Interesting post at Ed Foster's The Gripe Log this morning. Ed discusses whether or not the EULA (End User License Agreement) is actually valid or not, especially with the advent of "Vista EULA's requirement to view changeable "conditions" on a Microsoft webpage". Are these agreements actually enforceable? How can a consumer agree to something they don't get to see prior to purchase?
Another good question in his post: how can EULAs be enforced against people who use the software but did not install it, thus did not agree to the terms? Example: the EULA states that you may not publish benchmarks (comparing performance of one system/software package to another) without the publisher's consent. How is this enforced? If a student, for example, is using software installed by a university, how does the student know that s/he cannot publish articles comparing software system A to software system B?
Much to ponder.
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