ACQUIESCENCE

acquiescence  (ak-wee-es-<<schwa>>nts).1.  A  person’s  tacit  or  passive  acceptance;  implied

consent to an act.

commercial acquiescence.Patents. Action or inaction by a patentee’s competitor that reflects

the competitor’s belief that the patent is valid. • A patent owner may use another person’s actions

or  inactions, such  as  taking  a  license  or  attempting  to  design around  a  patent, as  circumstantial

evidence of the nonobviousness of a patented invention or of a patent’s validity or enforceability.

[Cases: Patents    36.1(1). C.J.S. Patents §§ 98–99.]

2.Int’l law.Passivity and inaction on foreign claims that, according to customary international

law, usu. call for protest to assert, preserve, or safeguard rights. • The result is that binding legal

effect is given to silence and inaction. Acquiescence, as a principle of substantive law, is grounded

in the concepts of good faith and equity.

ACQUIETANDIS PLEGIIS

acquietandis  plegiis  (<<schwa>>-kwI-<<schwa>>-tan-dis  plee-jee-is),  n.[Law  Latin  “for

acquitting sureties”] Hist. A writ to force a creditor to discharge a surety when the debt has been

satisfied.[Blacks Law 8th]