination and cross-examination of witnesses, as well as the various issues of privileges and competence. A privilege, in the law of evidence, refers to a situation where persons can refuse to testify based on the confidential relationship in which the communication took place. The most commonly invoked are the spousal privilege, attorney-client privilege, doctor-patient privilege, and priest-penitent privilege, although various jurisdictions recognize other such privileges. Competence covers situations where persons can be prohibited from testifying based on their status, irrespective of any expectation of confidentiality within the relationship. For example, a lay person is not competent to testify on matters that require an expert witness; neither a judge nor a juror is competent to testify in a trial in which they have served in that capacity; and in jurisdictions with a dead man statute, a person is deemed not competent to testify as to statements of a deceased opposing party.

Hearsay

Hearsay is one of the largest and most complex areas of the law of evidence. The underlying rule can be stated briefly - that a statement made by a declarant out of court, and therefore not under oath or subject to cross-examination, should not be admissible as evidence of the truth of that statement. However, under both the Federal Rules of Evidence and the laws of various jurisdictions, there are dozens of exclusions and exceptions to the hearsay rule, some of which hinge on the availability of the declarant.

Burdens of proof

Different types of proceedings require parties to meet different burdens of proof, the typical examples being reasonable doubt, clear and convincing, and preponderance of the evidence. Many jurisdictions have burden-shifting provisions, which require that if one party produces evidence tending to prove a certain point, the burden shifts to the other party to produce superior evidence tending to disprove it. One special category of information in this area includes things of which the court may take judicial notice. This category covers matters that are so well known that the court may deem them proven without the introduction of any evidence. For example, if a defendant is alleged to have illegally transported goods across a state line by driving them from Boston to Los Angeles, the court may take judicial notice of the fact that it is impossible to drive from Boston to Los Angeles without crossing a number of state lines. In a civil case, where the court takes judicial notice of the fact, that fact is deemed conclusively proven. In a criminal case, however, the defense may always submit evidence to rebut a point for which judicial notice has been taken.

Evidentiary rules stemming from other areas of law

Some rules that affect the admissibility of evidence are nonetheless considered to belong to other areas of law. These include the exclusionary rule of criminal procedure, which prohibits the admission in a criminal trial of evidence gained by unconstitutional means, and the parol evidence rule of contract law, which prohibits the admission of extrinsic evidence of the contents of a written contract.

Evidence as an area of study

Because of its importance to the practice of law, all American law schools offer a course in evidence, and most require the subject either as a first year class, or as an upper-level class, or as a prerequisite to later courses. Furthermore, evidence is heavily tested on the Multistate Bar Examination - of the 200 multiple choice questions asked in that test, approximately one sixth will be in the area of evidence. Among Evidence scholars, the study of evidence in recent decades has become broadly interdisciplinary, incorporating insights from psychology, feminism, economics, and probability theory. One area of particular interest and controversy has been Bayes' Theorem. Bayes’ Theorem is an elementary proposition of probability theory. It provides a way of updating, in light of new information, one’s prior estimate of the probability that a proposition is true. Evidence scholars been interested in its application to their field, either to study the value of rules of evidence or to help determine facts at trial. Suppose, for example, that the proposition to be proven is that defendant was the source of a hair found at the crime scene. Before learning that the hair was a genetic match for the defendant’s hair, the factfinder believes that the odds are 2 to 1 that the defendant was the source of the hair. If she used Bayes’ Theorem, she could multiply those prior odds by a “likelihood ratio” in order to update her odds after learning that the hair matched the defendant’s hair. The likelihood ratio is a statistic derived by comparing the odds that the evidence (expert testimony of a match) would be found if the defendant was the source with the odds that it would be found if defendant was not the source. If it is ten times more likely that the testimony of a match would occur if the defendant was the source than if not, then the factfinder should multiply her prior odds by ten, giving posterior odds of 20 to one. Bayesian skeptics have objected to this use of Bayes’ Theorem in litigation on a variety of grounds. These run from jury confusion and computational complexity to the assertion that standard probability theory is not a normatively satisfactory basis for adjudication of rights. Bayesian enthusiasts have replied on two fronts. First, they have said that whatever its value in litigation, Bayes’ Theorem is valuable in studying evidence rules. For example, it can be used to model relevance. It teaches that the relevance of evidence that a proposition is true depends on how much the evidence changes the prior odds, and that how much it changes the prior odds depends on how likely the evidence would be found (or not) if the proposition were true. These basic insights are also useful in studying individual evidence rules, such as the rule allowing witnesses to be impeached with prior convictions. Second, they have said that it is practical to use Bayes' theorem in a limited set of circumstances in litigation (such as integrating genetic match evidence with other evidence), and that assertions that probability theory is inappropriate for judicial determinations are nonsensical or inconsistent. In recent years, the debate has become stagnant. The parties have been talking past each other, and not much is happening at the high-theory level. The most interesting work is in the empirical study of the efficacy of instructions on Bayes’ Theorem in improving jury accuracy.

