Today, September 8th, is International Literacy Day.  We typically think of the 3 Rs (reading, writing and ‘rithmetic) as a minimum requirement for literacy yet millions of people throughout the world are still denied this basic education.  To address the problem the United Nations issued a General Assembly resolution ushering in the United Nations Literacy Decade and reaffirming every individual’s unalienable right to education.  

It reminds me of some other unalienable rights, those enshrined in the U.S. Declaration of Independence: the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.   Maybe it’s no coincidence that this is Blawg Review #176.  OK, I need to add another 7 to get to 1776, but give me some artistic license here.  Literacy is what gives us the freedom and the key to succeed.  It’s powerful stuff. 

This week’s legal blogisphere is once again loaded with fabulous information that can rock our world and make us more successful.  Thanks to everyone who contributed to this edition of Blawg Review.

Every blog has a unique internet domain name.  Such domain names are critical to navigating the world wide web to all kinds of websites and are widely recognized as valuable business marketing tools.  If you or your business own a domain name you’ll want to check out Enrico Schaefer’s Traverse Legal and his about how changing WHOIS privacy protection in domain names can be considered registration in bad faith.  No one wants to be accused of that!

When it comes to webpages.  Everyone wants their page to be ranked high on a Google search.  High rankings can occur naturally or through sponsored links.  This week, Brett Trout  tells us how he achieved the #1 spot on Google by spending zero dollars.  We also have blawgisphere heavyweights Bob Ambrogi, Carolyn Elefant, and Kevin O’Keefe each weighing in on the unfolding Linkgate story.  Seems that FindLaw’s use of sponsored links, those little paid advertisements you find on a web page that help propel a site up the Google charts, has come under fire as “Link Juice.”  Sounds ugly.

Rebecca Tushnet then tells us about a case where both natural and linked search engine results were held to be deceptive by a court of law.  The case involves the website dmv.org which some folks thought was a genuine government sponsored division of motor vehicle website.  They didn’t realize that real government sites have a “gov” ending, not “org”.  (There’s that literacy thing again.)  Anyhow, it’s an interesting discussion about how other people’s confusion can create liability for you. 

Ignorance of the law is never a persuasive excuse or defense.  Eugene Volokh at The Volokh Conspiracy reports how a really bad joke turned into a felony offense when a city worker put a “whites only” sign up on a public works drinking fountain.  Similarly, Techdirt reports how the producers of the musical Jersey Boys are in hot water with the widow of an author of an unpublished account of the Four Seasons’ rise to fame.  It asks the question whether anyone can copyright the factual history of a famous musical group.   

While I’m in a New Jersey state of mind, check out the New Jersey Employment Law Blog which says Read Those Contracts!   Seems that the Third Circuit Court of Appeals enforced an arbitration agreement written in English even though the affected employee did not read or speak English.  Looks like that decision takes literacy requirements to a new level.

Contracts in any language will always benefit from clarity.  Ray Ward at the (new) legal writer points to Ken Adams piece offering tips on how to avoid dysfunctional contract drafting.   And don’t miss Valleywag where you’ll find a fun discussion about the consequences of poor drafting — some nutty terms of service found on internet sites.

While on an intellectual level we know that learning about new topics is “good” for us, but the process of learning can have it’s own set of problems.  There are infrastructure issues as pointed out by Information Literacy Weblog,  and sometimes affirmative action issues and desire to have more minority students pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering and math, as noted by Right Coast, come into play; and let’s not forget about What Students Want (The Conglomerate.)  It’s never easy.

There is always a danger that information may be misleading.  Useful Arts, for example, discusses how the National Center for State Courts has distributed comic books and teachers’ guides to schools for the purpose of educating kids about courts.  The posting goes on to describe how the comic books are factually wrong about the application of law in its own text.  Ouch.

There is also the danger that you might be overwhelmed with the information you acquire.   Scott H. Greenfield at Simple Justice discusses one situation where too much information led a woman in crisis to choose sub-optimal defense counsel for her husband in a criminal case. 

Usually a sensory system overload only leads to analysis paralysis while you sort through the information avalanche.  Geniocity, for example, points out that confusion, and often anxiety are inevitable when confronting new and difficult problems.  It’s normal even though it may feel wierd.

Yes, learning does initially take us out of our comfort zones.  But, new perspectives give us an opportunity to grow.  A Former Paralegal Looks at the Law from a New Angle and offers a glimpse into the life of a process server.  The Greatest American Lawyer looks at how the practice of law is changing and how small firm can be valuable training grounds.  Attorney-mediator Victoria Pynchon looks at a “Legal TED Conference” as a modern day replacement for mediation and arbitration; and Mark Hermann discusses how the decision by the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation can dramatically effect the life of a dispute.  I’m readin’ ca-ching between the lines on that last one and yet another reason to stay out of court.

