Interests in land

The land law can seem obscure and is often distanced from real life by historical introductions. Lawyers' history tends to vary a lot and is often coloured by unspoken political opinions. Lawyers are concerned with various rights to land, called "interests in land". They might talk about someone "owning land", but really they mean someone owning an interest in the land. These interests are not the land itself, the earth and the buildings, but abstract concepts, like the fee simple and the lease. The term "interests in land" is significant to land lawyers because it shows that the rights and duties of the people concerned are not merely personal or contractual. These rights and duties are "glued" to the land itself and automatically pass to anyone who buys or inherits the land; they can therefore be transferred to other people and bind parties.

In lawyers' vocabulary, interests in land are property. The land lawyerviews every piece of land as potentially fragmented into a number of interests. The major interests are called the estates. The word "estate" means "an interest in land of some particular duration". There are now two estates - the freehold and the leasehold (and the third, called commonhold may be introduced).

There are many legal interests in land and many equitable interests.

The court of law recognized various estates and interests in land and would enforce the rights of a legal owner; the courts of equity might override this in favour of a person with a stronger moral right to the land. There are two main reasons why it is important to label interests as "legal" and "equitable". The first is that equitable interests depend on equitable remedies and these depend on the court's direction: the court of equity only grants a remedy if the claimant has behaved fairly. Legal remedies on the other hand (damages, for example), are available "as of right"; a plaintiff is entitled to damages if her strict legal rights have been infringed, whether or not this is fair.

Text 2

TRADEMARK LAW

The U.S. International Trade Commission has defined a "trademark" as "any word, name, symbol, or device, or any combination thereof,| adopted and used by a manufacturer or merchant to identify his goods and distinguish them from those manufactured or sold by others". In the United States, trademarks can be registered on both the federal and state levels, but more-protection is available by registering the mark on the federal level. The symbol used to show that a product is registered as a trademark consists of a "R" with a circle around it: ®. If a trademark is violated, the owner of the right may seek damages for the trademark infringement or exclusion orders from the U.S.International Trade Commission.

Example: Mr. Merchant markets a drink called "Tangy Red ®". Mr. Merchant has a trademark on the name Tangy Red, and for the symbol TR S which he uses on the side of the drink. Not only has Mr. Merchant protected his drink name and logo, but the trademarks also protect the public from buying one product they believe to be one thing, when in fact it is something else.

When a trademark has not been registered, the manufacturer or merchant may use the symbol "TM" instead of ®.

An organization's name, products, slogans, and manufacturing processes are usually trademarked. That means that these things are officially registered and their use is restricted to the owner or manufacturer. A trademark is legally protected and should be capitalized whenever it is used.

A trademark is a valuable asset jealously guarded by its owners. Sony, Coca-Cola, IBM, Porsche, McDonald's, and Reebok are all registered trademarks. So is the Mercedes-Benz star symbol.

Organizations and corporations protect their trademarks in various ways. One method is to establish standard policies on how the organization should use and display its trademarked names. You must know the registered trademarks of your company and how they may be used.

Companies also guard their trademarks by continually using them, sending advisories to media outlets about proper use of these trademarks, placing advertisements in journalism publications reminding readers of trademarked names, and monitoring publications to ensure that other organizations are not infringing on a trademark. If they are, legal action is threatened or taken.

In sum, make yourself familiar with what might be considered trademark infringement. Even if you are innocent, the money and time spent fighting a lawsuit are rarely worthwhile.

Here are some guidelines the courts use to determine if a trademark has been infringed:

• Has the defendant used a name as a way of capitalizing on the reputation of another organization's trademark?

• Is there an intent to create confusion in the public mind? Is there an intent to imply a connection between the defendant's product and the item identified by the trademark?

• How similar are the two organizations? Are they providing the same kinds of services or products?

• Has the original organization actively protected the trademark by publicizing it and using it?

• Is the trademark unique? A trademark that merely describes a common product might be in trouble. Microsoft, for example, lost a bid to trademark the word "windows" for its exclusive use.