Patent

:This article relates to the intellectual property right. A land grant is also called a patent. A patent is a set of exclusive rights granted by a state to a person for a fixed period of time in exchange for the regulated, public disclosure of certain details of a device, method, process or composition of matter (substance) (known as an invention) which is new, inventive and useful. The exclusive right granted a patentee is the right to prevent others from making, using, selling, offering to sell or importing the claimed invention, not the right to make, use, or sell the invention themselves. The patentee may have to comply with other laws and regulations to make use of the claimed invention. So, for example, a pharmaceutical company may obtain a patent on a new drug but will be unable to market the drug without regulatory approval. The term "patent" originates from the Latin word patere which means "to lay open" (ie. make available for public inspection) and the term letters patent, which originally denoted royal decrees granting exclusive rights to certain individuals or businesses.

Economic rationale and criticisms

There are two primary justifications for granting patents. First, in accordance with the original definition of the term "patent," it is argued that awarding patents facilitates and encourages disclosure of innovations into the public domain for the common good. Without patents, an inventor may prefer to keep his invention a secret. Disclosure of an invention allows other inventors to improve upon it and patent their improvements. Furthermore, when a patent's term has expired, the public record ensures that the patentee's idea is not lost to mankind. Second, it is broadly believed that patents incentivise economically-efficient research and development (R&D). Many corporations have annual R&D budgets of hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars. In a society without patents, it is conceivable that each corporation would lower or eliminate R&D spending, because each could reap what another had sown. This second justification closely parallels fundamental arguments underlying traditional property rights--who would build a house if another could freely occupy it? However, there are arguments in opposition to patent rights. Most fundamentally, granting a patent confers a monopoly of sorts upon an owner, because he may legally exclude competitors from using or exploiting the invention (though strictly speaking, the word "monopoly" requires that there is no viable alternative in the marketplace). In this way, patent rights differ from traditional property rights--building a house does not prevent one's neighbor from building a house, but patenting an invention bars anyone in the country of filing from producing the invention for the term of the patent. Indeed, patents have historically been granted by sovereigns to non-inventing parties in favor merely so they could profit from monopoly power. The stifling of competition due to patent rights may result in higher prices, lower quality, and shortages--characteristic problems with monopolies. Historically, countries with effective patent regimes have experienced greater economic growth and technological advances than countries where intellectual property is not protected by law. But in such countries there are many problems with the difference between rich and poor classes. People from poor classes often have no ability to initiate new business. Furthermore, industry specific experiences differ. For example, the mid-19th century dyestuffs industry faltered in Britain despite patent protections and flourished in Germany despite the absence of such protections. A more subtle problem with patent rights was put forth by law professors Michael Heller and Rebecca Eisenberg in a 1998 Science article. Building from Heller's theory of the tragedy of the anticommons, the professors postulated that useful innovations that build on earlier patented inventions can be inhibited by the high transaction costs from negotiating with the earlier patentees. According to Heller and Eisenberg, intellectual property rights may become so widely fragmented that, effectively, no one can take advantage of them. As one potential example, the professors identify therapeutic proteins and genetic diagnostic tests that would require the use of numerous patented gene fragments. In analogy to traditional property rights, it would be as if six different parties owned a house's two bedrooms, living room, kitchen, dining room, and bathroom--the utility of the house would be wasted until the parties could either negotiate an arrangement in which some or all of the parties were free to use each other's areas of the house or one party acquired ownership of the entirety of the house. Because of the difficulty in balancing the benefits and drawbacks of patent grants, there is ongoing debate over the extent to which patents should be conferred. This controversy is manifested in the ways different jurisdictions decide whether to grant patents. But recent years have seen a global embrace and augmentation of the scope of patents, as evidenced by the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs). One interesting side effect of modern day patent usage is that the small-time inventor can use the monopoly status to become a licensor. This allows the inventor to accumulate capital quickly from just licensing and may allow rapid innovation to occur because he/she may choose to not manage a manufacturing buildup for the invention. Thus, time and energy can be spent on pure innovation and allow others concentrate on manufacturability.

