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belief–action distinction.Constitutional law. In First Amendment law, the Supreme Court’s distinction between allowing a person to follow any chosen belief and allowing the state to intervene if necessary to protect others from the practices of that belief.[Blacks Law 8th]

Bekanntmachung im Patentblatt.[German] Patents. The date on which a Gebrauchsmuster (German petty patent) is published and made available to the public. BELIEF belief,n. A state of mind that regards the existence of something as likely or relatively certain.[Blacks Law 8th]

beige book.Slang. The popular name of the Federal Reserve’s Summary of Commentary on Current Economic Conditions by Federal Reserve District, a publication that summarizes the economic conditions in each of the 12 Federal Reserve Bank regions. • Each Federal Reserve Bank gathers information from reports submitted by bank and branch directors; through interviews with economists,…

behoof,n. Archaic. A use, profit, or advantage that is part of a conveyance < to his use and behoof>. — behoove,vb. BEIGE[Blacks Law 8th]

behavioral science.The body of disciplines (psychology, sociology, anthropology) that study human behavior.[Blacks Law 8th]

beggar-thy-neighbor policy.A government’s protectionist course of action taken to discourage imports by raising tariffs and instituting nontariff barriers, usu. to reduce domestic unemployment and increase domestic output. • This term is sometimes applied to competitive currency devaluation.[Blacks Law 8th]

beg,vb.1. To request earnestly; to beseech. 2.Hist. To request to be appointed as guardian for (a person).3.Hist. To request that someone be appointed as guardian for. 4. To ask for charity, esp. habitually or pitiably.[Blacks Law 8th]

  before the fact.In advance of an event of legal significance.[Blacks Law 8th]

before first action,adv. Patents. After the filing of a patent application but before the mailing of any office action by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office examiner. • For example, an applicant typically files an information disclosure statement before first action, and often files preliminary amendments as well. [Cases: Patents  104. C.J.S. Patents §§ 145–147,…

before-and-after theory.Antitrust. A method of determining damages for lost profits (and sometimes overcharges), whereby the plaintiff’s profits are examined before, during, and after the violation to estimate the reduction in profits due to the defendant’s violation. — Also termed before-and-after method. Cf. YARDSTICK THEORY; MARKET-SHARE THEORY. “In its simplest form, the [before-and-after] theory looks at…