ANTITRUST |
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Antitrust or competition laws are laws which seek to promote economic and business competition by prohibiting anti-competitive behavior and unfair business practices. Government agencies known as competition regulators regulate antitrust laws, and may also be responsible for regulating related laws dealing with consumer protection.
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ARBITRATION / MEDIATION |
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Arbitration is a form of mediation or conciliation, where the mediating party is given power by the disputant parties to settle the dispute by making a finding. In practice arbitration is generally used as a substitute for judicial systems, particularly when the judicial processes are viewed as too slow, expensive or biased. Arbitration is also used by communities which lack formal law, as a substitute for formal law.
Mediation consists of a process of alternative dispute resolution in which a (generally) neutral third party, the mediator, using appropriate techniques, assists two or more parties to help them negotiate an agreement, with concrete effects, on a matter of common interest. More generally speaking, the term "mediation" covers any activity in which an impartial third party (often a professional) facilitates an agreement on any matter in the common interest of the parties involved.
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BUILDING INSPECTION |
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Construction and building inspectors examine buildings, highways and streets, sewer and water systems, dams, bridges, and other structures to ensure that their construction, alteration, or repair complies with building codes and ordinances, zoning regulations, and contract specifications. Building codes and standards are the primary means by which building construction is regulated in the United States for the health and safety of the general public. National model building codes are published by the International Code Council (ICC), although many localities have additional ordinances and codes that modify or add to the National model codes. To monitor compliance with regulations, inspectors make an initial inspection during the first phase of construction and follow up with further inspections throughout the construction project. However, no inspection is ever exactly the same. In areas where certain types of severe weather or natural disasterssuch as earthquakes or hurricanesare more common, inspectors monitor compliance with additional safety regulations designed to protect structures and occupants during those events.
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CONSUMER MARKETING |
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Find CONSUMER MARKETING experts and consultants for CONSUMER MARKETING litigation support. Available to be CONSUMER MARKETING expert witnesses and provide CONSUMER MARKETING forensic consulting in CONSUMER MARKETING litigation, in addition prepare CONSUMER MARKETING expert witness reports for use in deposition and/or in-court trial testimony.
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COPYRIGHT - GENERAL |
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Copyright is a set of exclusive rights granted by governments to regulate the use of a particular expression of an idea or information. At its most general, it is literally "the right to copy" an original creation. In most cases, these rights are of limited duration. The symbol for copyright is ©.
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DEATH PENALTY |
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Capital punishment, or the death penalty, is governmental killing by execution as punishment for a crime often called a capital offense or a capital crime. Historically, the execution of criminals and political opponents was used by nearly all societies either by means of judicial process or through political motivations such as the supression of political dissent. Among democratic countries around the world, most European and Latin American ones have abolished capital punishment (except the United States, Guatemala and most of the Caribbean), while democracies in Asia and Africa retain it. Among nondemocratic countries the use of the death penalty is common.
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INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY - ANALYSIS |
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In law, intellectual property (IP) is a broad entitlement extending the concept of property beyond its materialist definitions to include information, ideas, and other intangible assets in their expressed form. Depending on jurisdiction, IP rights generally enable the holder to exercise exclusive rights over the the subject matter (or "work") of the IP using copyright, patent, trademark, industrial design right and similar legal protections. The term reinforces that such works are the product of the mind or intellect and that any rights may be protected at law in the same way as any other form of property.
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INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY - LICENSING |
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In law, intellectual property (IP) is a broad entitlement extending the concept of property beyond its materialist definitions to include information, ideas, and other intangible assets in their expressed form. Depending on jurisdiction, IP rights generally enable the holder to exercise exclusive rights over the the subject matter (or "work") of the IP using copyright, patent, trademark, industrial design right and similar legal protections. The term reinforces that such works are the product of the mind or intellect and that any rights may be protected at law in the same way as any other form of property.
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LAND USE PLANNING & ZONING |
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Land Use Planning is the term used for a branch of public policy which encompasses various disciplines which seek to order and regulate the use of land in an efficient way.
Despite confusing nomenclature, the essential function of planning remains the same whatever term is applied. The Canadian Planners Association offers a definition that; "[Land Use] Planning means the scientific, aesthetic, and orderly disposition of land, resources, facilities and services with a view to securing the physical, economic and social efficiency, health and well-being of urban and rural communities"
Zoning is a North American term for a system of land-use regulation. The word is derived from the practice of designating permitted uses of land based on mapped zones which separate one part of a community from another. Zoning regulations fall under the police power rights governments may exercise over real property. Theoretically, its primary purpose is to segregate uses that are thought to be incompatible; in practice, zoning is used as a permitting system to prevent new development from harming existing residents or businesses. Zoning is commonly controlled by local governments such as counties or municipalities.
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LAW ENFORCEMENT STANDARDS / PRACTICES |
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In its most general sense, the practice of law involves giving legal advice to clients, drafting legal documents for clients, and representing clients in legal negotiations and court proceedings such as lawsuits, and is applied to the professional services of a lawyer or Attorney at Law, barrister, solicitor or civil law notary. However, there is a substantial amount of overlap between the practice of law and various other professions where clients are represented by agents. These professions include real estate, banking, accounting, and insurance. Moreover, a growing number of independent paralegals are offering services which have traditionally been offered only by lawyers and their employee paralegals. Many documents may now be drafted by computer assisted drafting libraries, where the clients are asked a series of questions posed by the software in order to construct the legal documents.
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LEGAL PRACTICES, FEES |
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Attorney's fees or attorneys' fees are the costs of legal representation that an attorney's client or a party to a lawsuit incurs. Attorney's fees are assessed in a number of ways, usually set by contract in advance of the representation, including by billable hours, flat fees, or contingent fees. Attorneys who voluntarily accept work on behalf of indigent clients often work pro bono.
An upfront fee paid to a lawyer is called a retainer. Money within the retainer is often used to "buy" a certain amount of work. Some contracts provide that when the money from the retainer is gone, the fee is renegotiated.
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MEDICAL ETHICS |
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Medical ethics is the discipline of evaluating the merits, risks, and social concerns of activities in the field of medicine.
Medical ethics shares many principles with other branches of healthcare ethics, such as nursing ethics.
Ethical thinkers have suggested many methods to help evaluate the ethics of a situation. These methods provide principles that doctors should consider while decision making.
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PHARMACY |
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Pharmacy (from the Greek φάρμακον = drug) is the profession charged with ensuring the safe use of medication. Traditionally, pharmacists have compounded and dispensed medications on the orders of physicians. More recently, pharmacy has come to include other services related to patient care including clinical practice, medication review, and drug information. Some of these new pharmaceutical roles are now mandated by law in various legislatures. Pharmacists, therefore, are drug therapy experts, and the primary health professionals who optimize medication management to produce positive health-outcomes.
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PLAGIARISM |
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Plagiarism is a form of academic dishonesty, specifically the unacknowledged use of another person's idea(s), information, language, or writing. Plagiarism is a serious academic offense. Plagiarism is not necessarily the same as copyright infringement, which occurs when one violates copyright law.
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USE OF FORCE |
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The use of force to settle conflicts is much debated in theory and in practice (see moral philosophy, ethics).When a conflict is viewed as being between parties having the same standing, observers often recommend the use of negotiation or other "conflict resolution" techniques. When a conflict is viewed as being between a law-breaker and a law-enforcer, observers tend to side with the enforcer (but with important exceptions). Analysis of conflicts, and of when and where it is legitimate for an involved (or intervening) party to use force to settle it, quickly becomes complicated.
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