EULAs: The least read or understood contractsEULAs: The least read or understood contractsInitial PostHave you ever read the entire EULA before clicking “agree” or “accept,” or otherwise entering i
Gideon Kyei
EULA
COLLAPSE
Top of Form
The Microsoft Software License
The Microsoft Software License Terms tell you how you can legally use your Microsoft Office product. For example, it tells the number of times your product key can be used for activation. During Microsoft Office Setup, please review the license terms and check the I accept the terms of this agreement box to continue setting up Microsoft Office. You can also read the license terms later in a Microsoft Office program by clicking File > Account > About program name (like About Excel) > View the Microsoft Software License Terms (Microsoft, 2021).
Depending on how you obtained the Windows software, this is a license agreement between (i) you and the device manufacturer or software installer that distributes the software with your device; or (ii) you and Microsoft Corporation (or, based on where you live or, if a business, where your principal place of business is located, one of its affiliates) if you acquired the software from a retailer. Microsoft is the device manufacturer for devices produced by Microsoft or one of its affiliates, and Microsoft is the retailer if you acquired the software directly from Microsoft. Note that if you are a volume license customer, use of this software is subject to your volume license agreement rather than this agreement.
Bottom of Form
Oliver Nicholas
EULA
COLLAPSE
Top of Form
EULA: The Agreement That No One Reads
When purchasing a product or a service, people tend to be quite selective about a variety of its properties and qualities, including the price, the overall appearance, and even seemingly insignificant details. However, very few people take even a quick look at the end-user-license agreement (EULA), not to mention reading the entire document. Although considering a legal agreement closely and paying attention to its ever point would be the reasonable and rational thing to do, the amount of information in a EULA and the time that it will take render the process nearly pointless for most buyers (Manwaring, 2017). Personally, I have skimmed a Eula only recently when purchasing the Norton security antivirus.
The agreement provided for the product in question has been generally well-crafted, yet some of its clauses appear to be somewhat vague. For instance, very little attention has been paid to the concept of Safe Search, which constitutes an important part of the Norton product. Described broadly as the ability of the user to browse the Internet and search information on it, the notion of Safe Search could use further clarifications. Specifically, it could be understood both as conducting unlimited search or as visiting specific sites. Additionally, the clause of privacy and data protection, particularly, the terms associated with the situations in which the company can disclose the customer’s data to the third party (for instance, during a legal investigation), have not been addressed (“Norton license agreement,” n.d.). The current clause could imply that the company cannot disclose any data to anyone or that it has the right to decide when to disclose customers’ browsing data to the authorities. The described interpretations may favor the company in case the buyer users the services for malicious intents. In turn, for a consumer, the specified terms guarantee an extent of flexibility needed in case a security or data management issue occurs when using the software.
Bottom of Form
