Definitions from Case Law

Now, the end to be accomplished is not the subject of a patent. The invention consists in the new and useful means of obtaining it.

The 'subject of bankruptcies' was nothing less than 'the subject of the relations between an insolvent or non-paying or fraudulent debtor, and his creditors, extending to his and t

The power of taxation, however vast in its character and searching in its extent, is necessarily limited to subjects within the jurisdiction of the State. These subjects are person

the question of whether a person is 'subject to' the order is dependent to some extent upon whether the order immediately, substantially and adversely affects him, as well as wheth

property that is taxed, the definition of "commercial and industrial property" excludes property that is exempt.

When the law imposes the lien only upon such goods of the tenant upon the premises as are subject to execution, it means to exclude goods which are exempt from execution by some ge

something other than 'within the jurisdiction'.

? Unfortunately, the text of the Fourteenth Amendment does not provide a definitive answer, but it supplies two valuable clues.

the rules governing the action of the appellate court.

The plaintiff having, by his voluntary act in demanding justice from the defendant, submitted himself to the jurisdiction of the court, there is nothing arbitrary or unreasonable i

by setting up its counterclaim the defendant became a plaintiff in its turn, invoked the jurisdiction of the court in the same action, and, by invoking, submitted to it. ... by an

One who induces another to commit perjury is guilty of subornation under section 126, and by force of section 332 is also guilty of perjury. In substance, subornation is the same a

Ordered, that when process at common law or in equity shall issue against a state, the same shall be served upon the governor or chief executive magistrate, and the attorney genera

The established rule that the surety may not claim subrogation against an insolvent debtor until the creditor is paid in full is a recognition of the inconsistency of that position

He claims precedence, and the rank of a judgment creditor, under a particular provision of the laws of Virginia in force at Robinson's death, and under an equitable principle, acco

On the one hand, the unrecorded lien is upheld as against creditors who cannot be presumed to have given credit upon the faith of the property held in lien. On the other hand, cred

A subsequent decision of a higher court, in a different case, giving a different exposition to a point of law from the one declared and known, when a settlement between parties tak

any exhibition subsequent to the initial exhibition, whether by the same or a different exhibitor.

the same thing as "second or subsequent conviction," in the context at issue here, it is entirely clear (without any "sentence-parsing") that a defendant convicted of a crime commi

the period subsequent to the arrangement petition, and the words 'preserving the estate' include the larger objective, common to arrangements, of operating the debtor's business wi

contributions to the capital of the railroads

They are considered as subsisting foundations upon which the parties may prosecute their suits; in the one case, by entering the continuances from the time of suing out the writ, a

The incidence of taxation depends upon the substance of a transaction. The tax consequences which arise from gains from a sale of property are not finally to be determined solely b

Where form and substance are inseparable, it is enough to look at the form only. Where they are separable; where the whole substance of the invention may be copied in a different f

Neither state courts nor Legislatures, by giving the tax a particular name, or by using some form of words, can take away our duty to consider its nature and effect. If by varying

The question is whether such a statute concerns merely the manner and the means by which a right to recover, as recognized by the State, is enforced, or whether such statutory limi

the conditions obtaining in connection with the existence of any dwelling, or dwellings, or housing accommodations for human beings, which because of lack of sanitary facilities, v

not seeming or imaginary"; on the other, it means "that specified to a large degree." Webster's Third New International Dictionary, "supra," at 2280.

Mere legal paraphernalia will not suffice to transform into a substantial adverse claimant a corporation whose affairs are so closely assimilated to the affairs of the dominant sto

something different in the two places (the Guideline and the Statute) where they appear, and I cannot imagine any reason why the Commission would have wanted to create different st

The Tax Court has the primary function of finding the facts in tax disputes, weighing the evidence, and choosing from among conflicting factual inferences and conclusions those whi

a substantial benefit must be something more than technical in its consequence and be one that accomplishes a result which corrects or prevents an abuse which would be prejudicial

It is the policy of the law to uphold certificates when substance is found, and not to suffer conveyances, or the proof of them, to be defeated by technical or unsubstantial object

It is sufficient for purposes of due process that the suit was based on a contract which had substantial connection with that State.

