Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
Yes, of course I do, but are you 100% certain that they are not enforceable? Has there been a test case which has ruled this to be so? I would be a little surprised to see reputable companies imposing illegal contracts on their customers, and companies whom I genuinely consider to be the "good guys" of the industry - eg Baen - impose these terms.
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Major software companies have been doing it for years (including "good guys"), and US courts have already ruled that those terms aren't enforceable. It doesn't mean that the company is breaking the law by including those terms, it just means that those terms in the contract are not legally binding. Companies continue to put them in there though, because they assume that most consumers don't know better.
Just because a company is a "good guy" doesn't mean they won't put in standard terms in a contract even though those terms are not enforceable. However, it does mean that those individual terms are null and void, even though the rest of the contract still applies.
US courts have already ruled on what defines a "sale" versus a "license". There hasn't been a case specifically for eBooks that I know of, but the precedents have already been set.