We explain what a reserve is in its general sense and also what are natural reserves, of a company and of rights.
What is a reservation?
In general, when we talk about a reservation we refer, literally or figuratively, to something that is saved or withheld, as a preventive measure against a future need. In other words, what is saved today to be able to use it tomorrow, that is, something that is reserved for tomorrow.
It is a term that we have inherited from Latin (the verb I will reserve), composed by “re-”(“ Backwards ”) and I will serve (“To have” or “to keep”), and that it was used in the same sense.
What we normally call reservation, that is, what we keep or the very action of saving something, applies to endless contexts and referents in different ways, which is why this word has many meanings in the dictionary.
To cite just a few, we can speak of reserve as a synonym of restraint, caution, distrust or discretion, since in a figurative sense someone “keeps” a little of their enthusiasm or frankness because they fear being wrong or depositing it where it should not (for example: “Miguel signed the contract, but with many reservations”).
The term reserve can also be used to refer to the action of save a place, a quota or the right to use something for someone who will have to arrive later, like someone who precisely reserves tickets for a theatrical performance, or for the cinema.
In the same way, it is called reserve to the military garrison that remains behind in a combat, just in case they become needy, or in peacetime to citizens who have already completed their military service and are engaged in civilian life, but who in the event of war can be summoned to the front (they are called “reservists”).
The same occurs with international reserves, which are a country‘s savings in foreign currency, usually located in banks of great international prestige, and controlled by the central banks and other formal political institutions of the nation. The more savings of this type a country has, the more solvent its economy is considered, since instead of going into debt, it can dispose of its money.
As you will see, there are many possible uses of the word, all related to what is saved for later.
Natural reserves
It is known as a natural reserve or ecological reserve to an area of the territory of a country that is considered ecologically important and worthy of preservation, given its biotic wealth (in wild flora and fauna) or unique geological features.
These spaces are state property and are normally used for economic purposes very different from industrial exploitation: education, tourism or research, and they are a way of preventing human voracity from destroying environmental beauty. For this reason, hunting, fishing, logging and construction are often prohibited in such places.
The first nature reserve in history was a nature sanctuary in Sri Lanka, ordered by King Devanmpiya Tissa in the 3rd century BC. In the modern era, the first nature reserve was Drachenfels, a 312 meter high mountain near Bonn in Germany.
Reservations of a company
In the business field, reserves are understood to be economic benefits that a company reports and that it has not distributed among its partners and owners, but constitute a remnant of own funds to be available. These reserves can be of very different types:
- Legal reserves, which the law requires that every company retain its share capital, in order to meet eventual obligations in a responsible manner.
- Voluntary reserves, when they are the result of a deliberate plan of the management of the company to accumulate undistributed business dividends, with which to reinvest in the company or face growth situations.
- Special reservations, also governed by law, but managed in a specific way according to the case to which it refers: reserves for goodwill, for amortized capital, etc.
Reservation of rights
Finally, in the juridical and legal field, there is talk of reservation of rights to refer to a type of legal protection of intellectual property, which in many countries operates differently from traditional copyright.
When the phrase “all rights reserved” appears, it refers to the fact that the authors of a book, film, etc., have not renounced any type of ownership or authorship over their piece, so the prohibitions must be fully respected reproduction, alteration, copying, etc.
In general, we must understand that A “reserved” right is one that you want to fully exercise, that is, that has not been assigned in any way or that it is in the hands of those who exercise it.
For example, a “retention of title” is a pact between sellers and buyers that, included in purchase-sale contracts with deferred payment (that is, in which the seller does not receive the money automatically and immediately), in those that it is explicit that the seller still owns the domain of the negotiated good until finally receiving his money.
If this never happens, the seller can claim ownership of the negotiated good, and if it is fulfilled, the reservation of title will be rendered ineffective and may be destroyed.