Legal implementation

A modern patent provides the right to exclude others from making, using, selling, offering for sale, or importing the patented invention. Generally, patents are enforced only through civil lawsuits. Patent licensing agreements are effectively contracts in which the patent owner (the licensor) agrees not to sue the licensee for infringement of the licensor's patent rights. Governments typically reserve the right to suspend or cancel a patent at will. A patent application, for a utility patent in the United States (as opposed to a design patent), must explain how to work (i.e., make and/or use) the invention(s) and must also include claims that particularly point out the invention(s) and define the scope of the subject matter for which exclusive rights are sought by the patent applicant. The exclusive rights are limited to the subject matter encompassed by the patent's claims. Patent claims are typically of the form of a long noun phrase, e.g.:
- "An apparatus for catching mice, comprising a base member for placement on a flat surface, a spring member..."
- "A chemical for cleaning windows, comprising approximately 10–15% ammonia, ..."
- "A method for computing future life expectancies, the method comprising gathering personal data including X, Y, Z, ..." Each word of a claim is considered an "element" or "limitation" of the claim. In order to exclude someone from using your patented invention in a court, you will have to demonstrate to the court that what the other person is using is included within the scope of at least one claim of the patent. For this reason, it is more valuable to obtain patent claims that include the absolute minimal set of limitations that differentiate a new invention over what came before. While the United States is moving towards more rigid claim interpretations, "equivalents" of claim elements or limitations may be permitted in determining patent infringement. The practice elsewhere in the world differs.

Example

If an inventor takes an existing patented mouse trap design, adds a new feature to make an improved mouse trap, and obtains a patent on the improvement, he or she can legally build his or her improved mouse trap only with permission from the patent holder of the original mouse trap, assuming the original patent is still in force. On the other hand, the owner of the improved mouse trap can exclude the original patent owner from using the improvement. Under these circumstances, patent owners sometimes engage in cross-licensing agreements.

Governing laws

Although patents are fundamentally territorial in their nature, there are currently a number of significant international treaties governing some important aspects of patent law. The most universal of these is the WTO TRIPs Agreement, to which almost all countries are a party. The United States, the countries of the European Union, and Japan, are parties to all of the significant treaties. This has led to significant harmonization of patent law worldwide, particularly in the last decade of the 20th century and continuing into the 21st. Despite recent harmonization, the United States patent laws are unique in several significant respects. The biggest difference is that, if two people apply for a patent on the same invention, the US system awards the patent to the "first to invent", whereas in the rest of the world the "first to file" is awarded the patent. A contest between different inventors over priority is called "interferences". Another unique aspect of U.S. patent law is that an inventor has a one-year grace period after publication or sale to file a patent application, whereas in most other countries patent rights are lost if an application is not on file when a public disclosure, publication or sale takes place. As mentioned above, patents are territorial in nature. Thus, to obtain patents in multiple countries it is required to separately file patent applications in each country, or region, where a patent is sought. The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), however, allows applicants to initially file a single international application, which later can be entered into separate countries or regions. Similarly, within Europe, a single patent application procedure is available through the European Patent Office, but successful applications result in multiple patents (up to 36) rather than a single European-wide patent. Such a European-wide unitary patent, or "community patent", has been the subject of discussion at the EU level since the 1970s, with no result so far. Many of the international treaties are designed to afford some recognition of filing dates to patent applications previously filed in another country. In this respect, the most important treaty is the Paris Convention, dating back to 1883. Typically, inventors are allowed one year (the priority year) from the date of their filing (in a first country) to file the application in other countries. The authority for patent statutes in different countries varies. In the United States, the Patent and Trademark Office gets its authority from statutes in Title 35 of the United States Code, which in turn is based on Article One, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution.

