Small Business Law and Litigation Glossary Terms

A business with more than one owner that has not filed organization or corporation papers with the state. Partnerships can either be “General” or “Limited”. General partners share all personal liability for a business’s operations and debts. Limited partners are not responsible for day-to-day operations of the business and are limited in their personal liability for partnership debts. Limited Partnerships often include situations when one or more General Partners run a business and assume personal liability for it along with one or more Limited Partners, who are often passive investors in the business. The operational and ownership plans of partnerships can be legally clarified by having both a Partnership Agreement and a Buy-Sell Agreement in place. These legal agreements state how the business will operate and how it will be affected should one partner die or desire to sell their ownership or leave the partnership. A small business attorney can advise how best to operate a partnership.

Patents protect inventions and improvements to existing inventions. A patent grants an inventor permission to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling their invention in the United States or importing their invention into the United States. There are three types of patents: utility, design, and plant. Typically, utility and plant patent last 20 years from filing and design patents have a term of 14 years. A utility patent will expire during its term unless appropriate maintenance fees are timely paid. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues patents but the owner has to enforce the patent without the help of the USPTO. Patents are issued and enforced by country.

The party (individual) or entity who starts a lawsuit against another party (the defendant) in a court of law.