The term online (also spelled on-line and on line) has several different meanings, including:

1. “(1) Pertaining to a user’s ability to interact with a computer, (2) Pertaining to a user’s access to computer via terminal, (3) Pertaining to the operation of a functional unit that is under the continual control of a computer. The term ‘on line’ is also used to describe a user’s access to a computer via a terminal.”^[1]
2. "[t]he state associated with the ability to connect and communicate with other networks, systems, computers, subjects or components in real time through the Internet."^[2]

ReferencesEdit

1. ↑ In re TBG, Inc., 229 U.S.P.Q. (BNA) 759, 759 n.1 (T.T.A.B. 1986).
2. ↑ The White House, (Draft) National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace: Creating Options for Enhanced Online Security and Privacy 33 (June 25, 2010).[1]