With some CAD vendors making their EULAs [end user license agreements] increasingly hardcore and secretive, it's good to see that Alibre posts their EULA on their Web site.
One CAD vendor lists a contact email for get more information about their EULA, but requests for information are ignored. Another CAD vendor has been dragged into an arbitration case, because its dealers refuse to explain the terms of its EULA to customers.
Some corporations use EULAs to bypass consumer protection laws. I can see things getting nastier in the future, if they continue to step over the limits of what's reasonable.
The EULA is the fundamental agreement between a CAD vendor and their customer. CAD users need to understand that they do not purchase software -- they purchase a EULA!
So, why would a software vendor not post their EULA on their website?
Consider Alias, which is being acquired by Autodesk. Go to their home page, and find the link for "legal" on the bottom of the page. Click on it, and you're taken to a page with a prominent link to "Software Licenses & Maintenance/Support Agreements". On that page are links to all of Alias' license and maintenance/support agreements. In multiple languages. Nothing hidden.
Posted by: Evan Yares | Oct 05, 2005 at 07:52 AM