Law Dictionary

Mobile payments are fund transfers started from a smartphone or other device, such as digital wallets, tap to pay and app transfers. In Canada, businesses that provide payment services, not merely accept them, must register with the Bank of Canada under the federal Retail Payment Activities Act. British Columbia merchants must also protect customer data under PIPA.

Moral rights are an author's personal rights under the federal Copyright Act to be credited, to preserve a work's integrity, and to prevent its association with a product, service, cause or institution that prejudices the author's honour or reputation. They cannot be assigned but can be waived, so businesses commissioning creative work should obtain written waivers.

A mortgage is a charge on land that secures repayment of a loan. The borrower (mortgagor) grants it to the lender (mortgagee), and in British Columbia it is registered against title under the Land Title Act. On default, the lender usually enforces through a foreclosure proceeding in the BC Supreme Court, which can order a sale.

A mortgagee is the lender in a mortgage: the party in whose favour the mortgage is granted and who holds the charge registered on title as security for the loan. The borrower who grants the mortgage is the mortgagor, who keeps ownership of the property subject to the charge.

Mortgage fraud is dishonestly obtaining a mortgage loan or registering a mortgage by deception, for example through falsified income, inflated valuations, straw buyers, or identity theft used to mortgage someone else's property. It can be prosecuted as fraud or forgery under the Criminal Code and also gives rise to civil claims.

Mortgage insurance, more precisely mortgage default insurance, protects the lender, not the borrower, if a borrower defaults on a residential mortgage. It is provided by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, a federal Crown corporation, and by the private insurers Sagen and Canada Guaranty. The premium is usually added to the mortgage amount.

A mortgage loan is a loan secured by a mortgage, a charge registered against land that allows the lender to enforce against the property if the borrower defaults. In BC, mortgages are registered in the Land Title Office and are used to finance both residential and commercial property.

A mortgage rate is the interest rate a lender charges on a mortgage loan. Rates are set by lenders based on market conditions, the borrower's credit, the term and whether the rate is fixed or variable. They are influenced by the Bank of Canada policy rate but are not set by government.

Mortgage refinancing means replacing an existing mortgage with a new one, often to obtain a better rate, release equity or change the term. The old mortgage is paid out and discharged from title, and the new mortgage is registered in its place in the Land Title Office.

A mortgage term is the period during which the current mortgage contract and its interest rate apply, commonly one to five years. It is different from the amortization period, which is the total time it would take to repay the loan in full. At the end of the term, the borrower renews, refinances or repays.

A mortgagor is the borrower who grants a mortgage over their land to a lender as security for a loan. The mortgagor keeps ownership and possession of the property, subject to the lender's registered charge, and must make the payments and meet the other covenants in the mortgage.

A multilateral agreement is an agreement among three or more parties. The term is most often used for treaties among several countries, such as trade agreements, but private contracts can also be multilateral, for example a shareholders agreement signed by several shareholders and the company.

Mutual mistake arises when contracting parties misunderstand each other and are at cross purposes, so there may be no real agreement. It differs from common mistake, where both share the same fundamental error. In British Columbia a mistake can make a contract void, and where a document fails to record the actual agreement, the court can rectify it.

A mutual release is an agreement in which two or more parties each give up claims against the other, usually in exchange for a settlement payment or on ending a contract. It is commonly signed when settling a dispute, often together with confidentiality and no admission of liability terms.

Negligence is the tort of failing to take reasonable care toward someone owed a duty of care. A British Columbia claimant must prove a duty of care, breach of the standard of care, and damage caused by the breach that is not too remote. Under the Negligence Act, liability is apportioned by fault, including the claimant's own.

A non-compete clause is a contract term that restricts a person from competing with a business, for a set time and area, after the relationship ends. It appears in employment contracts, shareholders agreements and agreements for the sale of a business.

A non-competition agreement is a promise not to carry on a competing business for a stated period and area. In British Columbia, such restrictions in employment contracts are presumed unenforceable restraints of trade unless the employer proves they are clear and reasonable. Courts allow more room for a vendor's non-compete on a business sale, but will not rewrite unreasonable ones.

A non-disclosure agreement (NDA) is a contract in which one or more parties agree to keep specified information confidential and use it only for a stated purpose. In British Columbia an NDA is enforced as an ordinary contract, by damages or an injunction, alongside the common law action for breach of confidence.

A non-disclosure clause, also called a confidentiality clause, is a term in a contract that requires one or both parties to keep specified information confidential and to use it only for permitted purposes. It is common in employment contracts, supply and licence agreements, and agreements for the purchase of a business.

A non-disclosure commitment is a promise, usually in a contract or a separate confidentiality agreement, not to disclose or misuse confidential information shared during negotiations or a business relationship. It is another name for the obligation found in a non-disclosure agreement and has no separate legal meaning.

A non-disclosure obligation is a legal duty to keep information confidential. It most often arises from a contract such as a non-disclosure agreement, but it can also arise without a contract, for example from a fiduciary relationship or where information is received in circumstances of confidence.

A non-disclosure provision is a clause within a larger contract that restricts the disclosure and use of confidential information. It serves the same purpose as a stand-alone non-disclosure agreement and is enforced the same way, as a contractual obligation.

A non-disclosure requirement is an obligation to keep information confidential, imposed either by contract or by law. Contractual requirements appear in non-disclosure agreements and commercial contracts; legal requirements arise, for example, under privacy legislation, professional rules or court orders.

A non-disclosure statement is not a distinct legal document. The term is used loosely for a confidentiality agreement or non-disclosure agreement, in which parties agree to keep specified information confidential, limit its use, and return or destroy it when the relationship ends.

A non-disclosure undertaking is a promise to keep information confidential. In business it is often used loosely for a non-disclosure agreement, but in BC litigation an undertaking has special meanings, including a lawyer's professional undertaking and the implied undertaking that governs documents obtained in discovery.