3 ms·

I love living in Germany where this kind of EULA clause is completely void. http://bundesrecht.juris.de/bgb/__307.html http://bundesrecht.juris.de/bgb/__307.ht

• ZeroGravitas 17y ago
  It's not a EULA clause as I understand the term, as it's not asking or assuming agreement and not restricting what you can do, but rather informing you of rights you have been granted. You can't use a patent without a licence, this text is simply informing you what patent licence is included with the purchased software or hardware. The vendors of that hardware and software are likewise only passing on the rights that they have licenced. If it didn't include a licence at all (like if you'd downloaded Handbrake or x264) then you'd be violating a patent. If you go beyond a provided licence then you're infringing on the patent too. (And pre-empting the MPEG patents don't apply in Europe/Germany argument, you might want to ask why Aldi and Lidl just got sued by the MPEG-LA over MPEG 2 patents).
  • brazzy 17y ago
    Of course it is a EULA clause - it's very literally attempting to restrict what you can do. And this kind of clause is simply void under German law, because if you buy something, it's a contract between you and the seller, and this kind of contract is not allowed to contain arbitrary limitations on how you can use the thing you have bought, nor can the seller impose an implicit additional contract between you and some third party on you.
    • ZeroGravitas 17y ago
      The point of a EULA is that you, the end user, agree to the license, effectively signing away legal rights that you would otherwise have. This is not asking for agreement, and the government of Germany has already imposed the implicit additional contract by granting a patent monopoly, the only purpose of which is to restrict the behaviour of others. The text is only giving back what German law has already taken away, the ability to use these 900 odd bits of mathematics, but only for personal, non-commercial reasons. If you want to use it commercially you'll need to negotiate another licence.
      • brazzy 17y ago
        Neither licenses nor patents work like you are describing them.
• pbhjpbhj 17y ago
  Google translation: § 307 content control (1) Bestimmungen in Allgemeinen Geschäftsbedingungen sind unwirksam, wenn sie den Vertragspartner des Verwenders entgegen den Geboten von Treu und Glauben unangemessen benachteiligen. (1) Provisions in standard business terms are invalid if the contractor of the user to meet the requirement of good faith and unreasonable disadvantage. Eine unangemessene Benachteiligung kann sich auch daraus ergeben, dass die Bestimmung nicht klar und verständlich ist. An unreasonable disadvantage may also result shows that the provision is not clear and understandable. (2) Eine unangemessene Benachteiligung ist im Zweifel anzunehmen, wenn eine Bestimmung (2) an unreasonable disadvantage is in doubt, be presumed if a provision 1. 1st mit wesentlichen Grundgedanken der gesetzlichen Regelung, von der abgewichen wird, nicht zu vereinbaren ist oder with essential basic principles of the statutory scheme that deviates from the not compatible, or 2. 2nd wesentliche Rechte oder Pflichten, die sich aus der Natur des Vertrags ergeben, so einschränkt, dass die Erreichung des Vertragszwecks gefährdet ist. essential rights or obligations arising from the nature of the contract, so restricting that the purpose of the contract is at risk. (3) Die Absätze 1 und 2 sowie die §§ 308 und 309 gelten nur für Bestimmungen in Allgemeinen Geschäftsbedingungen, durch die von Rechtsvorschriften abweichende oder diese ergänzende Regelungen vereinbart werden. (3) Paragraphs 1 and 2 and the § § 308 and 309 apply only to provisions in general terms and conditions that may be agreed upon by law, additional or different provisions. Andere Bestimmungen können nach Absatz 1 Satz 2 in Verbindung mit Absatz 1 Satz 1 unwirksam sein. Other provisions may be invalid under paragraph 1, sentence 2 in connection with paragraph 1, sentence 1.