EULAs

[David Johnson]

On Saturday 01 June 2002 07:45 pm, Michael Bauer wrote:
> I'm working on finding a "generally acceptable" end user license
> agreement.  I have a feeling this quest is quixotic.  The software is not
> open source.  Still, I thought I'd ask the list if such an animal exists.
> Is such a thing total anathema?  Does something "reasonable" exist or all
> such licenses thought as Draconian as Microsoft's?

The first question to ask is: what are you looking for? If it's not a EULA in 
particular, then stop looking for EULA's. A End User License Agreement is a 
*contract* that is imposed on the user. They basically say "agree to these 
ludicrous terms or cease using the software".

IMHO, the vast majority of proprietary software out there has zero use for a 
EULA. A simple copyright statement is sufficient to prevent the user from 
modifing, copying and distributing the software. If that's all you need, then 
just use a simple copyright statement, a simple explanation that the 
copyright prohibits unauthorized copying and modification, and a "this 
commercial product is not merchantable" disclaimer.

-- 
David Johnson
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