Law Dictionary Definitions

reexecution. The equitable remedy by which a lost or destroyed deed or other instrument is replaced. • Equity compels the party or parties to execute a new deed or instrument if a claimant properly proves a right under one that has been lost or destroyed. [Cases: Lost Instruments 12.] [Blacks Law 8th]

reexchange,n.1. A second or new exchange. 2. The process of recovering the expenses that resulted from the dishonor of a bill of exchange in a foreign country. 3. The expenses themselves. [Blacks Law 8th]

reexamination certificate.Patents. A certificate issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office at the conclusion of a reexamination proceeding, confirming that a patent has been reexamined and the claims have been found to be patentable, confirming that claims determined to be unpatentable have been canceled, or incorporating into the patent any amended or new claims…

reexamination,n.1.REDIRECT EXAMINATION <the attorney focused on the defendant’s alibi during reexamination>.2.Patents. A proceeding by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to determine whether prior art renders one or more claims of an already-issued patent invalid; specif., an administrative procedure by which a party can seek review of a patent on the basis of prior art…

reeve (reev).Hist. 1. A ministerial officer of high rank having local jurisdiction; the chief magistrate of a hundred. • The reeve executed process, kept the peace, and enforced the law by holding court within the hundred. 2. A minor officer serving the Crown at the hundred level; a bailiff or deputy-sheriff. 3. An overseer of…

reentry,n.1. The act or an instance of retaking possession of land by someone who formerly held the land and who reserved the right to retake it when the new holder let it go. 2. A landlord’s resumption of possession of leased premises upon the tenant’s default under the lease. See POWER OF TERMINATION . [Cases:…

reenactment rule.In statutory construction, the principle that when reenacting a law, the legislature implicitly adopts well-settled judicial or administrative interpretations of the law. [Cases: Statutes 223.5. C.J.S. Statutes §§ 356–357.] [Blacks Law 8th]

reduction to practice.Patents. The embodiment of the concept of an invention, either by physical construction and operation or by filing a patent application with a disclosure adequate to teach a person reasonably skilled in the art how to make and work the invention without undue experimentation. • The date of reduction to practice is critical…

reduction in force.See LAYOFF. [Blacks Law 8th]

reduction improbation.See IMPROBATION. [Blacks Law 8th]