It is established that to give this court jurisdiction on a direct appeal from, or writ of error to, a circuit court, on the ground of a constitutional question, such question must

The substantial equivalent of a thing, in the sense of the patent law, is the same as the thing itself; so that if two devices do the same work in substantially the same way, and a

such relevant evidence as a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion.

The substantiality of evidence must take into account whatever in the record fairly detracts from its weight. Congress has merely made it clear that a reviewing court is not barred

Review under the substantial-evidence test is authorized only when the agency action is taken pursuant to a rulemaking provision of the Administrative Procedure Act itself, or when

The question may be plainly unsubstantial, either because it is 'obviously without merit' or because 'its unsoundness so clearly results from the previous decisions of this court a

There is a substantial identity, constituting infringement, where a device is a copy of the thing described by the patentee, 'either without variation, or with such variations as a

Plainly, it must be sameness of appearance, and mere difference of lines in the drawing or sketch, a greater or smaller number of lines, or slight variances in configuration, if su

the words 'substantial interest in,' as used in § 10, presuppose either an existing investment of some kind in International, or the creation of International by the three individu

To determine substantiality in a given case, it is necessary to weigh the probable effect of the contract on the relevant area of effective competition, taking into account the rel

more than merely reasonable.

Mere acquisition by one corporation of the stock of a competitor, even though it result in some lessening of competition, is not forbidden; the act deals only with such acquisition

substantially as specified in regard to the combination which is the subject of the claim.' The adaptation of the shoe proper and the sole to each other in such way as to produce o

that its litigating position must have had some substance and a fair possibility of success.

[u]nable to perform a major life activity that the average person in the general population can perform; or [s]ignificantly restricted as to the condition, manner or duration under

among other things, "[u]nable to perform a major life activity that the average person in the general population can perform;" or "[s]ignificantly restricted as to the condition, m

the phrase, 'under substantially similar circumstances and conditions,' as found in § 2, refers to matters of carriage, and does not include competition.

Substantial performance, it is true, is all that is required to satisfy any such agreement, and it may also be conceded that in the adjudication of controversies growing out of bui

the child up to the head." He consequently denies the statute's application where the physician introduces into the birth canal a fetal arm or leg or anything less than the entire

a particular class of rights which are essential to a fair trial and argue that errors which "affect" these rights cannot be disregarded on appeal.

that every punitive award unreasonably imposed is unconstitutional; such an award is by definition excessive, since it attaches a penalty to conduct undeserving of punishment.

The obligation laid upon the shareholders by the Maryland Constitution, though susceptible of legislative and judicial regulation in respect of the mode of its enforcement, was a s

This provision is one of substantive right, setting a limit to the existence of the obligation which the Act creates.

not only "rights sought to be adjudicated by the litigants" but also "general principiéis]" or "question[s] of public policy that the legislature is able to pass upon," "id., "at 2

The right to manufacture, the right to sell, and the right to use are each substantive rights, and may be granted or conferred separately by the patentee.

Its adequacy so far as due process is concerned is dependent on whether or not the form of substituted service provided for such cases and employed is reasonably calculated to give

the enforced acceptance of the service of process on a state officer by the defendant would not be fair or due process unless such officer or the plaintiff is required to mail the

the requirements of the Fourteenth Amendment, so far as now invoked, are satisfied if the substitute remedy is substantial and efficient.

the mere substitution of equivalents which do substantially the same thing in the same way, even though better results may be produced, is not such an invention as will sustain a p

unless more ingenuity and skill in applying the old method of fastening the shank and the knob were required in the application of it to the clay or porcelain knob than were posses

a scheme, plan, stratagem, or artifice of evasion.

