law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

, ''inter partes'' (

Law Latin Law Latin, sometimes written L.L. or L. Lat., and sometimes derisively referred to as Dog Latin, is a form of Latin used in legal contexts. While some of the vocabulary does come from Latin, much of it stems from English. Law Latin may also be see ...

for 'between the parties'Duhaime Legal Dictionary
Accessed July 3, 2008.) is a

legal term The following pages contain lists of legal terms: *List of Latin legal terms *List of legal abbreviations *List of legal abbreviations (canon law) *''on Wiktionary:'' ** wikt:Appendix:English legal terms, Appendix: English legal terms ** wikt:App ...

that can be distinguished from '' in rem'', which refers to a legal action whose

jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' and 'speech' or 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, the concept of jurisdiction applies at multiple level ...

is based on the control of

property Property is a system of rights that gives people legal control of valuable things, and also refers to the valuable things themselves. Depending on the nature of the property, an owner of property may have the right to consume, alter, share, re ...

, or '' ex parte'', which refers to a legal action that is by a single

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a Hospitality, host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will oft ...

Lawsuit A lawsuit is a proceeding by one or more parties (the plaintiff or claimant) against one or more parties (the defendant) in a civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today ...

s (or actions in executive agencies) in which all interested parties have been served with adequate notices and are given a reasonable opportunity to attend and to be heard are referred to as ''inter partes'' proceedings or hearings. When a judgment is given, subject to any right of appeal, it would be inconvenient if the same issues could be endlessly relitigated by the same parties and so they are all bound by the result. However, anyone who was not a party to those proceedings and can demonstrate a legitimate interest in reopening the issue is entitled to petition the

court A court is an institution, often a government entity, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between Party (law), parties and Administration of justice, administer justice in Civil law (common law), civil, Criminal law, criminal, an ...

for the right to be heard. However, in some circumstances, the judgment is given ''in rem'' and so binds everyone, whether a party to the case or not.

Contract A contract is an agreement that specifies certain legally enforceable rights and obligations pertaining to two or more parties. A contract typically involves consent to transfer of goods, services, money, or promise to transfer any of thos ...

s can also be said to be ''inter partes'' and various laws can be relied upon to create and vest rights that exist only on an ''inter partes'' basis; they do not attach as an attribute to a person's status and so become ''in rem'' rights.

Examples

* Opposition procedure before the European Patent Office *

Interference proceeding In United States patent law, an interference proceeding, also known as a priority contest, is an '' inter partes'' proceeding to determine the priority issues of multiple patent applications. Unlike in most other countries, which have long had a ...

(US patent law) * ''Inter partes'' reexamination in US patent law *

Inter partes review In United States patent law, an ''inter partes'' review (IPR) is a procedure for challenging the validity of a United States patent before the United States Patent and Trademark Office. History The inter partes review procedure was enacted on Se ...

(U.S. patent law) * Trademark Trial and Appeal Board Petitions

References

Latin legal terminology {{Latin-legal-phrase-stub

Examples

See also

References