InfoWorld: Some new shrink-wrap license terms seem tailor-made for UCITA

“Lest we forget that UCITA also specifically authorizes
publishers to terminate any license without reason, another reader
pointed out that the EULA for Cybernet Systems’ Netmax reads,
“Cybernet may terminate this License at any time by delivering
notice to you, and you may terminate this License at any time by
destroying or erasing all copies of the Software.” A Cybernet
representative said the company included this wording as a
“fallback” to cover any usage it considers inappropriate but added
that it’s a clause the company has never used.”

“UCITA supporters have scoffed at the notion that publishers
would use shrink-wrap licenses to prohibit public criticism of
their products. Nonetheless, our friends at Network Associates seem
prepared to do just that with their click-wrap license for
VirusScan 5.15. “The customer shall not disclose the results of any
benchmark test to any third party without Network Associates’ prior
written approval,” reads one part of its EULA, immediately followed
by: “The customer will not publish reviews of the product without
prior consent from Network Associates.” Network Associates declined
to comment on why it includes these terms in the VirusScan
license.”

“A term’s appearance in a publisher’s EULA does not guarantee
that the company will enforce it. But terms you may think are
delirious ravings of an out-of-control lawyer can be part of a
carefully designed corporate strategy.”

“A perfect example is the service agreement posted by Juno in
January, particularly the section in which Juno claims the right to
use its customers’ computers during their downtime to run its own
“Computational Software.” Juno’s service agreement states, “In
connection with downloading and running the Computational Software,
Juno may require you to leave your computer turned on at all
times….”

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