prior

I

/prayar/ The former; earlier; preceding; preferable or preferred

II

noun

The chief of a convent; next in dignity to an abbot

III

adj

Earlier; elder; preceding; superior in rank, right, or time; as, a prior lien, mortgage, or judgment

@ prior art

In patent law, includes any relevant knowledge, acts, descriptions and patents which pertain to, but predate, invention in question. Mooney v. Brunswick Corp., C.A.Wis., 663 F.2d 724, 733.

Anything in tangible form that may properly be relied on by patent office in patent cases in support of rejection on matter of substance, not form, of claim in pending application for patent. Borden, Inc. v. Occidental Petroleum Corp., D.C.Tex., 381 F.Supp. 1178, 1203.

Prior art may also be relied on by a court to hold a patent claim invalid, i.e., not novel or not unobvious. 35 U.S.C.A. No. 102

@ prior creditor

Generally, the creditor who is accorded priority in payment from the assets of his debtor.

See preferential debts

- preferred creditor

@ prior inconsistent statements

In evidence, prior statements made by the witness which contradict statements made on the witness stand may be introduced to impeach the witness after a foundation has been laid and an opportunity given to the witness to affirm or deny whether such prior statements were made. Such impeachment may be made through the witness himself or through another witness who heard the prior statements or by means of inconsistent prior depositions (Fed.R.Civil P. 32(a)).

Such prior inconsistent statements are not admissible to prove the truth of the matter asserted but only to impeach the credibility of the witness.

See Fed.Evid.R. 613(b).

See also declaration (declaration against interest); impeachment

@ prior jeopardy

See jeopardy

@ prior lien

This term commonly denotes a first or superior lien, and not one necessarily antecedent in time

@ prior petens

/prayar pedanz/ The person first applying

@ prior restraint

A system of "prior restraint" is any scheme which gives public officials the power to deny use of a forum in advance of its actual expression. Sixteenth of September Planning Committee, Inc. v. City and County of Denver, Colo., D.C.Colo., 474 F.Supp. 1333, 1338.

In constitutional law, the First Amendment, U.S.Const., prohibits the imposition of a restraint on a publication before it is published. The person defamed is left to his remedy in libel. Near v. Minnesota, 283 U.S. 697, 51 S.Ct. 625, 75 L.Ed. 1357.

Any system of prior restraints of expression bears a heavy presumption against its constitutional validity, and the Government carries a heavy burden of showing justification for imposition of such a restraint. New York Times Co. v. U.S., 403 U.S. 713, 91 S.Ct. 2140, 29 L.Ed.2d 822.

Prior restraints on speech and publication are the most serious and least tolerable infringement on First Amendment Rights. Nebraska Press Association v. Stuart, 427 U.S. 539, 559, 96 S.Ct. 2791, 2803, 49 L.Ed.2d 683.

Three exceptions are recognized: a publication creating a "clear and present danger" to the country, Schenck v. U.S., 249 U.S. 47, 52, 39 S.Ct. 247, 249, 63 L.Ed. 470;

obscene publications, and publications which invade the zone of personal privacy. A prohibited prior restraint is not limited to the suppression of a thing before it is released to the public; rather, an invalid prior restraint is an infringement upon constitutional right to disseminate matters that are ordinarily protected by the First Amendment without there first being a judicial determination that the material does not qualify for First Amendment protection. State v. I, A Woman-Part II, 53 Wis.2d 102, 191 N.W.2d 897, 902, 903.

See also censor

- censorship

@ prior use doctrine

Between two public bodies, property already devoted to a public use may not be taken for another public use in absence of express legislative authority. City of Miami v. Florida East Coast Ry. Co., Fla.App., 286 So.2d 247, 250

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