Elizabeth A Martin - Oxford Dictionary of Law, 5th Ed. (2003)

Technology and Construction Court See OFFICIAL REFEREE.

technology transfer The licensing of *intellectual property. EU regulation 240/96 provides *block exemption from *Article 81 (competition law) for certain categories of patent and *knowhow licence (and also for trade mark, design. copyright. and other intellectual property licences that are ancillary to a patent or knowhow licence). The regulation, which replaced earlier legislation on 1 April 1996. applies to new licences entered into after that date and sets out those provisions in licensing agreements that are permitted. those that are exempted. and those that are prohibited (blacklisted). the presence of which prevents the exemption from applying. The regulation also provides that agreements that do not contain blacklisted provisions but otherwise do not come within the regulation may be notified to the Commission for individual exemption; if no objection is raised by the Commission within four months. the agreement may be deemed acceptable (this is called the opposition procedure).

telephone tapping Secretly listening to telephone conversations by interfering with the line. It is illegal except when authorized by the Home Secretary. See also

ELECTRONIC SURVEILLANCE.

teleworking n. A form of employment in which employees use information technology to enable them to work mainly from home. The advantages to the employer are the elimination of transport problems, reduction in office overheads. and increased flexibility. Teleworkers are distinguished from outworkers in that the former are engaged in white-collar work. as opposed to the manual tasks performed by poorly paid female outworkers.

tenancy n. Broadly. the interest of one who holds land by any right or title. The term is often used in a more restricted sense, however, for the arrangement in which the owner (the *Iandlord) allows another person (the tenant) to take possession of the land for an agreed period, usually in return for rent. There are many ways of establishing a tenancy, from a formal *Iease by deed to an informal verbal arrangement. The latter is legally binding on the parties if it satisfies the requirements for an *agreement for a lease. A tenancy can also come into existence

through statute law (see STATUTORY PERIODIC TENANCY).

The different kinds of tenancy are: tenancy for a *fixed term. *joint tenancy, *periodic tenancy. *tenancy at sufferance. *tenancy at will, *tenancy by estoppel, and *tenancy in common. The terms and conditions of tenancies vary considerably according to the kind of tenancy and the wishes of the parties. There are many statutory controls which affect tenancies. particularly in relation to *security of

tenure and rent. See also ASSURED TENANCY.

tenancy at sufferance A tenancy that arises when a tenant is *holding over and the landlord has not indicated whether or not he agrees to the tenant's continued occupation. If the landlord gives his express agreement. the tenancy becomes a *tenancy at will.

tenancy at will A tenancy that can be terminated by the landlord or the tenant at any time. A tenancy at will usually arises by implication. when the owner of land allows a person to occupy it although he has no *fixed term. *periodic tenancy. or *Iicence (for example. when a landlord agrees to the tenant *holding over). More rarely. a tenancy at will may be created by express agreement. If the landlord starts to accept rent on a regular basis. an ordinary *periodic tenancy is created. A tenant who holds over after a fixed-term *assured tenancy expires may have a *statutory periodic tenancy. A tenancy at will of business premises does not have the statutory

protection given to a *business tenancy. In the case of residential premises, however, the usual statutory protection from *eviction will apply. A tenancy at will can be terminated by the landlord demanding possession or if either he or the tenant dies or parts with his interest in the land.

tenancy by estoppel A tenancy that exists despite the fact that the person who granted it had no legal right to do so. Such a tenancy is binding on the landlord and tenant but not on anyone else. If the landlord subsequently acquires the right to grant the tenancy, it automatically becomes a full legal tenancy.

tenancy for years A tenancy for a *fixed term.

tenancy from year to year A yearly *periodic tenancy.

tenancy in common Equitable ownership of land by two or more persons in equal or unequal *undivided shares. Each co-owner may sell or dispose of his share by will, and a share does not pass automatically by the right of survivorship on the death of a co-owner but forms part of his estate (compare JOINT TENANCY). Under the Law of Property Act 1925 the legal estate is held by the co-owners as joint tenants on trust for themselves as equitable tenants in common. and a *trust of land is implied.

