Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws > Chapter 6-41.1 - Patent Infringement

• Allegation: something that someone says happened.
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Demand letter: means a letter, e-mail, or other communication asserting or claiming that the target has engaged in patent infringement;

  (2)  "Person" means any natural person or the estate of any natural person, or trust or association of persons, whether formal or otherwise, or any corporation, partnership, company, or any other legal or commercial entity;

  (3)  "Target" means a person doing business in Rhode Island:

  (i)  Who has received a demand letter or against whom an assertion or allegation of patent infringement has been made;

  (ii)  Who has been threatened with litigation or against whom a lawsuit has been filed alleging patent infringement; or

  (iii)  Whose customers have received a demand letter asserting that the person's product, service, or technology has infringed upon a patent. See Rhode Island General Laws 6-41.1-2

• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• Lawsuit: A legal action started by a plaintiff against a defendant based on a complaint that the defendant failed to perform a legal duty, resulting in harm to the plaintiff.
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
• person: may be construed to extend to and include co-partnerships and bodies corporate and politic. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-6
• Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.