Law.com Legal Dictionary

Law.com Legal Dictionary
Note: This is a Web edition of The People’s Law Dictionary by Gerald and Kathleen Hill.

No. of terms: 3,000

Description: The People’s Law Dictionary is regarded as one of the most comprehensive and practical legal dictionaries on the Web and is certainly a very valuable tool to decipher the legal phrases and jargon that surround us. The People’s Law Dictionary can be found on several web sites. I preferred to point out the integration at Law.com, as there you have the possibility to search for a term, search the definitions or browse the legal terminology alphabetically. If you have a website you might even want to integrate this dictionary as a service to your visitors.

Example term: plea bargain
n. in criminal procedure, a negotiation between the defendant and his attorney on one side and the prosecutor on the other, in which the defendant agrees to plead “guilty” or “no contest” to some crimes, in return for reduction of the severity of the charges, dismissal of some of the charges, the prosecutor’s willingness to recommend a particular sentence or some other benefit to the defendant. Sometimes one element of the bargain is that the defendant reveal information such as location of stolen goods, names of others participating in the crime or admission of other crimes (such as a string of burglaries). The judge must agree to the result of the plea bargain before accepting the plea. If he does not, then the bargain is cancelled. Reasons for the bargain include a desire to cut down on the number of trials, danger to the defendant of a long term in prison if convicted after trial and the ability to get information on criminal activity from the defendant. There are three dangers: a) an innocent defendant may be pressured into a confession and plea out of fear of a severe penalty if convicted; b) particularly vicious criminals will get lenient treatment and be back “on the street” in a short time; c) results in unequal treatment. Public antipathy to plea bargaining has led to some state statutes prohibiting the practice, but informal discussions can get around the ban.

Keywords: legal dictionary, law dictionary, legal, terms, terminology, dictionary, law, legal term, legal jargon, definition, legal definition, definition of legal terms.

Quote as: The People’s Law Dictionary by Gerald and Kathleen Hill, Publisher Fine Communications.

USPTO Patent & Trademark Glossary

USPTO Patent & Trademark Glossary

No. of terms: 500

Description: This alphabetized, hyperlinked glossary of terms used on the USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office) website is a qualified and authoritative source when looking up terminology used in the fields of patents and trademarks. Of great value to the users are the additional information that are mentioned in the definitions. This glossary turns out to be both, the place to quickly look up terms and also a good starting point to get orientation and instructions of how to apply for a patent or trademark.

Example term: service mark

A word, name, symbol or device that is to indicate the source of the services and to distinguish them from the services of others. A service mark is the same as a trademark except that it identifies and distinguishes the source of a service rather than a product. The terms “trademark” and “mark” are often used to refer to both trademarks and service marks.

Keywords: USPTO, United States Patent and Trademark Office, Patent Glossary, Trademark Glossary, Patent, Trademark, intellectual property, IP

Status/Quote as: Public Domain / USPTO Patent & Trademark Glossary. United States Patent and Trademark Office.