Agreement
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#$Agreement agreements
**COMMENT NOT REVIEWED**
**GAFs NOT REVIEWED**
A collection of `objects' with temporal extent.
Each instance of #$Agreement
involves two or more parties, who agree that certain
propositions should be true. Making the propositions true
may require some action or commitment of wealth on the part
of one or more of the #$agreeingAgents.
Thus, instances of #$Agreement will
usually involve some instances of #$Obligation.
Note: Instances of #$Agreement and
#$Obligation
differ, however, in that an #$obligatedAgent is responsible
for the truth of all of the propositions in an obligation.
In an #$Agreement,
some agents may not be responsible for all of the
propositions in the agreement being true. For example, in a
loan agreement, the borrower agrees to give the lender back
the money, but the borrower is the only #$obligatedAgent for
the repayment. Note that #$obligatedAgents need not be among
the #$agreeingAgents
in the agreement that involves or generates the obligation.
For example, the Board of Directors of XYZCorporation may
agree that some non-director will assume the post and duties
of President of XYZCorporation. Moreover, #$agreeingAgents
aren't always #$obligatedAgents; e.g., Wanda and Paul may
agree that Paul alone is obligated to do some task. Examples
include instances of #$PeaceAccord, #$LegalAgreement,
#$InformalAgreement, #$BusinessPartnershipAgreement, #$WorkAgreement,
#$SalesAgreement,
#$MaintenanceAgreement, #$Reservation, #$Appointment, etc.
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direct instance of:
#$ExistingObjectType
direct specialization of:
#$IntangibleExistingThing #$Artifact-Intangible #$SupposedToBeMicrotheory #$PropositionalInformationThing
direct generalization of:
#$OrganizationPolicy
#$SalesAgreement
#$AuthorizedAgreement
#$WorkAgreement
#$LegalAgreement
#$Permission
Predicates Describing Agreements
#$subAgreements sub agreements
**COMMENT NOT REVIEWED**
**GAFs NOT REVIEWED**
The predicate #$subAgreements
relates a particular agreement to the subordinate agreements
it comprises. (#$subAgreements
AGR SUB) means that both AGR and SUB are instances of #$Agreement, and
AGR has SUB as a sub-part.
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direct instance of: #$AsymmetricBinaryPredicate
#$TransitiveBinaryPredicate #$NonPhysicalPartPredicate
#$agreeingAgents agreeing agents
The predicate #$agreeingAgents
relates a particular agreement to the agents who made, or
who are making, the agreement. (#$agreeingAgents
AGREE PARTY) means that the #$Agreement
AGREE has the #$Agent
PARTY among its agreeing parties. If an #$Agreement
AGREE and an #$Agent
PARTY are related via #$agreeingAgents,
they may also be related by more specialized versions of #$agreeingAgents,
such as #$agreeingBuyer or #$agreeingSeller, #$insuringAgent
or #$policyHolder, #$employedAgent
or #$employingAgent.
Note that if (#$agreeingAgents
AGREE PARTY) holds, the #$Agent PARTY will be
mentioned in the #$Agreement AGREE.
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direct instance of:
#$CotemporalObjectsSlot
#$InterActorSlot
direct specialization of:
#$propositionalInfoAbout
#$governedByAgreement governed
by agreement
**COMMENT NOT REVIEWED**
**GAFs NOT REVIEWED**
The predicate #$governedByAgreement
relates an event to an agreement that stipulates something
with respect to it, such as certain conditions that are to
hold during the event, or whether the event should or should
not occur. (#$governedByAgreement
EVT AGR) means that some aspects of the instance of #$HumanActivity
EVT are controlled by, or 'under the jurisdiction of', the
instance of #$Agreement AGR.
For example, a #$BuyingGroup
may have #$SalesContracts
with its #$suppliers
that specify what prices may be charged for goods bought by
members of the group during the agreement period. But note
that an event's being governed by an agreement does not
entail that the event conforms to what the agreement
stipulates: an act that violates the agreement is still
governed by it.
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direct instance of:
#$ActorSlot
direct specialization of:
#$preActors
#$ist-Agreement ist
- agreement
**COMMENT NOT REVIEWED**
**GAFs NOT REVIEWED**
The predicate #$ist-Agreement
is used to indicate the propositions which have been agreed
upon in a particular agreement. (#$ist-Agreement
AGR PROP) means that the proposition PROP is and should be
true, according to the #$Agreement AGR.