tenant n. A person who is granted a *Iease or a *tenancy. A tenant need not be an individual; for example. a company can be a tenant.

tenantable repair The maintenance of a property in a condition fit for letting to a tenant. The phrase is sometimes used in a *covenant to repair. The use of the word "tenantable" has no significant effect on the parties' usual obligations under the covenant.

tenant for life (life tenant) A person owning land for an equitable interest that subsists for the whole of his life but terminates on his death (see also LIFE INTEREST). The statutory powers of a tenant for life are laid down by the Settled Land Act 1925

(see SETILED LAND). See also TRUST OF LAND.

tenant in tail A person entitled in possession or on the death of his ancestor to an *entailed interest.

tenant in tail after possibility of issue extinct The interest of an original tenant in *tail special when the specified spouse has died and there are no heirs entitled to succeed to the entailed interest. The tenant in tail retains his powers under the Settled Land Act 1925 (see SETILED LAND) but cannot bar the entail (see ENTAILED INTEREST). This position cannot arise when the land is held in tail general, since while the tenant in tail lives there is always a possibility he may have children by another wife.

tenant pur autre vie See ESTATE PUR AUTRE VIE.

tenant'sfixtures Fixtures attached to rented property by a tenant that the tenant is entitled to remove at the end of the tenancy. These are: *trade fixtures, ornamental and domestic fixtures (such as blinds and mirrors) whose removal does no serious damage. and (subject to certain statutory rules) agricultural fixtures. Tenants are not entitled to remove any other fixtures.

tender n. 1. An offer to supply (or to purchase) goods or services. Normally a tender must be accepted to create a contract, except when the invitation to tender states unequivocally that the lowest (or highest) tender will be accepted. If the tender is to supply goods as required by the other party. it may be a standing offer and creates contracts as and when particular orders are placed. Whether or not the

trade marks obtained by registration in several individual EU states. Trade marks are an example of <intellectual property.

trade mark at common law A *trade mark that is not registered in the Register of Trade Marks but is identified with particular goods through established use. The trade mark's owner may bring an action for *passing off in the case of infringement.

trade secret Some process or product belonging to a business, disclosure of which would harm the business's interests. The courts will generally grant injunctions to prohibit any threatened disclosure of trade secrets by employees, former employees, and others to whom the secrets have been disclosed in confidence. There is a relationship of trust and confidence between employer and employee that may be destroyed if the employee discloses a trade secret, providing a reason for dismissal; such a dismissal may be fair if the procedure adopted complies with the necessary

requirements. See RESTRAINT OF TRADE; UNFAIR DISMISSAL.

trade union An organization whose members are wholly or mainly workers and whose principal purposes include the regulation of relations between workers and employers or employers' associations. Unions' affairs are regulated by the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992. This provides that: secret ballots must be held for election of unions' executive committees and before any industrial action backed by the union (see STRIKE); union funds cannot be used to indemnify individuals for fines imposed by a court for a criminal offence or contempt of court; and unions' accounting records must be open to inspection by their members, who can challenge any unlawful use of the funds through the courts. There is a right for trade union members not to be unjustifiably disciplined by their union (for example for failing to take industrial action). A member can apply to an *employment tribunal for a declaration that he has been unjustifiably disciplined. The employment tribunal can award compensation if the claim is upheld. Trade-union members seeking to enforce their union membership rights can obtain advice and financial and legal assistance from the *Certification Officer, as the successor of the now abolished position of Commissioner for the Rights of Trade Union Members.

trade union official An officer of a trade union (or of a branch or section of it) or a person elected or appointed in accordance with the union's rules to represent a group of its members. An employee who is a trade-union official is entitled to tune off work, paid at his normal rate, for certain purposes. These must be official union duties concerning industrial relations between his employer and any associated employer and their employees or training approved by the Trades Union Congress and relevant to his union duties.

trading stamps Stamps bought from a trading-stamp company by a retailer and given to his customers when they purchase goods. The customer obtains stamps in proportion to the goods purchased, and when he has collected enough stamps he can exchange them for goods from the trading-stamp company. The issue of trading stamps is regulated by the Trading Stamp Act 1964. Each stamp must be clearly marked with a monetary value and the name of the issuing company. The retailer aims to cover the cost of the stamps by profits from the increased custom he hopes they will attract.

traffic offences See OFFENCES RELATING TO ROAD TRAFFIC.

transfer n. (in land law) A deed by which ownership of registered land is conveyed.

