Blue Pencil Doctrine

The Blue Pencil Doctrine is a legal principle used in contract law, specifically in relation to non-compete or restrictive covenants. It allows a court to modify or remove parts of a contract that are deemed unenforceable or overly broad, rather than invalidating the entire agreement. This means if a court finds a specific clause too restrictive, it can adjust that clause to make it reasonable while keeping the rest of the contract intact. The term comes from the idea of using a blue pencil to edit text, highlighting the court's role in refining agreements to make them fair and enforceable.