It Pays To Read License Agreements
by Larry Magid
I have a deal for you. In exchange for a free piece of software that helps you keep track of your passwords and other log on information, I'm going to install other programs on your PC that will track your web surfing and display advertising that pops-up on your screen. There will also be other types of ads on your computer based on information we collect.
Does that sound like a good deal to you? Well, if you're one of the many Windows users who have installed eWallet software from Gain Publishing that's exactly what you agreed to do. But you already know that because you read the End User License Agreement or "EULA" that was available prior to installing the program. You did read it right? Of course you did; before you could install the software you had to check a box certifying that you read the agreement. Legally speaking, that's the same thing as signing a contract with pen and ink.
OK, let's be honest. You didn't really read the EULA. How do I know? Because hardly anyone does. To prove that point, PC Pitstop included a clause in one of its own EULAs that promised anyone who read it, a "consideration" including money if they sent a note to an email address listed in the EULA. After four months and more than 3,000 downloads, one person finally wrote in. That person, by the way, got a check for $1,000 proving, at least for one person, that it really does pay to read EULAs.
Although this is not a scientific sample, it does prove a point. People don't read EULAs...
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