The agreement in principle is subject to completion of definitive documentation and all necessary approvals.

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How this general principle plays out in particular, though, is the subject of eager study.

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The principle of a dollar linked to gold, instead of subject to the whims of Ben Bernanke as he attempts to create jobs and prosperity out of monetary trickery, was for a long time a cornerstone of conservative economic thinking in this country.

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Game mechanisms are not subject to copyright, of course, but the principle is much the same: it is possible for two creators to create the same work or very similar work through separate processes of creation, without ever knowing about the other.

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The danger of this happening will become acute on December 21st, when a Scottish businessman, Andrew Cubie, is due, at Mr Dewar's request, to publish a report about the future of university tuition fees, a subject which accident as much as design has elevated into a difference of high principle between Labour and the Lib Dems.

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He said he had changed his views on the subject in the "last couple of years" and now thought it was "right in principle".

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