Patent prosecution

Typically, an application for a patent is prepared by a professional agent known as a patent attorney or patent agent, who files the application with a patent office. The person applying for a patent generally does not need to be the inventor who created or authored the invention. However, in the United States a patent application must be filed in the name of the actual inventor or inventors, although the application can be assigned to another party, such as the employer of the inventor. At the patent office an examiner will consider the invention's patentability and whether it is otherwise eligible for grant. The entire legal process of examination and obtaining grant is called patent prosecution. Some countries do not formally review patent applications while others accept the determination of other patent offices. For example, some smaller countries, such as Belgium and the Netherlands grant a patent almost automatically or with minimal examination. This may be contrasted with the strict requirements of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Japanese Patent Office and the European Patent Office. The patent prosecution process typically involves: # Filing a patent application by inventor or applicant. # Formalizing of application (signatures by inventors or applicant), often filed at the same time as the application. # Establishing of a prior art search report by the patent office. # Publication at 18 months from earliest claimed filing date. US applicants can request non-publication if the application is not filed outside the United States. # Review by the examiner or the Examining Division, including communication with applicant to modify the claim language, if needed. # Grant of the patent (if it the patentability criteria are met) and publication of the issued patent. # Opposition period, during which anybody (e.g., other companies) can challenge the patent grant. This is not applicable for the US where other procedures are available, namely the reissue and reexamination procedure. In several countries, oppositions can be filed before the grant of the patent. The specifics of the examination process include: # Verifying that claims are for a patentable subject matter. # Ensuring unity of invention, since each patent application can only be for one invention (called "restriction" practice in the United States). # Formalities. Ensure that the drawings, description, and claims meet all formal requirements. # Utility or industrial applicability. # Novelty (newness) # Non-obviousness or inventive step. Different patent systems use different terms and different standards for these concepts, of which the most important probably are: patentable subject matter, novelty, non-obviousness and sufficient disclosure.

Patentable subject matter

The standard for what is patentable subject matter in the United States is "anything under the sun made by man" that is new (novel), useful, and non-obvious. Similar standards for patentability apply in Japan. Higher standards exist under the European Patent Convention (EPC), where for example computer programs as such are not patentable. Under US law, a claimed invention is deemed useful if, at the time of filing, it is capable of providing some identifiable benefit (to a person of ordinary skill in the art of the invention). The benefit must be specific, substantial, and practical. Generally speaking, there are three broad categories of patentable subject matter: processes, machines and articles of manufacture and use. A process could be a method for making something, a method for using something, or a method for doing something. Processes include business methods, most software, medical techniques, sports techniques and the like. Machines include devices and apparatuses. Articles of manufacture include mechanical devices, electrical/electronic devices and compositions of matter such as chemicals, medicines, DNA, RNA, etc. However, laws of nature, physical phenomena, and abstract ideas are not patentable. Software inventions implementing algorithms are not patentable for this reason unless it produces a "useful, concrete, and tangible result" (US law) or technical effect (European law). The US standard for the patentability of software is more liberal than that in Europe. Japanese patent law lies between the US and Europe. The patentability of software (and business methods) is quite controversial from a global perspective. Case law in the United States permits patents for software and business methods. Yet computer programs as such are not patentable in Europe, although some inventions that use software can be patented in Europe. Patents related to natural compounds (e.g. items found in rainforests) as well as medicines, medical treatment techniques, and genetic sequences are also controversial. There are significant country-by-country differences in handling these subject matters. For example, in the United States you can get a patent for a surgical method but you cannot exclude physicians from performing the surgical method.

Novelty

Novelty relates to whether something existed before its invention by the applicant or was disclosed to the public before the patent application's filing date. For public disclosures of the invention by the inventor, the United States and Canada permit a one year grace period, but most other countries provide no grace period, instead requiring "absolute novelty". An invention is not novel if there is a previously existing or disclosed device or process that includes all of the elements of the claimed invention. Identifying such "prior art" by the patent examiner is accomplished by a search of literature (technical journals, published patent applications and issued patents, etc.) that predate the filing date of the particular patent application.

