Service Mark: Any word, symbol, or any combination used or intended to be used to identify the source of services provided by one party from the source of services provided by others.
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Service Component: The component of a mark that indicates the type or nature of the services provided under the mark.
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Series Code: A code used by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to identify a group of related trademark applications or registrations sharing a common characteristic or relationship.
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Serial Number: A unique identifier assigned to each patent or trademark application filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) or to each registration issued by the USPTO.
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Senior User: The party who first uses a trademark in commerce relative to others called “junior users”. In many cases, a senior user has priority over junior users.
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Scope: The breadth of subject matter that is covered by a legal claim such as a patent claim.
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Right to Use Search: A trademark search used to determine if a potential trademark can be used without infringing the rights of third parties.
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Right of Publicity: Also referred to as rights to celebrity or right of likeness, the right of publicity is a common law right in many States to prohibit third parties from profiting from the likeness of another. For more information, see our Right of Publicity page.
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Restriction Requirement: A demand by a patent examiner to divide a patent application into multiple applications, where an examiner believes that a patent application claims to more than one invention.
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Request For Continued Examination (RCE): A request by a patent applicant for continued examination of a patent application after final rejection.
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Rejection (Patent/Trademark): A determination by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) examiner that some or all of the claims in a patent application are not eligible for patent protection or that a trademark application is not entitled to registration.
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Reissue Patent: A new patent issued to replace a patent with an error.
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Registration Basis: The legal basis for a trademark registration.
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Registered Patent Attorney: An attorney who is authorized to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
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Reexamination Process: A legal process for a third party or the patentee to have a patent reexamined by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to verify that the subject matter it claims is patentable or to challenge whether one or more claims of the patent are valid.
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Reduction to Practice: Reducing the invention from concept to physical form (actual reduction) or by filing a patent application that fully describes how to make and use the invention (constructive reduction).
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RCE: Request for Continued Examination, a request submitted by an applicant to reopen prosecution of a patent application before the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
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Quit Claim Deed: A legal instrument wherein a property owner transfers rights to a purchaser, often “as is” with no representations or warranties.
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Quasi-Contractual Obligation: An obligation regarded by law as contractual even though the obligation may not appear in contractual language.
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Public Domain: Intellectual property rights (patent, trademark, or copyright) that no longer belong to the initial IP rightsholder and now belong to the public, such that anyone can use the IP.
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