PROP is expressed as a #$ELSentence-Assertible
and is considered true within the microtheory which
represents AGR. PROP may or may not be true in reality. Note
the distinction between #$ist and #$ist-Agreement:
#$ist relates any
particular microtheory to all assertions that happen to be
true in that microtheory; but #$ist-Agreement
specially indicates those assertions in an #$Agreement
microtheory which belong to the agreement itself and are not
just something that happens to be true in it (e.g., that one
of the #$agreeingAgents
is named Joe).
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direct instance of: #$MicrotheoryDesignatingPredicate
#$MicrotheoryPredicate
#$BinaryPredicate
direct specialization of:
#$ist
#$agreementForbids agreement forbids
**COMMENT NOT REVIEWED**
**GAFs NOT REVIEWED**
The predicate #$agreementForbids
is used to indicate a type of action that a particular agent
is forbidden to play a particular role in under the terms of
a particular agreement. (#$agreementForbids
AGR AGENT ACT-TYPE ROLE) means that the instance of #$Agreement AGR
forbids the instance of #$Agent AGENT to play
the instance of #$Role
ROLE in any event that is an instance of the subcollection
of #$Event ACT-TYPE.
For example, a peace accord #$agreementForbids
any instance of #$WagingWar against other signatories to be
#$performedBy any
of the governments who signed it. Similarly, a business
contract may forbid one agent to compete with another after
s/he sells rights to a product, design, or practice to the
second agent.
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direct instance of: #$QuaternaryPredicate
#$agreementPeriod agreement period
**COMMENT NOT REVIEWED**
**GAFs NOT REVIEWED**
The predicate #$agreementPeriod
is used to indicate the period of time during which a
particular agreement is in force. (#$agreementPeriod
AGR TIME) means that the #$Agreement AGR
holds during the #$TimeInterval
TIME; i.e., TIME is the period during which the assertions
made in AGR are supposed to be true. TIME may or may not
begin at the moment that AGR is created; e.g., I may sign an
employment contract on the very day I begin working or
several weeks before, to begin on a specified future date.
Or an #$agreementPeriod
could begin before the agreement was made, e.g., when an
agent agreed to pay disputed royalties retroactively.
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direct instance of: #$BinaryPredicate
Some Sample Kinds Of Agreements
#$Obligation obligations
**COMMENT NOT REVIEWED**
**GAFs NOT REVIEWED**
A collection of microtheories; a subcollection of
#$SupposedToBeMicrotheory.
Each instance of the collection #$Obligation is a
microtheory which contains assertions describing what some
agent (the #$obligatedAgent) is obliged to do, or make true,
for one or more other agents, possibly including society in
general. An obligation is the most general case of some
agent owing something to another. Obligations may be
undertaken in conjunction with various kinds of #$Agreements.
Unlike an agreement, however, an obligation need not have a
second known party (though some do). An obligation can exist
and be understood without identifying another particular
agent as the `holder' of the obligation -- and that may be
true, even if the beneficiary (#$obligationOwedTo) can be
identified. For example, assuming that parents have an
obligation to care for their children, it is not clear with
whom a parent has `agreed' to take care of his or her child.
Some common ways to incur an obligation are through social
transactions (e.g., family duties, friendship, favors) or
through financial transactions (e.g., a
#$PaymentObligation). In addition, obligations may be
imposed on those who are subject to one or more instances of
#$CodeOfConduct,
e.g., #$LegalCode-ModernUnitedStates,
#$SportsRulesOf-BoxingSportsEvent, #$OfficeCodeOfConductMt.
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direct instance of:
#$ExistingObjectType
direct specialization of:
#$SupposedToBeMicrotheory #$IntangibleExistingThing
direct generalization of:
#$WorkAgreement
#$CodeOfConduct
#$CodeOfConduct codes
of conduct
An instance of #$MicrotheoryType,
and a specialization of #$Obligation.
Each instance of #$CodeOfConduct
is a microtheory containing rules and/or expectations
governing the behavior of those agents subject to it.
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direct instance of:
#$MicrotheoryType
#$ExistingObjectType
direct specialization of:
#$Obligation
direct generalization of:
#$FormalCOC
#$FormalCOC formal
codes of conduct
An instance of #$MicrotheoryType,
and a specialization of #$CodeOfConduct.
Each instance of #$FormalCOC is a
code of conduct imposed by some organization. Formal codes
of conduct typically are explicitly stated and publicly
promulgated among the group subject to them, and they are
usually associated with prescribed methods of enforcement
and punishment of violators. Thus, the collection #$FormalCOC
includes the laws of any legal jurisdiction, the rules of
deportment imposed by educational institutions, and the
practices of some strict religious sects. In contrast,
informal codes of conduct are norms that are not prescribed
or enforced by formal means; for example, etiquette
(#$MannersCodeOfConduct) and ethics (#$EthicsCodeOfConduct).