Inventive step and non-obviousness

prior art Even if an applicant's claim for an invention is novel (i.e. not taught by a single prior art reference), a patent can still be denied to the applicant if the claimed subject matter would have been obvious to someone else skilled in the technical field of the invention. The purpose of forbidding patents on obvious technologies is to prevent a person from obtaining exclusive rights to what is effectively already in the possession of the public, even if documentation of the exact form of the applicant's embodiment happens to be lacking. Accordingly, obviousness asks the question whether all previously known technology related to the invention would teach a "person having ordinary skill in the art", e.g. someone who does the type of things relating to the technical field of the invention, how to make the invention. Many patent applications in the United States, Europe and Japan are initially rejected as being obvious. The standard of obviousness and its application are more subjective and controversial than that of novelty. If the requirements are set very high, virtually nothing is patentable. Similarly if the requirements are very low, all kinds of trivial inventions can receive patents. Generally, the patent laws make it difficult for patent examiners to employ hindsight reasoning in rejecting a claim as obvious, by requiring some teaching that would motivate a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the technology found in the prior to arrive at the claimed invention. In the United States, objective evidence or secondary considerations of non-obviousness can overcome a proper obviousness rejection. Such secondary considerations can include unexpected results, commercial success, long-felt need, failure of others, copying by others, licensing, and skepticism of experts. As a practical matter, during examination the patent examiner will attempt to locate two or more references that when combined show all of the features of the claimed invention and indicate that one of ordinary skill would make that combination. The threshold for the obviousness or inventive step standard can be particularly ambiguous in genus-species situations. For example, if an inventor finds two species of a particular genus, e.g. two particular chemical compositions out of 10,000 in the broader genus, should the inventor be entitled to a patent on the entire genus? Further, if someone has discovered the genus already, but not isolated any of the species, are the species obvious in light of the genus? Under US law, the species may still be patentable if they produce results that are unexpectedly different from those of other previously known members of the genus. For example, suppose a software inventor unveils the quicksort sorting algorithm to the world but only discloses it using integers (this is the species). Can someone else then obtain a patent on an "improved" quicksort suitable for use on any partially ordered set (this is the genus)? Under US law, this is not a question of obviousness since a claim to the genus lacks novelty as the species is known. Finally, in spite of all precautions, some patents still give a general impression of triviality. An example is given by the "combover" patent (, filed December 1975), which has also been awarded the 2004 Ig Nobel Prize in engineering for its apparently unintentional ridiculousness.

Term of patent

As TRIPS agreement declares, the maximum term of an issued patent is 20 years from earliest claimed filing date. In the United States, for applications filed after to June 8, 1995, the patent term is 20 years from the earliest claimed filing date (see also: Term of patent in the United States). Also, in several countries there are multiple types of patents, and the 20 year term frequently only applies to utility patents and not design, petit, or other kinds of less heavily examined patents. For example, the term of a U.S. design patent, which covers the ornamental shape of objects, lasts 14 years from its issue date.

Example

If the better mousetrap patent is filed on January 1, 1996 and is issued or granted on January 1, 2000, it will lapse twenty years from filing: January 1, 2016. However, if the inventor comes up with a second improvement and claims priority to her first patent when filing the second patent on January 1, 1998, that second patent, after grant, would lapse 20 years from the earliest claimed priority: January 1, 2016.

Miscellaneous

While a patent grants an exclusive right on the invention claimed, many national laws provide for special rules on granting compulsory license to requesting third parties when the invention is not put into practice within a specified amount of time or is put into practice in a manner that is deemed to be insufficient for the needs of the country. The licensee must pay reasonable compensation, to be fixed by an independent tribunal if not agreed. In practice, obtaining a compulsory license is not easy. Secrecy provisions are also present in many national laws in case the invention for which a patent is filed is deemed to have military interest. A patent might also be seized by the State under grounds of public utility. This is akin to the state's power of eminent domain. Again, as for compulsory licensing, an obligation to pay reasonable compensation, to be fixed by an independent tribunal if not agreed, is invariably provided. For example, during the 2001 anthrax attacks, it was rumoured that the US had considered seizing the patent on the Cipro antibiotic from the Bayer Corporation. However, the anthrax attacks did not continue and the patent was not seized. The World Trade Organization Agreement 1994 imposes restrictions on both compulsory licensing and seizure (TRIPs Agreement, article 31).

