written notification discharging a claim by a creditor. A release of lien discharges secured property from a lien, indicating that the borrower has paid off the loan or substituted other collateral. A release clause in a mortgage or deed of trust stipulates that the property may be released from a mortgage lien if the buyer pays off the mortgage, or certain other conditions are met. A release of mortgage is recorded in public land records.
In general: document one signs to give permission, such as the release of a copyright.
Real estate: to free real estate from a mortgage. See also partial release.
Computers: a version of software. Integers generally indicate a major upgrade, while fractions are used for minor upgrades and bug fixes. Interim upgrades may also be designated by the addition of a letter (6.0a) or as a "service release" (SR-1); these are usually just bug fixes.
- the edition or version number of a software product. Most commonly, whole-number increments in the release number (e.g., from 1.0 to 2.0) signify a major upgrade to the program. Fractional increases are for minor upgrades and bug fixes.
- to let go of the mouse button. Contrast click; press.
- legal authorization by a person to allow someone else to use that person's likeness, name, writings, or other property for advertising, film copy, trade or marketing purposes, or any other stated purpose in exchange for remuneration of some kind.
- agreement by the proposed seller of creative material or a creative concept not to hold the proposed buyer responsible for payment should the material be unusable.
- news item, such as a change of personnel in a company or a fund raising event sponsored by a community service organization, that has been written by the company or organization and delivered to the media to be inserted into their publications or broadcasts for public relations purposes; more properly called a publicity release or a press release.
