Glossary
Legal terms in plain English.
Clear definitions, why they matter, and where to go next.
Terms, A to Z.
Apparent Authority
Apparent authority is authority that a third party reasonably believes a person has because of the organization’s words, conduct, position, or other manifestations.
Fiduciary Duty
A fiduciary duty is a legal obligation to act with the care, loyalty, good faith, and attention required of someone entrusted to make decisions for an organization or another person.
Fractional General Counsel
Fractional general counsel is an external or part-time senior lawyer who provides a portion of the capacity and judgment associated with an in-house general counsel role.
Indemnification
Indemnification is a contractual promise to protect another party from specified claims, losses, or liabilities, often involving third-party claims.
Limitation of Liability
A limitation of liability clause sets boundaries on the types or amounts of damages one party may recover from the other under a contract.
Master Services Agreement
A master services agreement, or MSA, is the contract that establishes the general legal terms governing an ongoing customer-provider relationship.
Office Action
A trademark Office Action is a written notice from a USPTO examining attorney identifying legal or procedural issues that must be addressed before an application can proceed.
Outside General Counsel
Outside general counsel is a lawyer or law firm outside the organization that takes ongoing responsibility for its legal function and helps leadership manage legal priorities, systems, and decisions.
Service-Level Agreement
A service-level agreement, or SLA, defines measurable service commitments, how performance is calculated, and what remedy applies if a commitment is missed.
Statement of Use
A Statement of Use is a filing used in an intent-to-use trademark application to show that the applicant has begun qualifying use of the mark in commerce for the identified goods or services.
Statement of Work
A statement of work, or SOW, is a contract document that describes the specific services, deliverables, responsibilities, timing, fees, and assumptions for a project or workstream.
Trademark
A trademark is a word, name, symbol, design, slogan, or other indicator that identifies the source of goods or services and distinguishes them from others.
Trademark Class
A trademark class is one of the international categories the USPTO uses to organize goods and services in a trademark application or registration.
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