Xref: utzoo misc.legal:14792 comp.sources.d:4887
Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!microsoft!bruceki
From: bruceki@microsoft.UUCP (Bruce KING)
Newsgroups: misc.legal,comp.sources.d
Subject: shrinkwrap licenses
Keywords: only one case that talks about shrink wrap licenses
Message-ID: <51042@microsoft.UUCP>
Date: 23 Feb 90 23:38:11 GMT
Organization: Microsoft Corp., Redmond WA
Lines: 18


  There's only one case that I was able to come up with re: the enforceability
of shrink-wrap licenses.  The citation is :  847-f2d-255 VAULT.  It's a 
louisiana court case involving a shrink wrap license and some other issues.
Basically it was ruled that part of the shrink wrap license was already covered
by existing copyright laws.  So it didn't set precedent as to whether the 
shrinkwrap license was enforceable, just said that the license wouldn't 
apply in this case, so that its viability wasn't questioned.  I'm not a 
lawyer, so I'm not going to offer an opinion on the enforceability of shrinkwrap
licenses.  .  Interested parties can look up the citation. 

  An opinion of mine is that this increasing amount of litigation over 
picyune points is not a replacement for a good product.  Let's take it
to an extreme:  "I have a copyright on the color RED!  No one else can use
the color RED in any of their products!"  Produce a good product.  People
will buy it.  Produce a poor product, sue your competitors.  Yea.  

  Claimer:  my opinions are mine.   bruceki@microsoft.uucp / (206) 882-8080