Law Dictionary Definitions

American rule. 1. The general policy that all litigants, even the prevailing one, must bear their own  attorney’s  fees.  •  The  rule  is  subject  to  bad-faith  and  other  statutory  and  contractual exceptions. Cf. ENGLISH RULE. [Cases: Costs    194.16; Federal Civil Procedure    2737.1. C.J.S. Costs § 125.] 2. The doctrine that a witness cannot be questioned…

American Printing House for the Blind.A federally aided institution that assists blind children by  distributing Braille books, talking books, and  educational aids without charge.  • The  printing house was incorporated in Kentucky in 1858. — Abbr. APH.

American  Patent  Law  Association.See  AMERICAN  INTELLECTUAL  PROPERTY  LAW ASSOCIATION . [Blacks Law 8th]

American option.See OPTION. [Blacks Law 8th]

American National Standards Institute.A private nonprofit organization, founded in 1918, that administers   the   U.S.   standardization-   and   conformity-assessment   system   and   coordinates voluntary participants in the system. — Abbr. ANSI. [Blacks Law 8th]

American Lloyd’s.See LLOYD’S UNDERWRITERS. [Blacks Law 8th]

American Law Institute test.See SUBSTANTIAL-CAPACITY TEST. [Blacks Law 8th]

American Law Institute.An organization of lawyers, judges, and legal scholars who promote consistency and simplification  of American law by  publishing restatements of the law and other model codes and treatises, as well as promoting continuing legal education. — Abbr. ALI. [Blacks Law 8th]

American Judicature Society.An organization made up of judges, lawyers, and lay people for the  purpose  of  improving  the  administration  of  justice.  •  The  AJS  was  founded  in  1913.  Its interests  include  ensuring  the  judi-ciary’s  independence,  improving  judicial  selection  and  the performance of juries, and educating the public about the justice system. — Abbr. AJS. [Blacks Law…

American  Inventors  Protection  Act.Patents.  A  1999  statute  designed  to  (1)  curb  deceptive practices by inven-tion-promotion companies, (2) reduce patent fees, (3) provide a defense against infringement  for  a  party  who  in  good  faith  reduced  a  patented  invention  to  practice  at  least  one year before a patent’s effective filing date, (4) extend the patent term when…