Terms Used In West Virginia Code 5B-8-1

• Common law: The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States. It is based on judicial decisions rather than legislative action.
• 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.
• Department: means the West Virginia Department of Economic Development. See West Virginia Code 5B-8-1
• 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.
• SBIR: means the Small Business Innovation Research Program enacted under the Small Business Innovation Development Act of 1982, Pub. See West Virginia Code 5B-8-1
• Small business: means a corporation, partnership, limited liability company, statutory or common law business trust, sole proprietorship, or individual, operating a business for profit, which qualifies as a small business and otherwise meets the requirements of the SBIR or STTR programs. See West Virginia Code 5B-8-1
• State: when applied to a part of the United States and not restricted by the context, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories, and the words "United States" also include the said district and territories. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
• STTR: means the Small Business Technology Transfer Program enacted under the Small Business Technology Transfer Act of 1992, Pub. See West Virginia Code 5B-8-1