Editing Abstract (law)

{{short description|Summary of a legal document}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2020}}
In [[law]], an '''abstract''' is a brief statement that contains the most important points of a long [[legal document]] or of several related legal papers.<ref name="Wolters">{{Cite book|title=The Wolters Kluwer Bouvier Law Dictionary: Desk Edition|last=Sheppard|first=Stephen Michael|date=21 May 2012|publisher=Aspen Publishers|isbn=9781454806110|location=New York|language=English}}</ref>

==Types of legislation ==
{{Main|Property abstract}}
The abstract of title, used in [[real estate]] transactions, is the more common form of abstract. An abstract of title lists all the owners of a piece of land, a house, or a building before it came into possession of the present owner. The abstract also records all [[deed]]s, [[will (law)|wills]], [[mortgage law|mortgages]], and other documents that affect [[ownership]] of the property. An abstract describes a chain of transfers from owner to owner and any agreements by former owners that are binding on later owners.<ref name="Wolters"/>

==Patent law==

In the context of [[patent]] law and specifically in [[prior art]] searches, searching through abstracts is a common way to find relevant prior art document to question to [[novelty (patent)|novelty]] or [[Inventive step and non-obviousness|inventive step]] (or [[Inventive step and non-obviousness|non-obviousness]] in United States patent law) of an invention. Under [[United States patent law]], the abstract may be called "Abstract of the Disclosure".<ref>[[United States Patent and Trademark Office]] (USPTO) web site, [http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/mpep/documents/0600_608_01_b.htm 608.01(b) Abstract of the Disclosure]</ref><ref>37 [[Code of Federal Regulations|CFR]] [https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/37/1.72 1.72 – Title and abstract].</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{PCT Rule|8}}, defining the requirements regarding the abstract in an international application filed under [[Patent Cooperation Treaty]] (PCT)
* {{EPC Article|85}} and {{EPC Rule|47}} (previously {{EPC 1973 Rule|33}}), defining the abstract-related requirements in a [[European Patent Convention|European patent application]]

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[[Category:Legal research]]