Do you understand warranty or software license information?
If so, please explain to me why such documents RANDOMLY START SHOUTING IN CAPITAL LETTERS before switching back to lower case before A BIT MORE SHOUTING JUST LIKE A BONKERS COMMENT ON A BLOG.
I mean, why? Oops, sorry. I meant, WHY?
I know it would be really, really mean of me to conclude that all those terribly clever lawyers just want to make their detailed work hard to read by SPRAYING ABOUT CAPITAL LETTERS AS IF THEY HAVEN’T GOT A CLUE ABOUT WHAT MAKES FOR SENSIBLE LAYOUT AND WHAT DOESN’T. So is there a reason?
I do hope there’s some exciting test case someone can quote about how a legal document has to have a certain minimum percentage of capital letters before it becomes legally binding.
Update: I wonder if the new Windows 7 packaging will include RANDOM CAPITAL LETTERS?
Comment from an IP lawyer I know…
I completely agree. Fortunately no-one (that I know of) has taken to putting emoticons into software agreements, but doubtless it’s only a matter of time.
The theory is that particularly onerous clauses need to be specifically drawn to the other party’s attention and Lord Denning once claimed that some clauses would only pass this test if they had a large concrete hand pointing at them, but it is in fact harder – as pointed out – to read clauses in ALL CAPS. PLUS THEY LOOK DEMENTED.
But there you have it.