anticipation

views updated May 14 2018

an·tic·i·pa·tion / anˌtisəˈpāshən/ • n. the action of anticipating something; expectation or prediction: her eyes sparkled with anticipation. ∎  Mus. the introduction in a composition of part of a chord that is about to follow in full.PHRASES: in anticipation with the probability or expectation of something happening: they manned the telephones in anticipation of a flood of calls.

Anticipation

views updated May 23 2018

ANTICIPATION

The performance of an act or obligation before it is legally due. In patent law, the publication of the existence of an invention that has already beenpatented or has apatent pending, which are grounds for denying a patent to an invention that has substantially the same structure and function as the earlier invention.

In the law of negligence, anticipation refers to the knowledge that there is a reasonable probability that the consequences of particular conduct of one individual will result in injury to others.

The anticipation of an invention also occurs if the later invention is merely an adaptation of an earlier patent, which would be obvious to a skilled person who need only exercise some mechanical skill to develop the same adaptation.

anticipation

views updated Jun 11 2018

anticipation. The sounding of a note of a chord before the rest of the chord.