Alright folks, sorry if this has been brought up before. I was wondering, when you make the end-user click "I Agree" or "I Do Not Agree" with a EULA, is that always legally binding? Is having them click a button enough to indicate they agree to be bound by all the T&Cs? Eg, if you''re chasing down a violation of the EULA and the person involved claims that the installation was performed by someone other than the purchaser of the software, that kind of thing? I assume it''s all good, given that everyone uses them. Just wondering if anyone knows the legal background of this? (obviously might differ from country to country, but wherever)

Most people like me dont even read the thing, so if yoou put "give me all your money" or "be my slafe" somewhere, does it count?

.lick

It''s a touchy topic. It is "generally accepted" that they are legally binding. However, there are no existing cases where someone has challenged the EULA, and there is suspicion that if such a case were taken up that the EULA would be struck down for several reasons, the 2 main ones being
1) you dont get to know the terms you are agreeing to until after the purchase
2) I think courts typically stike down non-negotiated contracts

However, there is an attempt to pass a law (UCITA) that would make EULAs enforcable (among other things). I won''t bother dicussing the good/bad about UTICA (I generally don''t like it, but I''ll let you read up on it and decide for yourself).

Ron Frazier
Kronos Software
www.kronos-software.com
Miko & Molly - Taking Puzzle Games to A Whole New Dimension

Interesting. I thought that might be the case - no precedent. It does seem to be a bit of a gray area. I imagine Microsoft''s system (don''t know if they still use it) might be a bit more solid - the EULA is in a booklet in the box, and you can''t break the seal on the CD unless you agree to be bound by it.

It's generally the policy also that you can't return the software if the seal is broken. And clicking "I Agree" may also just serve as a further deterrent.

There were a lot of complaints about how the makers of EverQuest did things. There was something in the "I Agree" clause about the developers being able to change things as they see fit, which cancelled out anyone's demands for getting their money back for having their characters nerfed. Many of the responses to the complaints by other posters were basically, "Did you click 'I Agree'? Then shut up." (These weren't Verant's responses, just other posters)


[edited by - Waverider on August 6, 2002 10:53:41 AM]

Don''t play the game if you don''t agree to the EULA.

I''m pretty sure you could force the publisher to refund your purchase price, if you don''t agree to it. Thats of course, if the store won''t. Shops like EB are great with things like that.

I was thinking more from the point of view of a developer/publisher - I''m not too bothered (as a consumer) by any EULAs I''ve seen on games lately. I''m thinking more in terms of enforcing EULAs, dealing with license breaches, that kind of thing.

quote: Original post by NeverSayDie
I was thinking more from the point of view of a developer/publisher - I''m not too bothered (as a consumer) by any EULAs I''ve seen on games lately. I''m thinking more in terms of enforcing EULAs, dealing with license breaches, that kind of thing.

Blizzard was successful a few years ago in shutting down a company that was selling unofficial warcraft maps (basically a CD full of maps ripped from the net). The judge ruled in their favor because the Map Editor EULA forbid it.

In almost every EULA I''ve seen, they say something about returning it if you don''t agree (I think stores are required to refund your purchase, but I''ve never tried that).