Gentoo Archives: gentoo-dev

From: Rich Freeman <rich0@g.o>
To: gentoo-dev@l.g.o
Subject: Re: [gentoo-dev] Re: New license: yEd Software License Agreement
Date: Sat, 28 Apr 2012 20:17:23
Message-Id: CAGfcS_n4Yaca5RdPY2n__MQg+bfBmsm5+3n_5jxmHztg5r-U8Q@mail.gmail.com
In Reply to: Re: [gentoo-dev] Re: New license: yEd Software License Agreement by Alec Warner
1 On Sat, Apr 28, 2012 at 2:53 PM, Alec Warner <antarus@g.o> wrote:
2 > That doesn't mean you didn't / cannot accept, merely that some (all?)
3 > provisions are likely unenforceable in a court of law. I don't think
4 > EULAs have been ruled illegal yet.
5
6 I doubt that my proclamation that you aren't allowed to eat breakfast
7 has been ruled illegal yet either. Fortunately that has no bearing on
8 whether you need to listen to me. :)
9
10 Oh, and I also proclaim that you accept my proclamation by choosing to
11 eat your next meal. Fortunately in reality that has no bearing on
12 whether you accept my agreement either. Just because a publisher says
13 that the terms of a contract of adhesion are binding on you by virtue
14 of your taking some action does not make it so.
15
16 Courts have ruled inconsistently on whether EULAs can be enforced.
17 Then again, Missouri is one of those places where courts have ruled
18 that software is not sold but licensed, and the Foundation is
19 incorporated there (as well as in New Mexico). So, perhaps there is
20 some element of risk here, though I'd have to read the court decisions
21 to see whether the fact that the software is free impacts the
22 enforcability of the EULA.
23
24 That makes me wonder whether we should consider more carefully where
25 we incorporate - if it makes us more subject to local jurisdiction it
26 probably isn't a good idea to incorporate in multiple jurisdictions
27 since it allows a potential plaintiff to venue shop.
28
29 Rich