Nicholls > Business Law (BSAD 221) > Gene Gouaux > Test 2

DOMAIN NAME

The series of letters and symbols used to identify site operators on the Internet; Internet "addresses."

PEER-TO-PEER (P2P) NETWORKING

The sharing of resources (such as files, hard drives, and processing styles) among multiple computers without necessarily requiring a central network server.

REASONABLE PERSON STANDARD

The standard of behavior expected of a hypothetical "reasonable person."

TORTS

A civil wrong not arising from a breach of contract. A breach of a legal duty that causes harm or injury to another.

PROMISE

A person's assurance that he or she will or will not do something.

LIBEL

A published false statement that is damaging to a person's reputation; a written defamation, in print

CRIME

A wrong against society proclaimed in a statute and punishable by society through fines, imprisonment, or even death.

INTENTIONAL TORT

A wrongful act knowingly committed.

DEFAMATION

Any published or publicly spoken false statement that causes injury to another's good name, reputation, or character.

ASSAULT

Any word or action intended to make another person fearful of immediate physical harm; a reasonably believable threat.

TRADE SECRET

Information or a process that gives a business an advantage over competitors who do not know the information or process.

PRIVILEGE

In tort law, the ability to act contrary to another person's right without that person's having legal redress for such acts. Privilege may be raised as a defense to defamation.

PUBLIC FIGURES

Individuals who are thrust into the public limelight. Public figures include anybody who becomes known to the public because of his or her position or activities.

ACTUAL MALICE

A condition that exists when a person makes a statement with either knowledge of its falsity or a reckless disregard for the truth.

IMPLIED CONTRACT

A contract formed in whole, or in part from the conduct of the parties aka implied-in-fact contract.

FORMAL CONTRACTS

A contract that by law requires a specific form, such as being executed under seal, to be valid.

INFORMAL CONTRACTS

A contract that does not require a specified form or formality in order to be valid.

VOIDABLE CONTRACT

A contract that may be legally avoided at the option of one of the parties.

CYBER CRIME

A crime that occurs online, in the virtual community of the Internet, as opposed to the physical world.

ASSUMPTION OF RISK

A defense against negligence that can be used when the plaintiff was aware of a danger and voluntarily assumed the risk of injury from that danger.

TRADEMARK

A distinctive mark, motto, device, or implement that a manufacturer stamps, prints, or otherwise affixes to the goods it produces so that they may be identified on the market and their origins made known. Once a trademark is established the owner is entitled to its exclusive use.

PATENT

A government grant that gives an inventor the exclusive right or privilege to make, use, or sell his or her invention for a limited time period.

GRAND JURY

A group of citizens called to decide, after hearing the state's evidence, whether a reasonable basis (probable cause) exists for believing that a crime has been committed and whether a trial ought to be held.

MISDEMEANORS

A lesser crime than a felony, punishable by a fine or imprisonment for up to one year in state or federal penitentiary.

LICENSE

A revocable right or privilege of a person to come on another person's land.

EXCLUSIONARY RULE

A rule under which any evidence that is obtained in violation of the accused's constitutional rights, will not be admissible in court.

PUFFERY

A salesperson's exaggerated claims concerning the quality of goods offered for sale. Such claims involve opinions and aren't considered to be legally binding promises.

DRAM SHOP ACTS

A state statute that imposes liability on the owners of bars and taverns, as well as those who serve alcoholic drinks to the public, for injuries resulting from accidents caused by intoxicated persons.

CONTRIBUTORY NEGLIGENCE

A theory in tort law under which a complaining party's own negligence contributed to or caused his or her injuries.

COMPARATIVE NEGLIGENCE

A theory in tort law under which the liability for injuries resulting from negligent acts is shared by all parties.

NEGLIGENCE PER SE

An act (or failure to act) in violation of a statutory requirement.

CAUSATION IN FACT

An act or omission without ("but for") which an event would not have occurred.

CONTRACT

An agreement that can be enforced in court; formed by two or more parties, each of whom agrees to perform or to refrain from performing some act now or in the future.

TRADE LIBEL

The publication of false information about another's product; aka slander of quality.