Exc.1 Read and memorize active vocabulary:

to settle a matter in court (out of court) to take a matter to court; bring smb before the court, to face the court, the court rules that...

a court-room, a court hearing

law n: a system of law, a court of law, to study (read) law, to practise law, civil (criminal) law, under English (French) law, questions of law, to maintain law and order the law of the land, under the law, to break/offend against the law. Observe (Keep within the law), to enforce the law, lawful, lawyer, law-abiding citizens

at the trial; the trial of smb; to try smb; to try a case; to be on trial/out of trial; to stand trial; to appear at the trial as a witness

to be expert in smth, on a subject

the accused; to accuse smb of smth; to bring an accusation; to sue smb for smth (to scold; reprimand, to blame)

innocent of, innocence

to charge with smth; to bring a charge of (murder) against smb; on a charge of; revision: to be in charge of; to charge smb with smth; to entrust

the accused - the prisoner - the man in the dock - the defendant to acquit smb of smth; acquittal

guilty of; to plead (not) guilty to smth; to find (not) guilty; to prove the guilt be­yond reasonable doubt, to plead for mercy

to steal smth from smb; to rob smb of smth: to rob a bank; a robbery with violence; a burglary; robber - burglar; to break into a house; a house breaker; a thief; theft; pick­pocket

a case; a lawsuit, to hear (try a case)

PART 14

Labour law

In its most comprehensive sense the term «labour law»includes social security and disability insurance as well. Labour law is the varied body of law applied to such matters as employment, remuneration, conditions of work, trade unions, and industrial relations. Unlike the laws of contract, tort, or property, the elements of labour law are somewhat less homogeneous than the rules governing a particular legal relationship. In addition to the individual contractual relationships growing out of the traditional employment situation, labour law deals with the statutory requirements and collective relationships that are increasingly important in mass-production societies, the legal relationships between organized economic interests and the state, and the various rights and obligations related to some types of social services.

In the early phases of development the scope of labour law is often limited to the most developed and important industries.Labour law has won recognition as a distinctive branch of the law within the academic legal community, but the extent to which it is recognized as a separate branch of legal practice varies widely depending partly on the extent to which there is a labour code or other distinctive body of labour legislation in the country concerned, partly on the extent to which there are separate labour courts or tribunals, and partly on the extent to which an influential group within the legal profession practice specifically as labour lawyers.

Exc.1 Соотнесите словосочетания из левой колонки с их английскими эквивалентами в правой.

1. Вступивший в силу 1 января 1994 г a. Capital surplus countries

2. По соглашению b. Side agreements

3. Отменить все тарифы с. To raise the taxes and royalties

4. Дополнительные соглашения d. The disequilibrium in the

international balance of payment

5.Помешать эксплуатации е. To facilitate the expansion

6. Учредить фонд f. to eliminate all tariffs

7. Способствовать расширению g. To prevent exploitation

8. Нестабильность в международном

платежном балансе h. Effective January 1, 1994

9. Страны, имеющие избыток капитала i. Under the agreement

10. Собирать налоги и арендную плату j. To create a fund

Exc.1 Read and memorize active vocabulary:

to give evidence; to prove by evidence; weak, strong, hearsay evidence

witness; to call (in a witness; to be a witness to smth)

to swear an oath; to be sworn in; to swear at smb (to use swear words); to swear by smth; to swear to loyalty

to examine; cross-examine; cross-examination; to share in the examination

the counsel (unc.) for the prosecution; the defence, for both sides; to prosecute (compare: persecute - persecution; pursue - pursuit)

to sum up (the case)

to consider, bring in the verdict of (not) guilty unanimous; unanimity

to offend against the law, a habitual criminal - an old offender - a first offender the past record of crime

to convict of; conviction (compare: to convince of - conviction; it is my firm con­viction that...)', (compare: to persuade); an exconvict

to serve a sentence; a term of...; one's time; to sentence smb to three year impris­onment (to pass a sentence of three years' imprisonment on smb), to hard labour, to death penalty, capital punishment electrocution, execution death through hanging; a severe sentence; to commute a death sentence to life imprisonment, suspended sen­ence.

to decide the questions of fact - of law

to maintain law and o

PART 15

Family law

Family law is a branch or specialty of law, also denominated "domestic relaations" law, concerned with such subjects as adoption, amendment, divorce, separation, paternity, custody, support and child care. In the past, family law has been closely connected with the law of property and succession, and from the records available, it must have had its principal origins in the economic and property questions created by the transfer of a woman from her father's family to the power and guardianship of her husband. Even in regard to parent and child, such legal concepts as guardianship, custody, and legitimacy were associated with family power structures and family economic interests.

One of the issues that has received a substantially increased amount of attention, from various points of view, is the very difficult problem of violence within the family. This may take the form of physical violence by one adult member on another (in this case the woman is almost always the victim), or by an adult on a child, or of some other form of violent conduct.