Learning lets us look behind the scenes and discover that what often sounds good takes on a very different perspective once you learn more.  Placing caps on damage awards, for example, sounds like a fair and equitable concept.  Yet, Davids’ blog discusses how caps on damages discriminates against retired workers .  Who would’ve thought that?  Similarly, Professor James Maule at MauledAgain discusses another counterintuitive combination Tax and Economics at the Movies.

What I like most about literacy is that it helps connect people, places, and ideas.  A big tip of the hat therefore goes to the editor of the Blawg Review who has started a meme (5 Blogs & 5 Blawgers) that is recommending non-legal blogs to lawyers and spreading through the legal blawgisphere like a viral marketing campaign.  Lawyers can certainly learn from the business world and as you can see from my blog’s tagline, I’m all for building bridges between the two disciplines.  

But my favorite posting this week comes from Securing Innovation on how the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Believes Children Are Our Future.  It’s a story about how the USPTO and the National Inventor’s Hall of Fame Foundation are encouraging kids to invent stuff and unleash their creative genius.  Everyone has a certain genius and it gets bottled up when those around you say “you can’t,” “you’re not good enough,” “you’re not smart enough,” or that something wrong with you.  Patent attorney, and CEO of IP.com, Tom Colson notes, “there’s always the risk that such well-intentioned programs and the media reinforce gender stereotypes by showing boys inventing “typical boy ideas” and girls inventing things for women.”  That’s one reason he authored an inspirational children’s book series about “A Girl Named Pants.”  He wants to push back against the ignorance of gender stereotypes and teach his three daughters and young girls everywhere that they can do and be anything they want to be.  Bravo! 

Literacy can’t function in a vacuum.  It must be nurtured before it can flourish, and thrive, and enrich us.  Celebrate literacy.  Ignorance of anykind is dangerous.  It can turn our daily playing field into a mine field.  Literacy, on the other hand, lets us successfully navigate the dangers and gives us the freedom to succeed.  It feeds the mind, the heart, and the soul.

And now, a word from our sponsor . . .  Blawg Review has information about next week’s host, and instructions on how to get your blawg posts reviewed in upcoming issues.

Last week the world mourned the loss of Last Lecture professor, Randy Pausch.  His final lecture at Carnegie Mellon University was intended as a collection of life’s lessons for his children: a beautiful gift of love.  But as the inspiring lecture spawned a best selling book and touched the lives of millions of people around the world, including my own, the book became more than a gift to his children.  It became a gift to humanity, tapping into our hopes and dreams and the obstacles we encounter on the Yellow Brick Road.  Or as Prof. Pausch repeatedly said, “Brick walls are there to test how badly you want it.”

If you haven’t seen or heard Pausch’s Last Lecture, I encourage you to see the YouTube video.  Here’s the link.

The first time I saw it I focused on the obvious lessons.  When I heard the sad news last week, I watched again.  This time there was a new take-away : a contract take-away.   I bet Randy never dreamed he’d be teaching law.

One of the stories Randy tells is about his childhood dream to work for the Disney organization.  Given that goal, it was no wonder as a young professor he jumped at the opportunity to work on a virtual reality project with Disney’s Imagineering Team.  Only one problem: the University’s policy on intellectual property. 

The first Dean he spoke to insisted that any patent rights resulting from the collaboration stay with the University.  Disney, as you might imagine (no pun intended), was adamant about confidentiality (that meant no published paper) and they wanted the patent rights.  Neither side wanted to back down.

When you see Randy tell this story in the video his frustration is palpable.  He wanted to work with so Disney badly.  He was ready to quit his job if he had to.  It was huge. 

Then Randy realized that perhaps another Dean would have the final say about the contract and he went to talk to Dean #2.  That conversation went much better.  Instead of saying “no”, Dean #2 said “tell me more.  Those were magic words:  Tell Me More.  (Remember those words and use them.)

In the process of asking questions about the Imagineering project Dean #2 did learn more, the legal risk was isolated, and successfully negotiated.  The deal was done, a paper was ultimately published, and Randy Pausch fulfilled a dream.  brick wall was conquered: that’s powerful stuff.

Think for a moment about some of your own contract frustrations.  Next time you hit one of those brick walls pick yourself up and ask yourself how badly you want it and then take the Yellow Brick Road.  Look at the thorny issues from different perspectives.  Compare them to your real goals.  Isolate the legal risks and put them in the context of this transaction. 

You can learn a lot by saying “tell me more” and the more you learn the more opportunity you have for reconciling what at first glance appears to be irreconcilable differences.  Randy, for example, did get to publish a paper about his virtual reality work with the Disney Imagineering Team, but I’ll bet the contract gave Disney a limited right of review to make sure no sensitive “confidential” information was being released.  See, a win-win. 

Remember, contracts are business tools.  They memorialize the deal.  They don’t create the deal.  You do.  You’re the Wizard of Oz.