FRAUDULENT MISREPRESENTATION

Any misrepresentation, of a material fact, knowingly made with the intention of deceiving another.

ACTIONABLE

Capable of serving as the basis of a lawsuit.

DOUBLE JEOPARDY

Forbids(By the 5th amendment) a person from being tried twice for the same criminal offense

SUPERSEDING CAUSE

Force or event that breaks the connection between a wrongful act and an injury to another.

SLANDER

Defamation in oral form.

Sixth Amendment

Guarantees of a speedy trial, public trial by jury, right to confront witnesses, and the right to a lawyer

PROXIMATE CAUSE

Legal cause; exists when the connection between an act and an injury is strong enough to justify imposing liability.

COMPENSATORY DAMAGES

Money award equivalent to the actual value of injuries or damages sustained by the aggrieved party.

PUNITIVE DAMAGES

Money damages that may be awarded to a plaintiff to punish the defendant and deter future similar conduct.

WHITE-COLLAR CRIME

Nonviolent crime committed by individuals or corporations to obtain a personal or business advantage.

TORTFEASOR

One who commits a tort.

MALPRACTICE

Professional misconduct or the failure to exercise the required degree of skill as a professional.

Eighth Amendment

Prohibitions against excessive bail and fines and against cruel and unusual punishment Amendment analyzed when evaluating the death penalty

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Property resulting from intellectual, creative processes. Patents, trademarks, and copyrights are examples of intellectual property.

DISPARAGEMENT OF PROPERTY

Publication of false and economically injurious statements that are derogatory of another's property, business, or product.

Fifth Amendment

Requirement that no one be deprived of "life, liberty, or property without due process of law Prohibition against double jeopardy (trying someone twice for the same criminal offense)- only when they get a not guilty Requirement that no person be required to be a witness against (incriminate) himself

Fourth Amendment

Requirement that no warrant for a search or an arrest be issued without probable cause Protects us from unreasonable searches and seizers Level of reasonable belief based upon articulable facts

CYBERSQUATTING

The act of registering a domain name that is the same as, or confusingly similar to, the trademark of another and then offering to sell that domain name back to the trademark owner.

NECESSITY

The defence of necessity recognises that there may be situations of such overwhelming urgency that a person must be allowed to respond by breaking the law

DUTY OF CARE

The duty of all persons, as established by tort law, to exercise a reasonable amount of care in their dealings with others.

TRESPASS TO LAND

The entry onto, above, or below the surface of land owned by another without the owner's permission or legal authorization.

COPYRIGHT

The exclusive right of authors to publish, print, or sell an intellectual production for a statutory period of time.

NEGLIGENCE

The failure to exercise the standard of care that a reasonable person would exercise in similar circumstances.

EMBEZZLEMENT

The fraudulent appropriation of money or other property by a person to whom the money or property has been entrusted.

TRADE DRESS

The image and overall appearance of a product that may be identified on the market and their origins made known. Once a trade dress is established the owner is entitled to its exclusive use.

SELF-DEFENSE

The legally recognized privilege to protect one's self or property against injury by another.

PLEA BARGAINING

The process by which a criminal defendant and the prosecutor in a criminal case work out a mutually satisfactory disposition of the case, subject to court approval; usually involves the defendant's pleading guilty to a lesser offense in return for a lighter sentence.

SLANDER OF TITLE

The publication of a statement that denies or casts doubt on another's legal ownership of any property, causing financial loss to that property's owner. aka trade libel.

BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT

The standard used to determine the guilt or innocence of a person criminally charged.

BURGLARY

The unlawful entry into a building with the intent to commit a felony.

TRESPASS TO PERSONAL PROPERTY

The unlawful taking or harming of another's personal property; interference with another's right to the exclusive possession of his or her personal property.

BATTERY

The unprivileged, intentional touching of another.

BUSINESS INVITEES

Those people, such as customers or clients, who are invited onto business premises by the owner of those premises for business purposes.

MENS REA

a legal phrase used to describe the mental state a person must be in while committing a crime for it to be intentional.

ACTUS REUS

the Latin term used to describe a criminal act. Every crime must be considered in two parts-the physical act of the crime (actus reus) and the mental intent to do the crime (mens rea).