Friday, September 6, 2013

Disclaiming responsibility: We are not really psychics
























Eighty-five years ago some people weren’t afraid to claim they could make predictions, like that brilliant psychic star Newmann the Great. Now there is much more caution, and long legal disclaimers.















On the Stanford University web site I found a lengthy disclaimer for bondholders that opened with the sentence shown above. A shorter, plain English version might instead have said:














What about California Psychics, one of whose trademarks is The Psychic Service More People Trust? That trademark is owned by Outlook Amusements, Inc. of Burbank, California. The Terms of Service statement on the California Psychics web site says that their service is provided for entertainment purposes only.
  




















If you want to avoid litigation, then you might consider opening your presentation with a disclaimer slide like the one shown above.

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