Topic: "We reserve the right to change the terms of our agreement" - Judge disagrees.

[Nemesis]

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Remember the uproar over Facebook's controversial Beacon ad program a couple years ago? That program notified a user's friends when he or she bought something online. Facebook modified the program, which helped mollify some critics, but the privacy lawsuits that Beacon spawned, against Facebook and retailers, have not gone away.

Her suit took a big step forward last week when Dallas federal district court judge Barbara Lynn denied Blockbuster's motion to compel arbitration. (Here's MediaPost News's story on the ruling.) Judge Lynn found that the arbitration clause in Blockbuster’s terms and conditions agreement with its customers was illusory because Blockbuster reserves the right to modify the terms "at its sole discretion" and "at any time."

Now to see a judge say the same about EULA's that change every time you patch your software.  When you have a contract (which is what the EULA claims to be) it cannot normally be changed unilaterally. 

[toasty0]

Link to full article

Remember the uproar over Facebook's controversial Beacon ad program a couple years ago? That program notified a user's friends when he or she bought something online. Facebook modified the program, which helped mollify some critics, but the privacy lawsuits that Beacon spawned, against Facebook and retailers, have not gone away.

Her suit took a big step forward last week when Dallas federal district court judge Barbara Lynn denied Blockbuster's motion to compel arbitration. (Here's MediaPost News's story on the ruling.) Judge Lynn found that the arbitration clause in Blockbuster’s terms and conditions agreement with its customers was illusory because Blockbuster reserves the right to modify the terms "at its sole discretion" and "at any time."

Now to see a judge say the same about EULA's that change every time you patch your software.  When you have a contract (which is what the EULA claims to be) it cannot normally be changed unilaterally.

You really should take up the cause of cell phone users. There's an area of consumer law that needs a champion.

[Nemesis]

You really should take up the cause of cell phone users. There's an area of consumer law that needs a champion.

Have you ever ridden on a commuter train?  Here is what I have seen going from Toronto to Hamilton (12 stops).  Remember at this point I am on the opposite end of the car and on a different level and the volume is so loud I can't ignore them.

Cell Phone Moron: I'm on the train at Union Station

A few minutes later . . .

Cell Phone Moron: The Train is leaving Union Station.

A few minutes later . . .

Cell Phone Moron: The Train is pulling into Exhibition Station

A few minutes later . . .

Cell Phone Moron: The Train is leaving Exhibition Station.

A few minutes later . . .

Cell Phone Moron: The Train is pulling into Mimico Station

A few minutes later . . .

Cell Phone Moron: The Train is leaving Mimico Station.

Every one of the 12 stops when the train is on time they have to call home and inform someone that they are on time as usual and they can't speak in a proper tone of voice.  It has to be LOUD

The miracle is I'm not  yet a serial killer.  I HATE cell phones.  Let their users fight for themselves

[Bonk]

Maybe he worked for TTC or in transit research and was calling in times to a busy office on a weak connection?

I agree cellphones are evil. (Rogers in particular - outright government sanctioned criminals) I will not get one. Silly rabbit, Trix^® are for kids.

But on the actual topic of EULAS...  I saw a post somewhere where a guy made a "reverse EULA" where he puts a text file on the root of his system disk that reads to the effect of: "By allowing me to install your software on my harddisk, you agree to hand over complete control of what happens to it on my system to me. That includes reverse engineering... etc. Also, I can change the terms of this agreement at any time."

That is not exactly how it read, but that's the nut of the idea. I liked it.

It leads to the idea of a genuine vehicle for a real two party contract. A standardised interface for electronic contracts in software installers could be a solution to lots of this stuff. The problem I see is manufacturer/developer response time. Though if their software was smart enough and the protocol well defined, most users would not require human intervention in their installation/update contracts. Probably only the odd install would be flagged (for pricks like us with tricky user side terms) requiring a wait time on installation for manual approval by the OEM/Dev. I like the concept. Is it saleable?  Hehehe... and how will it's EULA read?

Anyway, the idea is out there now! (though like most ideas, is probably not original if it is any good)

[Nemesis]

Maybe he worked for TTC or in transit research and was calling in times to a busy office on a weak connection?

From the overall context (they do say more than that) it was quite clearly Mister/Miz Commuter calling home.  (It would be GO Transit not the TTC)

I agree cellphones are evil. (Rogers in particular - outright government sanctioned criminals) I will not get one. Silly rabbit, Trix^® are for kids.

I don't go that far.  I merely think that people abuse them.  It's like the ghetto blasters of years gone by.  They didn't need to annoy people with them (think ST IV) but they choose to any how.