Ben Finney wrote: > Sadly, checking the released version of GPLv3, I see that the sections > "15. Disclaimer of Warranty." and "16. Limitation of Liability." both > contain all text in SHOUTY CAPITALS. > > That's disappointing :-( I wasn't aware they'd been reverted from > readable text. It must have happened shortly before the release. > >>> so the board may want to check their local legal position before >>> finalising the non-shouty version. >> If the board reveals something more substantive on the reason for >> writing disclaimers in SHOUTY CAPITALS than "because that's what >> everyone says you have to do", I'm sure many people would be >> interested. > > This still stands. I'm still entirely unaware of what the legal reason > is.
This is explained in the rationale document that accompanied the third public draft of GPLv3, http://gplv3.fsf.org/gpl3-dd3-rationale.pdf at p. 61, n. 108: [quoting] There is authority under United States law suggesting that effective warranty disclaimers must be "conspicuous," and that conspicuousness can be established by capitalization and is absent when a disclaimer has the same typeface as the terms surrounding it (see Stevenson v. TRW, Inc., 987 F.2d 288, 296 (5th Cir. 1993)). We have reason to doubt that such authority would apply to copyright licenses like the GPL. Nevertheless, pending further research, we have cautiously decided to restore the capitalization of both the warranty disclaimer and the liability limitation in Draft 3. [end of quote] Cheers, Richard E. Fontana Counsel Software Freedom Law Center -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