See also CONVEYANCING.

transfer of action See REMOVAL OF ACTION.

transfer of risk The passing from the seller of property to the buyer of the incidence of the loss if the property is damaged or destroyed. The Sale of Goods Act 1979 provides that, unless it is otherwise agreed, goods remain at the seller's risk until ownership passes to the buyer. After that they are at the buyer's risk, whether or not delivery has been made.

transfer of shares A transaction resulting in a change of share ownership. It usually involves (1) a contract to sell the shares; (2) their transfer by delivery of a *share warrant or execution of a *share transfer; and (3) entry of the transferee's name on the register of members of the company. Shares in private companies and partly paid shares may be subject to restrictions on transfer. See alsoTRANSMISSION OF

SHARES.

transfer of undertakings See RELEVANT TRANSFER.

transferred malice See MALICE.

transformation n. (in international law) See DOCTRINE OF INCORPORATION.

transmission of shares A transfer of shares that occurs automatically, by operation of law, upon bankruptcy (from the bankrupt to his trustee in bankruptcy) or upon death (to the personal representatives of the deceased). The transferees do not become company members until the company enters their names upon the register of members; in the meantime they are unable to attend or vote at company

meetings. See also TRANSFER OF SHARES.

transnational corporation An enterprise consisting of commercial entities in more than one state that are linked by ownership or otherwise. Transnational corporations operate in such a way that they exercise a uniform, cohesive, and common policy in order to further their economic interests. This policy can allow them to wield significant influence over the activities of those states in which they carry out their commercial activities, i.e. by exerting pressure over the direction of domestic policy of the host states.

transparency n. An essential condition for those operating in a market, which ensures that the rules to which they are subject are made obvious. Generally, it ensures that the reasons behind measures and the applicable regulations are clear to all, so that all are treated fairly.

transsexual n. A person who firmly believes he or she belongs to the sex opposite to his or her gender at birth; transsexuals may undergo surgery and drug treatment to alter the external appearance of their bodies to conform with their view of themselves (see SEX CHANGE). Under English law, for the purposes of marriage transsexuals are regarded as belonging to the sex determined at their birth and registered on their birth certificates. For the purposes of employment, however, the law now recognizes the validity of sex changes in transsexuals (see GENDER

REASSIGNMENT).

travaux preparatoires [French] Preparatory works that form a background to the enactment of legislation; for example, recommendations of Royal Commissions and consultative documents published by the government. They may not be used by the courts as an aid to interpreting the legislation. See INTERPRETATION OF STATUTES.

the trespasser honestly believed that the land belonged to him). Trespass to land or goods is a wrong to possession rather than to ownership. Thus a tenant of rented property, for example, has the right to sue for trespass to that property. Trespass to land is a tort but not normally a crime: the notice "Trespassers will be prosecuted" is therefore usually misleading.

However, trespass may sometimes constitute a crime. Thus squatters may be guilty of a crime (see ADVERSE OCCUPATION); it is a crime to trespass on diplomatic or consular premises or premises similarly protected by immunity; and it is a crime to enter and remain on any premises as a trespasser with a *weapon of offence for which one has no authority or reasonable excuse, or to be on any premises, land, or water as a trespasser with a *firearm for which one has no reasonable excuse. The Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 created the offences of aggravated trespass and collective trespass. The summary offence of aggravated trespass occurs when a trespasser in the open air seeks to intimidate, obstruct, or disrupt a lawful activity, such as hunting; an offender can be arrested and failure to leave the land on the direction of a senior police officer is also an offence. Collective trespass occurs when two or more people are trespassing with the purpose of residing on land belonging to another person. The police have powers to direct collective trespassers to leave if they have caused damage, used threatening or abusive words towards the occupier, or brought six or more vehicles (which may be caravans) onto the land (see also UNAUTHORIZED CAMPING). Failure to leave or re-entry within three months is a summary offence for which a uniformed police officer has a power of arrest. Both collective and aggravated trespass are punishable by a fine and/or three months' imprisonment. See also AIRSPACE; BURGLARY; TRESPASSORY

