1. Copyright. The doctrine that unreadable or incomprehensible identifying material deposited with the U.S. Copyright Office may not be protected under copyright law because it cannot be easily examined to determine whether it qualifies. • This rule usu. applies to computer object code. Unlike a certificate of registration, a filing under the rule of doubt is not prima facie evidence of a valid copyright. [Cases: Copyrights and Intellectual Property
4. C.J.S. Copyrights and Intellectual Property §§ 9–10, 16.]
2. Patents. An abandoned judicial doctrine holding that when there is doubt whether an invention is patentable, the patent should be issued so that the inventor can test its validity in court.