When used in subdivision 2 of § 3022, the word has a very definite meaning, namely, an organization that teaches and advocates the overthrow of government by force or violence.

any organization which engages in or advocates, abets, advises, or teachers, or a purpose of which is to engage in or advocate, abet, advise, or teach activities intended to overth

any person who commits, attempts to commit, or aids in the commission, or advocates, abets, advises or teaches by any means any person to commit, attempt to commit, or aid in the c

The right to succeed to the property of the decedent depends upon and is regulated by state law, and it is obvious that a judicial construction of the will by a state court of comp

a tax not upon property but upon the right or privilege of succession to the property of a deceased person

It seems to us too plain to need extended elucidation that sucesion legitima here means issue. ... The natural object of this fidei-commissary substitution is that which is said to

the words 'sue and be sued' in their normal connotation embrace all civil process incident to the commencement or continuance of legal proceedings. Garnishment and attachment commo

This clause can never apply but in such cases as would, if they happen, be losses (either partial or total) within the meaning of the policy.

there must be the positive purpose of doing an act forbidden by that statute, and the thing described must be done in the promotion of this unlawful purpose

The true test of the sufficiency of an indictment is not whether it could have been made more definite and certain, but whether it contains the elements of the offense intended to

An information for forfeiture of a vessel need not be more technical in its language, or specific in its description of the offence, than an indictment. As a general rule, an indic

the tax-list, and the duplicate transmitted to the State Auditor, as well as the advertisement, must describe the land so that its identity may be ascertained from the description,

Even absent a showing of market dominance, the crucial economic power may be inferred from the tying product's desirability to consumers or from uniqueness in its attributes.

A criminal statute must be sufficiently definite to give notice of the required conduct to one who would avoid its penalties, and to guide the judge in its application and the lawy

The heart of the common-law doctrine has been that a suggestion of insanity after sentence is an appeal to the conscience and sound wisdom of the particular tribunal which is asked

If the assured, being in the possession of his ordinary reasoning faculties, from anger, pride, jealousy, or a desire to escape from the ills of life, intentionally takes his own l

What is a suit? We understand it to be prosecution or pursuit of some claim, demand or request; in law language, it is the prosecution of some demand in a court of justice. * * * T

the United States is a 'stranger' to a judgment resulting from a suit brought against a collector, and that such a judgment is, therefore, not a bar in a subsequent action upon the

If the conduct of the defendant constitutes an unwarrantable interference with property of the complainant, its resort to equity for protection is not to be defeated upon the groun

Surely an officer of a state may be delinquent without involving the state in delinquency, indeed, may injure the state by delinquency as well as some resident of the state, and be

The 'essential nature and effect of the proceeding' may be such as to make plain that the judgment sought would expend itself on the public treasury or domain, or interfere with th

Where the state has caused a fund to be created in pursuance of its policy, and has appointed officers having power to liquidate deposits or other indebtedness and to levy assessme

No principle is better established than that the United States may not be sued in the courts of this country without its consent. That the United States is not named on the record

The objection to a suit against the United States is fundamental, whether it be in the form of an original action, or a set-off, or a counterclaim. Jurisdiction in either case does

It is the settled interpretation of these words, as used in this statute, conferring jurisdiction, that a suit arises under the Constitution and laws of the United States only when

The party who brings a suit is master to decide what law he will rely upon, and therefore does determine whether he will bring a 'suit arising under' the patent or other law of the

The rule is firmly established that a suit does not so arise unless it really and substantially involves a dispute or controversy respecting the validity, construction, or effect o

where a patentee complainant makes his suit one for recovery of royalties under a contract of license or assignment, or for damages for a breach of its covenants, or for a specific

The principle that a company cannot sue its members, does not apply to the case; nor does the principle, that a partner cannot sue a partner on a partnership transaction, apply to

The distinguishing and characteristic feature of such suit is that the vessel or thing proceeded against is itself seized and impleaded as the defendant, and is judged and sentence

a bankruptcy proceeding is not itself a suit in equity either by statutory definition or in common understanding

If the defendant appears the cause becomes mainly a suit in personam, with the added incident, that the property attached remains liable, under the control of the court, to answer

Suit in this case was in rem, and consequently the vessel, when arrested, was in contemplation of law in the possession of the court.

such a contest, the proof of wills, if contested by a citizen of another state or alien, would be cognizable in the courts of the United States, and hence not under the exclusive c

those both of a civil and criminal nature; and the exception of 'offences above the description aforesaid,' refers to a description in the first part of the section, viz. offences