On Jan 9, 2008 12:20 AM, Ben Finney <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > [...] because no lawyer on Earth knows [why] they aren't in mixed > case and everybody seems to think that everybody else knows and > that he's the only one that doesn't know and he was absent that > day in law school.
I have a (slightly old) edition of Rennie's "Computer and Internet Contracts and Law" (a leading English software precedents looseleaf), and the notes state as follows in a number of contracts: "USA: NOTE: In all States in the USA (except Louisiana) all disclaimers of warranty of merchantability or warranty of fitness for any particular purpose must be conspicuous and are usually in boldface or uppercase (capital) print or both." According to the commentary, this is a requirement of the Uniform Commercial Code. (Quick forage on Wikipedia). Here you go: http://www.law.cornell.edu/ucc/2/article2.htm#s2-316 So it appears the legal requirement is for the disclaimer to be "conspicuous". However, it's difficult to see how you can achieve this in plain text other than by SHOUTY CAPITALS, alas. A similar requirement exists under English common law, where disclaimers of liability must be brought to customers' attention, particularly if they are unusual or onerous. When I'm drafting contracts where this is necessary, however, I tend to prefer using bold to capitals, because mixed case text is easier to read, and indeed less hideous all round. ;-) John (TINLA) -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]