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This is also very similar to the clause that allowed Larry Ellison to allegedly try to have a professor fired for benchmarking Oracle: https://news.ycombinator.
by adtac 8y ago
This is also very similar to the clause that allowed Larry Ellison to allegedly try to have a professor fired for benchmarking Oracle: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15886333 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15886333
I was just going through theirs (and other) terms and conditions to understand what kind of legalese goes into these and I was appalled at this. While these terms aren't effective until after 01-Nov-2018, I tried searching online to see if there was any discussion about how stupid this is, and this unanswered forum post came up.
I have no idea how this is still considered acceptable.
- rhinoceraptor 8y agoPlenty of proprietary software has these restrictions, Datomic, MS SQL Server, etc. I suppose you could make a case that most published benchmarks will be flawed or inaccurate, but it's still wrong to do.
- snuxoll 8y agoIt’s not, the Consumer Review Fairness Act prohibits this practice.
- DoofusOfDeath 8y agoThat's the first I've heard of the CRFA - thanks for mentioning it. I was curious whether or not the CRFA could be overridden by contract terms, but the FTC claims quite the contrary: https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/consumer-review-fairness-act-what-businesses-need-know https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/con...
- briandear 8y agoA contract provision that is unlawful can’t be enforced.
- ubernostrum 8y agoI was curious whether or not the CRFA could be overridden by contract terms The whole point of it is to override and render invalid/unenforceable terms which try to forbid posting honest reviews of companies.
- jkaplowitz 8y agoI just looked at the text of the law. As the name suggests, it only applies when an individual is a party to the contract. If a company is the licensee, it wouldn't apply.