CAVEAT (Lat. let him beware). A notice not to do an act, given to some officer, min isterial or judicial, .by a party having an in terest in the matter.
It is a formal caution or warning not to do the act mentioned, and is addressed frequently to pre vent the admission of wills to probate, the granting letters of administration, etc. See Wms. Ex. 581.
1 Burn, Eccl. Law 19, 263; Nelson, Abr.; Dane, Abr.; Ayliffe, Parerg.; 3 Bla. Com. 246; 2 Chit. Pr. 502, note b; 3 Redf. Wills 119; 4 Brew. Pr. 3974; Poph. 133; 1 Sid. 371; In re Road, 8 N. J. L. 139. See WILL.
Filing a caveat to the probate of a will does not of itself.constitute a "contest" of a will; In re Estate, 221 Pa. 188, 70 Atl. 711.
In Patent Law. A legal notice to the pat ent office that the caveator claims to be the inventor of a particular device, in order to prevent the issue of a patent on it to any other person without notice to the caveator.
It gives no advantage to the caveator over any rival claimant, but only secures to him an opportunity to establish his priority of in vention.
It is filed in the patent office under statu tory regulations; U. S. R. S. § 4902. The principal object of filing it is to obtain for an inventor time to perfect his invention without the risk of having a patent granted to another person for the same thing. The practice was abolished by act of June 10, 1910.
It is also used to prevent the issue of land patents; Harper v. Baugh, 9 Gratt. (Va.) 508; and where surveys are returned to the land office, and marked "in dispute," this entry has the effect of a caveat against their acceptance; Hughes v. Stevens, 43 Pa. 197.