Re: QUESTION: Legal liability for incorrect documentation

[Dick Gaskill <dickg -at- AG3D -dot- COM>]

Larry ,

I agree with Barry.  Most companies include legal notices in their
product documentaion, including one or more of the following:
        Copyright Notice
        Product Warranty
        Software License Agreement

As an example, the Software License included in all my manuals specifies
the exact legal liabilities of incorrect software specifications in the
documentation.  AccelGraphics warrants to Customer that Software covered
by the Standard Software Warranty, as delivered by AccelGraphics and
properly installed and operated on a Designated System, will
substantially conform to its specifications as stated in the
Documentation provided with the Software for a period of thirty-six (36)
months from Customer's receipt of the Software. AccelGraphics does not
warrant that any item of Software is error-free or that its use will be
uninterrupted.
 In addition, the Notice inside the front cover of the product manuals
includes the following statement, written by the legal firm that
represents us:
ACCELGRAPHICS SHALL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY ERRORS THAT MAY APPEAR IN
THIS DOCUMENT AND SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF OR
RELATED TO THIS DOCUMENT OR THE  INFORMATION CONTAINED IN IT, EVEN IF
ACCELGRAPHICS HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.
Further, many companies include the software license agreement in the
product installation program, and users must at least scroll to the
bottom of the license text and click on the "I agree" checkbox to
install the product, even if they don't take the time to actually read
the license agreement (I'd bet most people don't).  Many of you on this
list have probably seen this in the Adobe Acrobat Reader installation.

HTH

-dg

        On Fri, 6 Feb 1998, Barry House wrote:

        > Larry Weber wrote:
        > >
        > >What are the legal liabilities for publishing incorrect
documentation?
        > >
        >
        > Every manual I've ever written, and every one I've read,
carries a
        > disclaimer that basically says no one is legally responsible
for any errors
        > that appear in the book. I worked at one company that had a
standard
        > disclaimer which said, in part, that it could not guarantee
that the manual
        > bore ANY relationship to the software it supposedly
documented.
        >
        >
        >
        > Barry House
        > The Creative House--Helping Businesses Communicate
        > P.O. Box 523
        > Pittsfield, IL 62363
        > 217-285-2900
        > 217-285-2950 Fax
        > http://www.creative-house.com
        >