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direct instance of:
#$MicrotheoryType
#$ExistingObjectType
direct specialization of:
#$CodeOfConduct
direct generalization of:
#$GovernmentCOC
#$GovernmentCOC governmental regulations
**COMMENT NOT REVIEWED**
**GAFs NOT REVIEWED**
A collection of microtheories; a subcollection of
#$FormalCOC (the
set of formal codes of conduct). Each instance of #$GovernmentCOC
is a formal regulation of behavior imposed upon agents --
including citizens, tourists, businesses, government
entities, etc., in so far as they are subject to it -- who
are located within the legal jurisdiction where that code of
conduct holds. #$GovernmentCOC
includes both individual laws and whole legal codes. Some
examples of #$GovernmentCOC
include: the Napoleonic Code, the United States Constitution
and all Federal, State, and local laws of the United States,
and the particular laws against stealing found in most, if
not all, countries. Enforcement of a particular instance of
#$GovernmentCOC
is authorized by the government associated with that code
and carried out by its agents within their jurisdiction(s).
See also #$LegalCode and #$Law.
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direct instance of:
#$MicrotheoryType
#$ExistingObjectType
direct specialization of:
#$FormalCOC
direct generalization of:
#$LegalCode
#$LegalCode legal codes
**COMMENT NOT REVIEWED**
**GAFs NOT REVIEWED**
A specialization of #$GovernmentCOC.
Each instance of #$LegalCode is a
microtheory for collecting all the instances of #$Law (q.v.)
which hold in a given instance of #$GeopoliticalEntity.
For example, #$LegalCode-ModernUnitedStates.
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direct instance of:
#$MicrotheoryType
#$ExistingObjectType
direct specialization of:
#$GovernmentCOC
#$laws laws (cotemporal predicate)
**COMMENT NOT REVIEWED**
**GAFs NOT REVIEWED**
The predicate #$laws is used to
relate a geopolitical region (country, state, city, etc.) to
a law or entire legal code which applies there. (#$laws GEOPOL CODE)
means that the #$GeopoliticalEntity
GEOPOL officially has the law (or set of laws) CODE. See
also #$GovernmentCOC
for the representation of a #$Law or a #$LegalCode as a
#$Microtheory.
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direct instance of:
#$CotemporalObjectsSlot
#$Warranty guarantees
**COMMENT NOT REVIEWED**
**GAFs NOT REVIEWED**
A specialization of #$AuthorizedAgreement.
Each instance of #$Warranty is an
agreement between the seller (and/or manufacturer) and the
purchaser of some object or service. In a warranty, the
seller/manufacturer promises that the object or service will
be satisfactory in some indicated way (e.g., free of
defects). Usually a warranty specifies what compensation an
unsatisfied purchaser is entitled to (e.g., free repairs, a
refund), and how s/he can claim it.
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direct instance of:
#$ExistingObjectType
direct specialization of:
#$AuthorizedAgreement
#$SalesAgreement sales agreements
**COMMENT NOT REVIEWED**
**GAFs NOT REVIEWED**
A collection of agreements. Each instance of #$SalesAgreement
is an agreement which governs aspects of some #$Buying activity.
This includes bidding activities (in the subcollection #$SalesBidOrContract),
as well as instances of #$SalesContract.
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direct instance of:
#$ExistingObjectType
direct specialization of:
#$Agreement
#$SalesBidOrContract bids
**COMMENT NOT REVIEWED**
**GAFs NOT REVIEWED**
A collection of agreements. Each element of #$SalesBidOrContract
is either a proposed or accepted agreement containing terms
at which a seller will provide goods or services to a buyer.
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direct instance of:
#$ExistingObjectType
direct specialization of:
#$SalesAgreement
#$SalesContract sales contracts
**COMMENT NOT REVIEWED**
**GAFs NOT REVIEWED**
A collection of agreements; a subset of #$LegalAgreement.
Each element of #$SalesContract
is a legal agreement between a selling agent and a buying
agent, stipulating the terms under which the seller will
provide goods and/or services to the buyer.
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direct instance of:
#$ExistingObjectType
direct specialization of:
#$LegalAgreement #$SalesAgreement
#$Proposal proposals
**COMMENT NOT REVIEWED**
**GAFs NOT REVIEWED**
The class of potential agreements or other kinds of
#$SupposedToBeMicrotheory
which are in the 'proposal' stage -- i.e., which are under
consideration but which have not been adopted (yet). The
making and consideration of #$Proposals is an
important part of such activities as #$Negotiating and
legislative #$Debate. Examples of #$Proposals
include #$BidOnSale, job offers, proposed codes of conduct
(including proposals for new #$Laws), and proposed punishments.
