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rule of the sum of the digits.See RULE OF78. [Blacks Law 8th]

rule of the shorter term.Copyright. A provision of the Universal Copyright Convention stating that no member country is required to extend a longer term of protection than the work receives in the country where it is first published. — Also termed shorter-term rule. [Blacks Law 8th]

rule of the last antecedent.An interpretative principle by which a court determines that qualifying words or phrases modify the words or phrases immediately preceding them and not words or phrases more remote, unless the extension is necessary from the context or the spirit of the entire writing. • For example, an application of this rule…

rule of the floating subtrahend.The common-law doctrine that a plaintiff whose damage was not caused entirely by the defendant must prove the amount of damage that is not attributable to the defendant (the subtrahend) or else recover nothing. • The reasoning behind the rule is that damage is an essential element of a tort claim,…

rule of 78.A method for computing the amount of interest that a borrower saves by paying off a loan early, when the interest payments are higher at the beginning of the loan period. • For example, to determine how much interest is saved by prepaying a 12-month loan after 6 months, divide the sum of…

rule of 72.A method for determining how many years it takes to double money invested at a compound interest rate. • For example, at a compound rate of 6%, it takes 12 years (72 divided by 6) for principal to double. [Blacks Law 8th]

rule of right.The source of a right; the rule that gives rise to a right. [Blacks Law 8th]

rule of recognition.In the legal theory of H.L.A. Hart, a legal system’s fundamental rule, by which all other rules are identified and understood. • In The Concept of Law (1961), Hart contends that a society’s legal system is centered on rules. There are primary rules of obligation, which prescribe how a person should act in…

rule of reason.Antitrust. The judicial doctrine holding that a trade practice violates the Sherman Act only if the practice is an unreasonable restraint of trade, based on economic factors. See SHERMAN ANTITRUST ACT; RESTRAINT OF TRADE . Cf. PER SE RULE. [Cases: Monopolies 12(1.10). C.J.S. Monopolies §§ 47–52, 72, 78, 80–82, 105.] [Blacks Law 8th]

rule of rank.A doctrine of statutory construction holding that a statute dealing with things or persons of an inferior rank cannot by any general words be extended to things or persons of a superior rank. • Blackstone gives the example of a statute dealing with deans, prebendaries, parsons, vicars, and others having spiritual promotion. According…