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What Have You Signed Away Today?

Onerous clauses lurk in many software user license and terms of service agreements--and a new law could set those terms in stone.

By Andrew Brandt and William Wallace   

A Place For EULAS?

Even critics admit these licenses serve a purpose. Consumers want to use software, and vendors want some way to secure their licensing rights.

And many agreements have no outrageous or excessive restrictions. Some also make users scroll through or check boxes in the EULA to indicate that they've read--or lingered by--the terms within. That's a step in the right direction.

Of course, anyone can click a EULA's "I Decline" button. But if you do, you won't be able to use the software or Web service. The average user has no real, practical opportunity to negotiate EULA terms.

Meanwhile, 10 states have legislation pending that would enact UCITA. Attorneys general in 26 states oppose the measure, and some experts consider it unlikely to win favor in all 50 states this year.

But as UCITA grinds forward, this might be a good time to start reading--very carefully--before you click.

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