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direct instance of:
#$MicrotheoryType
direct specialization of:
#$SupposedToBeMicrotheory #$PropositionalInformationThing #$IntangibleExistingThing
#$proposalStatus proposal
status (attribute predicate)
**COMMENT NOT REVIEWED**
**GAFs NOT REVIEWED**
The predicate #$proposalStatus
is used to indicate the status of a particular proposal. (#$proposalStatus
PROPOS STATUS) means that the #$Proposal PROPOS
has STATUS as its #$ProposalStatusAttribute (e.g.,
#$Acknowledged, #$AwaitingConfirmation, #$Accepted). Since
the status of a proposal changes throughout the process of
submission and consideration, assertions made with #$proposalStatus
should be temporally qualified (e.g., using #$holdsIn).
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direct instance of: #$BinaryAttributePredicate
direct specialization of:
#$hasAttributes
#$OrganizationPolicy policies (agreements)
**COMMENT NOT REVIEWED**
**GAFs NOT REVIEWED**
A specialization of #$Agreement.
Each instance of #$OrganizationPolicy
is an agreement which contains the terms of some policy of a
particular organization. Instances of #$OrganizationPolicy
would include U.S. Federal government hiring policies, a
policy governing a corporation's charitable or political
donations, or a school dress code.
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direct instance of:
#$ExistingObjectType
#$MicrotheoryType
direct specialization of:
#$Agreement
#$Permission permits
**COMMENT NOT REVIEWED**
**GAFs NOT REVIEWED**
A specialization of #$Agreement.
Each instance of #$Permission is
an agreement specifying some rights or privileges which have
been granted to an instance of #$Agent (q.v.). A
permission may be an informal agreement between individuals,
but many instances are formal and involve permissions
granted by a government authority to some agent. Notable
specializations of #$Permission
include #$License-LegalAgreement
and #$Visa-Permit.
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direct instance of:
#$ExistingObjectType
direct specialization of:
#$Agreement
direct generalization of:
#$Visa-Permit
#$LegalAgreement legal agreements
An instance of #$ExistingObjectType,
and a specialization of #$Agreement.
Each instance of #$LegalAgreement
is an agreement which has a legal status; that is, it is
recognized as a valid agreement by some government. Notable
specializations of #$LegalAgreement
include #$SalesContract,
#$Visa-Permit, and
#$Account.
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direct instance of:
#$ExistingObjectType
direct specialization of:
#$Agreement
direct generalization of:
#$Account #$Visa-Permit
#$Account accounts (agreements)
**COMMENT NOT REVIEWED**
**GAFs NOT REVIEWED**
A collection of objects; a subcollection of #$LegalAgreement.
Each instance of #$Account is a
recorded obligation (of some particular type) between
specified parties, consisting of `funds' which typically can
be added to and drawn upon. Examples include instances of
#$RetirementAccount, #$TravelExpenseAccount, and of the many
types of #$FinancialAccount
. Note that the contents of an account need not be monetary;
for example, the contents may be amounts of time, as in the
subcollections #$VacationAccount or #$SickLeaveAccount. #$Account does NOT
include debt obligations of fixed face value that cannot be
increased or reduced (such as a bond).
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direct instance of:
#$AccountType
direct specialization of:
#$AuthorizedAgreement #$LegalAgreement
direct generalization of:
#$FinancialAccount
#$InsurancePlan insurance (agreement)
**COMMENT NOT REVIEWED**
**GAFs NOT REVIEWED**
A collection of microtheories; a subset of #$LegalAgreement.
Each element of #$InsurancePlan
is an agreement between two or more agents. For each such
plan, there is at least one #$insuredAgent who is covered by
the insurance plan, and one #$insuringAgent who is the
insurance provider (e.g., HMO, insurance company, or U.S.
Federal government agency). An insurance plan may be funded
by (see #$insuranceFundedBy) the insured or by a third
party, such as the insured's employer. Some subsets of #$InsurancePlan
representing insurance for different #$insuredEventTypes
are: #$LifeInsurance, #$MedicalInsurance,
#$DisabilityInsurance, #$HomeOwnersInsurance,
#$AutomobileInsurance, #$LiabilityInsurance.
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direct instance of:
#$ExistingObjectType
#$ProductType
direct specialization of:
#$Account
Copyright© 1996-2002. All rights reserved. See Terms of Usage.