Terms Used In North Carolina General Statutes > Chapter 66 > Article 29 - Invention Development Services

• Business day: means any day other than a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday. See North Carolina General Statutes 66-209
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• contract for invention development services: means a contract by which an invention developer undertakes invention development services for a customer for a stated payment or consideration, whether or not the payment or consideration has yet been made. See North Carolina General Statutes 66-209
• 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.
• Customer: means any natural person who is solicited by, inquires about, seeks the services of, or enters into a contract with an invention developer for invention development services. See North Carolina General Statutes 66-209
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. ^{Source: U.S. Courts}
• Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
• following: when used by way of reference to any section of a statute, shall be construed to mean the section next preceding or next following that in which such reference is made; unless when some other section is expressly designated in such reference. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• in writing: may be construed to include printing, engraving, lithographing, and any other mode of representing words and letters: Provided, that in all cases where a written signature is required by law, the same shall be in a proper handwriting, or in a proper mark. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
• Invention: means any discovery, process, machine, design, formulation, composition of matter, product, concept, or idea, or any combination of these. See North Carolina General Statutes 66-209
• Invention developer: is a n individual, firm, partnership, or corporation, or an agent, employee, officer, partner, or independent contractor of one of those entities, that offers to perform or performs invention development services for a customer and that is not:

  a. See North Carolina General Statutes 66-209

• Invention development services: means any act done by or for an invention developer for the procurement or attempted procurement by the invention developer of a licensee or buyer of an intellectual property right in an invention. See North Carolina General Statutes 66-209
• Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
• 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.
• property: shall include all property, both real and personal. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
• Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
• state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, shall be construed to extend to and include the District of Columbia and the several territories, so called; and the words "United States" shall be construed to include the said district and territories and all dependencies. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
• United States: shall be construed to include the said district and territories and all dependencies. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3