Associations to the word «Doctrine»

DOCTRINE, noun. A belief or tenet, especially about philosophical or theological matters.

DOCTRINE, noun. The body of teachings of a religion, or a religious leader, organization, group or text.

DOCTRINE OF EQUIVALENTS, noun. (legal) (US) A legal rule in most patent systems that allows a court to hold a party liable for patent infringement even though the infringing device or process does not fall within the literal scope of a patent claim, but nevertheless is equivalent to the claimed invention.

DOCTRINE OF FOREIGN EQUIVALENTS, noun. (legal) A rule applied in United States trademark under which foreign words are translated into English to determine whether they are registrable as trademarks, or are either descriptive or confusingly similar with existing marks.

DOCTRINE OF NECESSITY, noun. (philosophy) (metaphysics) (theology) Necessarianism, especially as espoused by Joseph Priestley.

DOCTRINE OF NECESSITY, noun. (legal) A principle whereby a normally criminal act is justified by the necessity of preserving something of greater utilitarian value than that lost or sacrificed; not to be confused with self-defence.

DOCTRINE OF NECESSITY, noun. (politics) (legal) The principle that, in a situation of emergency or exigent circumstance, a state may legitimately act in ways that would normally be illegal.

DOCTRINE OF NECESSITY, noun. (politics) (legal) The principle that the laws of an illegal government should be deemed valid insofar as they do not contradict the constitution, justified on the basis that maintenance of government is of greater utilitarian value than maintenance of the law.

DOCTRINE OF NECESSITY, noun. (politics) (international law) The principle that a state in immediate peril to its existence, from a situation not of its own doing, may in extremis be justified in violating a right of another state.

DOCTRINE OF SIGNATURES, noun. The ancient belief that herbs resembling various parts of the body can be used to treat ailments of those parts.

DOCTRINE, noun. A belief (or system of beliefs) accepted as authoritative by some group or school.