Legal Definitions - defendemus

Defendemus is a Latin term meaning "We will defend."

Historically, this phrase was used in legal documents, particularly those related to property transfers (known as conveyancing). It represented a solemn promise by the person giving property (the donor) and their heirs to protect the new owner (the donee) against any future claims, challenges, or burdens on the property that were not explicitly agreed upon at the time of the transfer. While not a standalone guarantee, it became a crucial component of broader warranty clauses, signifying a commitment to actively protect the new owner's title against third-party interference.

Here are some examples illustrating the concept of "we will defend":

• Property Sale Agreement: Imagine a scenario where a homeowner sells their house. In the sales contract, there might be a clause stating that the seller "shall and will warrant and forever defend" the buyer's title to the property against any undisclosed claims arising from the seller's period of ownership. If, after the sale, a neighbor suddenly claims a long-forgotten easement across the buyer's newly acquired backyard that was never disclosed, the seller would be legally obligated to step in and defend the buyer against this claim, potentially covering legal costs or resolving the dispute.

  This illustrates defendemus because the seller is promising to actively protect the buyer's ownership rights against a third-party claim that predates the sale and was not known to the buyer.

• Software Licensing Agreement: Consider a small tech company that licenses its unique software to a larger corporation. The licensing agreement includes a provision where the tech company promises to "defend, indemnify, and hold harmless" the corporation against any third-party lawsuits alleging that the software infringes on another company's patent. If a competitor later sues the corporation for patent infringement related to the licensed software, the tech company would be required to provide legal defense for the corporation.

  This example demonstrates defendemus as the tech company commits to defending the corporation against intellectual property claims made by an outside party concerning the licensed product.

• Book Publishing Contract: An author signs a contract with a publisher for their new non-fiction book. The contract contains a clause where the author warrants that the work is original and does not infringe on any copyrights, and further agrees to "defend" the publisher against any claims of plagiarism or copyright infringement brought by a third party. If another author later alleges that parts of the book were copied from their work, the original author would be responsible for defending the publisher against that accusation.

  Here, defendemus is shown through the author's promise to protect the publisher from legal challenges to the book's originality or ownership, initiated by someone outside the author-publisher relationship.