Desuetude Obsolescence Difference
Legal and technical documents often toss around “desuetude” and “obsolescence” as if they were synonyms. They are not, and mistaking one for the other can derail compliance audits, product roadmaps, and even court rulings. Desuetude is the legal abandonment of a rule through prolonged non-enforcement. Obsolescence is the technical or market-driven loss of usefulness. One…