Decoded · Topic
Law terms, decoded for Gen Z: what they mean, where you’ll hear them, and the pop-culture version.
A force majeure clause excuses one or both parties from performing a contract, usually temporarily, when an extraordinary event outside their control makes performance impossible or seriously impractical. Typical examples are natural disasters, war, pandemics and government action, but what counts depends on the exact wording.
Liability is legal responsibility for something, usually a debt or a harm, that can be enforced with money. In business it covers what a company owes, what it can be sued for, and, through structures like limited liability, how much of the owners’ personal assets are at risk if the business fails.
Due diligence is the investigation a buyer, investor or partner carries out before committing to a deal, to confirm that what they were told is true and to find risks they were not told about. It covers finances, contracts, legal issues, tax, people, technology and anything else that could affect the value of the deal.
Intellectual property (IP) is the legal ownership of creations of the mind: inventions, brand names and logos, creative works, designs and confidential know-how. The main types are patents, trademarks, copyright and trade secrets, and each protects something different in a different way.
A non-compete is a contract clause in which an employee or business seller agrees not to work for a competitor, or start a competing business, within a set area and time after leaving. Whether it can be enforced depends heavily on the country, the state and how reasonable its limits are.
An NDA (non-disclosure agreement) is a contract in which one or both parties agree to keep specific information confidential and use it only for an agreed purpose. If someone breaks it, the other side can claim damages or ask a court to stop further disclosure.
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