History of patents

Bayer Corporation Although there is evidence suggesting that something like patents was used among some ancient Greek cities, patents in the modern sense originated in Italy. The first patent law was a Venetian Statute of 1474 in which the Republic of Venice issued a decree by which new and inventive devices, once they had been put into practice, had to be communicated to the Republic in order to obtain legal protection against potential infringers. England followed with the Statute of Monopolies in 1623 under King James I. Prior to this time, the crown would issue letters patent providing any person with a "monopoly" to produce particular goods or provide particular services. The first of them was granted by Henry VI in 1449 to a Flemish man a 20 year monopoly on the manufacture of stained glass. This was the start of a long tradition by the English Crown of the granting of "letters patent" (meaning 'open letter', as opposed to a letter under seal) which granted "monopolies" to favoured persons (or people who were prepared to pay for them). This became increasingly open to abuse as the Crown granted patents in respect of all sorts of known goods (salt, for example). This power, which was to raise money for the crown, was widely abused, and court began to limit the circumstances in which they could be granted. After public outcry, James I was forced to revoke all existing monopolies and declare that they were only to be used for 'projects of new invention'. This was incorporated into the Statute of Monopolies in which Parliament restricted the crown's power explicitly so that the King could only issue letters patents to the inventors or introducers of original inventions for a fixed number of years. In the reign of Queen Anne the rules were changed again so that a written description of the article was given. Section 6 of the Statute refers to "manner[s] of new manufacture... [by] inventors", and this section remains the foundation for patent law in New Zealand and Australia. The Statute of Monopolies was later developed by the courts to produce modern patent law; this innovation was soon adopted by other countries. The Patent Commission of the U.S. was created in 1790. Its first three members were Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of War Henry Knox, and Attorney General Edmund Randolph. On July 31, 1790 inventor Samuel Hopkins of Pittsford, Vermont became the first person to be issued a patent in the United States. His patented invention was an improvement in the "making of Pot Ash by a new apparatus & process". The earliest patent law required that a working model of each invention be produced in miniature. The Patent Law was revised for the first time in 1793. It adopted a simple registration system where a patent would be granted for a $30 fee. The Patent Board was replaced by a clerk in the Department of State. James Madison, Secretary of State, created a separate Patent Office within the State Department and he appointed Dr. William Thornton as its first superintendent in May 1802. On May 5th, 1809 Mary Dixon Kies became the first woman to be awarded a U.S. patent. Later, in 1810, the Patent Office moved from the Department of State to Blodgetts Hotel. In the same year, they opened the patent model storage to the general public. The first 10,000 patents issued by the USPTO from July 1790 to July 1836 were destroyed in a fire in December 1836. About 2800 of them were later recovered, but the majority of them are still missing. The recovered patents are now called X-Patents because their patent numbers end with an "X."

Patent models

One of the most interesting early features of the U.S. patent system was the requirement of patent models. A patent model was a scratch-built miniature model no larger than 12" by 12" that showed how the patent works. Since most early inventors were ordinary people without technological or legal training, it was difficult for them to submit formal patent applications, due to the required small-scale models. However, to some degree, it was beneficial for these amateur inventors to submit a model. This is because their inventions might not be fully comprehended otherwise. Patent models were required since 1790. The Congress of the U.S. abolished the legal requirement for them in 1870. The U.S. Patent Office kept this requirement until 1880. However, some inventors still willingly submitted models at the turn of the 20th century. A working model, or other physical exhibit, may be required by the U.S. patent office if deemed necessary. This is not done very often. A working model may be requested in the case of applications for patent for alleged perpetual motion devices (Source: USPTO web site).

External links

- [http://www.legalmatch.com/law-library/article/patents.html LegalMatch] Patent Legal Resource
- [http://www.ipfrontline.com/ IPFrontline™] PatentCafe's Intellectual Property & Technology Magazine
- [http://www.inventorfraud.com/ National Inventor Fraud Center] - Information about the invention process and invention marketing companies.
- [http://www.patentlawportal.com Patent Law Portal] - Patent Law News, Articles and Resouces
- [http://www.ipnewsflash.com IP Newsflash recent case law and developments regarding patents]