ASSEMBLY.

trespass ab initio [Latin: trespass from the beginning] A form of trespass that occurs when a person enters land with authority given by law, e.g. to arrest a criminal or search for stolen goods, and subsequently commits an act that is an abuse of that authority. The authority is cancelled retrospectively and the entry is deemed to have been a trespass from the beginning.

trespass by relation A form of trespass based on the legal fiction that a person's actual possession of land dates from the moment he became entitled to possession. It arose from the rule that only the possessor of land can sue for trespass to it. When someone entitled to immediate possession of land enters into possession of it at some later date, his possession is deemed to relate back to the moment he became entitled to it to enable him to sue for acts of trespass committed in the intervening period.

trespassory assembly An assembly of more than 20 people in the open air on land to which the public has no right, or a limited right, of access, when the occupier has not consented to the event and it is likely to result in serious disruption to the life of the community or significant damage to land, monuments,

uniformed police officer has powers of arrest for these offences as well as a power:" to stop people proceeding to such an assembly.

trial n. The hearing of a civil or criminal case before a court of competent

jurisdiction. Trials must, with rare exceptions (see IN CAMERA), be held in public. At the trial all issues of law and fact arising in the case will be determined. See also

SUMMARY TRIAL; TRIAL ON INDICTMENT.

trial at bar *Trial on indictment before three or more judges of the *Queen's Bench Division and a jury: formerly used for the trial of criminal cases of exceptional public importance. The last such trial was that of Sir Roger Casement for treason in 1916 and the procedure was abolished by the Courts Act 1971.

trial on indictment The trial of a person charged with an *inclictable offence, which is by jury in the *Crown Court. The *indictment is read out to the accused at the start of the trial. There are a number of differences between trial on indictment and *summary trial (i.e. by magistrates). The courts have power to impose greater penalties on indictment and there is no time limit before which indictable offences must be tried (most summary offences must be tried within six months).

tribunal n. See ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL; DOMESTIC TRIBUNAL; TRIBUNAL OF INQUIRY.

tribunal of inquiry A tribunal appointed under the Tribunals of Inquiry (Evidence) Act 1921 to investigate a matter of public importance. The Act provides machinery for the thorough examination of any matter (e.g.a national disaster or alleged corruption in government) that is a source of public disquiet but is not the subject of ordinary proceedings in the ordinary courts. A tribunal is appointed on resolutions of both Houses of Parliament, its chairman is normally a senior judge, and it has all the powers of the High Court concerning the summoning and examination of witnesses and the production of documents.

trier of fact A member of a court who has the duty to decide questions of fact. In criminal trials on indictment and civil trials with a jury, the jury is the trier of fact; in civil trials by judge alone and in summary trials, the judge and magistrates, respectively, decide all issues both of law and fact.

TRIPS The Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights 1994: the international agreement on *intellectual property rights that arose from the Uruguay Round of the *General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (see WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION). It is designed to reduce distortions and impediments to international trade while taking account of the need to promote effective protection of intellectual property rights. It also aims to ensure that measures

to enforce these rights do not themselves become barriers to legitimate trade. TRIPS sets out how participating nations will protect intellectual property rights: for copyright they should comply with some provisions of the *Berne Convention; computer programs and databases will also be protected by copyright. Trade marks and patents should be protected in accordance with the Paris Convention for the Protection of Intellectual Property (1971), with additional protection for designs and the layout of integrated circuits. Developed countries were given until 1 January 1996 to bring their legislation into conformity with TRIPS. Developing

countries were given until 2000, and the least developed countries an additional six years.

trover n. The original form of the modern action in tort for *conversion of goods. Trover was based on a fictitious allegation that the claimant had lost the goods and the defendant found them and converted them to his own use. The old form of action has disappeared, but its name is still sometimes used as a synonym for conversion.

trust n. 1. An arrangement in which a *settlor transfers property to one or more