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infringement

UK/ɪnˈfɹɪnd͡ʒmənt/US/ɪnˈfɹɪnd͡ʒmənt/
nounC1Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #13,070 of 15,258mostly written

Other forms: infringements

An infringement is a breaking of a rule or of somebody's rights. Copyright infringement, an infringement of privacy, a minor infringement.

In intellectual property it is the standard term and does not require intent, since infringing a patent you had never heard of is still infringement. In sport it is the formal word for a foul.

Definitions of infringement

  1. 1nouninfringementA breaking of a rule or of somebody's rights.C1

    “Using the photo without permission was an infringement of copyright.”

infringement is a breach.

Where it comes from

  1. Proto-Indo-European

    *bʰreg-

  2. Latin

    īnfringō — to break off, break, bruise, weaken, destroy

  3. English

    infringe

  4. English, today

    infringement

Built from

  • in · Latin — in
  • frangere · Latin — to break

From infringe + -ment. infringe Borrowed from Latin īnfringō (“to break off, break, bruise, weaken, destroy”), from in (“in”) + frangere (“to break”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

infringement in the wild

  • In other words, patent infringement is the commission of a prohibited act with respect to a patented invention without permission from the patent holder.

    Patent infringement

  • The definition of patent infringement may vary by jurisdiction.

    Patent infringement

  • An intellectual property (IP) infringement or an intellectual property theft is the unauthorized use, exploitation, or violation of an intellectual property right.

    Intellectual property infringement

  • More specifically, an infringement occurs where the defendant has made, used, sold, offered to sell, or imported an infringing invention or its equivalent.

    Patent infringement under United States law

  • No infringement action may be started until the patent is issued.

    Patent infringement under United States law

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

the īnfringō family

infringementinfringe

infringement — used about once every 18,318 pages · #13,070 · point at the bar for the others