Patent Office Web sites and other regional info

- [http://www.ipaustralia.gov.au/ IP Australia] incorporates the Patent, Designs and Trade Marks offices
- [http://www.uspto.gov U.S. Patent and Trademark Office]
- [http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/sc_mrksv/cipo/ Canadian Intellectual Property Office]
- [http://patents1.ic.gc.ca/ Canadian Patents Database]
- [http://www.jpo.go.jp/ Japan Patent Office]
- [http://www.kipo.go.kr/kpo/ Korean Intellectual Property Office]
- European Patent Office
- [http://gb.espacenet.com/ European Network of Patent Databases]
- [http://www.patent.gov.uk/ UK Patent Office]
- [http://www.nkpal.com/ipr/ NKPAL's IPRs Division] - IPRs information and Patent filing in India.
- [http://www.wipo.int/ World Intellectual Property Organisation]
- [http://www.info-brevetti.org/ Innovation and patent information in Italy]

Patent organizations

- [http://www.pubpat.org/index.html The Public Patent Foundation] PUBPAT Represents the Public's Interests Against Wrongly Issued Patents and Unsound Patent Policy
- [http://www.ipo.org Intellectual Property Owners Association]

Patent searches and downloads

- [http://www.GetThePatent.com GetThePatent.com] - Online patent search database offering instantaneous access to complete multi-page USPTO, EPO, WIPO (PCT), British, French, German, Japanese, and Swiss patent documents received via your printer, email, or web browser.
- [http://www.braindex.com/patent_pdf/ Free US and Worldwide Patent PDFs] - Download patents for free.
- [http://www.pat2pdf.org pat2pdf.org] - Free lookup and download of U.S. patents in PDF form
- [http://www.freepatentsonline.com FreePatentsOnline.com] - Free US and international patent searching database, PDF downloading, list of funny patents.
- [http://nip.blogs.com/patent/2004/09/guide_to_downlo.html The Guide to Downloading Copies of Patents from Internet]
- [http://www.ipdiscover.com/ IP-Discover] - Search and retrieve patents from the public databases.
- [http://www.search4ip.com/ search4ip] - Free patent search.
- [http://www.patentmatic.com/ PatentMatic] - Free patent downloads (US, European & others).
- [http://www.IAMcafe.com PatentCafe's International Patent Database with Semantic / Natural Language Search Engine]

Weird and historical patents

- [http://www.patent.freeserve.co.uk/ Patently Absurd British Patents]
- [http://www.library.umaine.edu/patents/historical.htm Information on Historical Patents]
- [http://www.patentlysilly.com Patently Silly]
- [http://ipfunny.blogs.com IP Funny Blog] Category:Intellectual property
- ja:特許 th:สิทธิบัตร

Prima facie

Prima facie (\PRY-muh-FAY-shee; -shuh\) is a Latin expression meaning "at first sight," used in common law jurisdictions to denote evidence that is sufficient, if not rebutted, to prove a particular proposition of fact. In most legal proceedings, one of the parties has the burden of production, which requires that party to present prima facie evidence of all facts essential to its case. (See also burden of proof.) If that party fails to present prima facie evidence on any required element of its case, its claim may be dismissed without any response by the opposing party. A prima facie case may be insufficient to enable a party to prevail, however, if the opposing party subsequently introduces contradictory evidence or asserts an affirmative defense. For example, in a criminal prosecution, the Government has the burden of presenting prima facie evidence of each element of the crime charged. In a murder case, this would include evidence that the defendant's act caused the victim's death, and evidence that the defendant acted with malice aforethought. If the prosecution were to fail to introduce such evidence, then its case would fail on grounds of "failure to make out a prima facie case," even without rebuttal by the defendant. Prima facie is often confused with res ipsa loquitur ("the thing speaks for itself"), the common law legal doctrine which in its modern incarnation allows a tort plaintiff to reach the jury on the question of a defendant's negligence, despite the plaintiff's failure to produce any evidence explaining exactly how the defendant was negligent, by establishing circumstantial evidence from which unspecified negligence by the defendant can fairly be inferred.

Inter partes

The term 'inter partes' is the Latin for "between the parties" and it is the opposite of in rem. Lawsuits where all interested parties have been served with adequate notices and are given a reasonable opportunity to attend and to be heard are referred to as inter partes proceedings or hearings. When a judgment is given, subject to any right of appeal, it would be inconvenient if t

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