End User License Agreements (EULAs) as Fast As Possible
End User License Agreements (EULAs) as Fast As Possible
2015-07-22
unless the last game you picked up with
a copy of Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney
lawyer jargon or legalese is probably
the last thing on your mind when you're
excitedly ripping open the box of a new
piece of software but Curb Your
Enthusiasm friends because nearly every
piece of software these days is going to
come with the infamous and user license
agreement or EULA we've all clicked
agree to these things without reading
all 50 pages or even sometimes a single
sentence so why the heck are they
included when we all know that hardly
anyone reads them what is the point well
fundamentally a EULA is just a type of
contract which have been around since
time immemorial but unlike most
agreements that involve some kind of
two-way negotiation EULA's are pretty
much just a list of stuff you're not
allowed to do and while the first EULA's
which started popping up in the 1980s
were intended to mostly stop
unauthorized copying since then they've
grown to be completely unwieldly like a
a 34 layer nacho dip or something to get
to the salsa you're going to end up with
cheese on your fingers every time hold
on a second Linus I don't agree to their
terms I just want to use the software I
came for it's mine well not exactly when
you buy a copy of a piece of software
you are not actually paying for the
software you're only paying for a
license to use it since the publisher
wants to retain the rights to actually
do stuff to the code so what can't you
do then most EULA's will forbid you from
tinkering with or reverse engineering
the software since the publishers don't
want people adding enhancements and
features for free that they could make
money off of later software developers
also obviously don't want to get sued so
you'll see a disclaimer of warranty
which means that you agree that if the
software messes something up with your
computer or worse you're limited to
whatever the publisher will give you
which is usually phone and web support
or best-case scenario refund and some
EULA's even say stuff like that you
can't criticize the software publicly if
you don't like it that's BS Linus why do
they get to make all the rules
anyway do I get any say in any of this
sort of at least in the u.s. there are
numerous precedents for yulik losses
ending up being unenforceable if they're
really unfair to the consumer and
generally speaking there also needs to
be some sort of assent from the customer
for the EULA to actually count for
example one American Court case
involving Netscape held that sticking
Terms of Service in an inconspicuous
location at the bottom of a page did
give a user enough chance to agree but
being forced to look at a you love
before clicking next or removing the
plastic wrap from the software a box if
you're still into that kind of thing
with the conditions on the outside have
both been found to constitute acceptance
by the user but regardless the publisher
can't terminate your license if the EULA
is grossly unfair or unconscionable in
legalese the problem though is that's a
very subjective standard and puts the
user in the crummy position where
they'll either have to go to court to
get a ruling before using the software
as they intend or just go ahead and do
it and hope for a favorable decision
after the fact not something that I
typically advise so where does this
leave us all then well for most people
in a state of really not worrying about
it too much as long as you're not trying
to use someone else's software for
unauthorized commercial gain or
repurposing iTunes as a terrorist weapon
or something all they can usually do is
terminate your account or subscription
but that doesn't mean it isn't a good
idea to search that mountain of text for
any fishy causes and don't be afraid to
exercise your rights as a consumer
things look unreasonable before you find
out that you've signed away the rights
to your vital organs
speaking of vital organs FreshBooks it's
designed for freelance workers or small
businesses where the owner has vital
organs so the human ones that is to say
what it is is an online tool that makes
invoicing
getting paid and tracking expenses and
your timesheets easier so little details
about cash flow or in one place so you
always know where you stand and it shows
a full history of each invoice allowing
you to check if your client has viewed
the invoice and allow the client to pay
through fresh books by credit card which
of course makes those little details
like you know hey have you paid yet
hey no sorry I didn't get it in the
middle I'm actually yeah you did I saw
that you looked at it so yeah you better
go ahead and pay that because let's face
it guys whether you're whether you're a
plumber or you know some kind of other
you know freelance contractor or
tradesman whatever the case may be you
want to spend your time doing that and
making money not sitting around you know
typing things into one of those
calculators with the spool of paper in
the top that's the old way so head over
to FreshBooks comm slash tech quickie
and don't forget to enter tech quickie
and the how did you hear about us
section we got that linked in the video
description try it out today it's free
as a trial then it costs money but it's
good so it's okay so that's pretty much
it guys thanks for watching like the
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