Origin Adds Anti-Lawsuit Language to TOS

[Sep 23, 2011, 8:59 pm ET] - Share - Viewing Comments

Electronic Arts has amended it's Terms of Service to include anti-lawsuit language, following a Supreme Court ruling that prompted a similar move by Sony. Kotaku outlines the new language:

"By accepting these terms, you and EA expressly waive the right to a trial by jury or to participate in a class action.

YOU UNDERSTAND THAT BY THIS PROVISION, YOU AND EA ARE FOREGOING THE RIGHT TO SUE IN COURT AND HAVE A JURY TRIAL.

YOU AND EA AGREE THAT EACH MAY BRING CLAIMS AGAINST THE OTHER ONLY IN YOUR OR ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY, AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING."

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53.

Re: Origin Adds Anti-Lawsuit Language to TOS

Sep 24, 2011, 12:16

theyarecomingforyou

Flatline wrote on Sep 24, 2011, 11:52:
Bullshit. This is a crap move in the EULA, but "I didn't read the contract" is a bullshit defense. When you enter into a legally binding contract or agreement, you take a certain measure of responsibility. Ignorance is not a legal defense.

Okay, let's break this down.

1) When a consumer buys a software product they do not have access to the EULA beforehand.
2) The EULA is often excessively long and incomprehensible to a laymen. The EULA for Steam is over 5000 words long.
3) Every piece of software has one, so the combined reading wordcount of the EULAs for an average computer setup would range from the tens of thousands to the hundreds of thousands. Clearly infeasible.
4) Even if you do disagree, there is a policy on opened software that prevents you from returning it for a refund.
5) At least 99% of people click 'Agree' without ever reading it. Common sense dictates that that cannot be legally binding, unlike a mortgage or loan agreement where is can reasonably be expected that people should read it but is also legally required that the person issuing it clearly explains to the customer what it contains and does not misrepresent it.
6) EULAs haven't been proven to be legally binding and are completely unrelated to the prenup of some random person.
7) EULAs cannot bury a clause about signing away legal rights. Any legal rights that are stripped away should be presented separately, and even then their validity is questionable.

If they want EULAs to be binding then they need to be fit for purpose. That means that they should be easy to read and understand to a laymen and should not be excessively long. There should be a bullpointed list that reflects what is included, which would be expandable to cover the exact implementation. The key points should not amount to more than a few hundred words.

I'm sorry but you're an idiot if you think that EULAs as they currently stand should be legally binding. They fly in the face of all the consumer rights that people have fought for over the centuries. They are a way for businesses to absolve themselves of legal responsibility. They are a way for businesses to make more money for their shareholders.




8700K @ 4.9GHz / 32GB DDR4 / GTX 1080 OC Optane 900P 280G

		Date	Subject	Author
	1.	Sep 23, 21:10	Re: Origin Adds Anti-Lawsuit Language to TOS	Quboid
	7.	Sep 23, 21:31	No way!	Darth Guybrush
	9.	Sep 23, 21:40	Re: No way!	Prez
	11.	Sep 23, 21:50	Re: No way!	KGrT
	8.	Sep 23, 21:39	Re: Origin Adds Anti-Lawsuit Language to TOS	Mashiki Amiketo
	22.	Sep 23, 23:58	Re: Origin Adds Anti-Lawsuit Language to TOS	Tanto Edge
	30.	Sep 24, 02:13	Re: Origin Adds Anti-Lawsuit Language to TOS	Rockn-Roll
	2.	Sep 23, 21:10	Re: Origin Adds Anti-Lawsuit Language to TOS	[VG]Reagle
	3.	Sep 23, 21:11	Re: Origin Adds Anti-Lawsuit Language to TOS	[VG]Reagle
	5.	Sep 23, 21:17	Re: Origin Adds Anti-Lawsuit Language to TOS	^Drag0n^
	4.	Sep 23, 21:15	Re: Origin Adds Anti-Lawsuit Language to TOS	^Drag0n^
	6.	Sep 23, 21:18	Re: Origin Adds Anti-Lawsuit Language to TOS	Cutter
	46.	Sep 24, 10:38	Re: Origin Adds Anti-Lawsuit Language to TOS	NewMaxx
	47.	Sep 24, 11:16	Re: Origin Adds Anti-Lawsuit Language to TOS	Linksil
	51.	Sep 24, 11:54	Re: Origin Adds Anti-Lawsuit Language to TOS	theyarecomingforyou
	54.	Sep 24, 12:33	Re: Origin Adds Anti-Lawsuit Language to TOS	NewMaxx
	60.	Sep 24, 14:29	Re: Origin Adds Anti-Lawsuit Language to TOS	theyarecomingforyou
	66.	Sep 24, 15:12	Re: Origin Adds Anti-Lawsuit Language to TOS	NewMaxx
	67.	Sep 24, 15:17	Re: Origin Adds Anti-Lawsuit Language to TOS	Wikidd
	68.	Sep 24, 15:50	Re: Origin Adds Anti-Lawsuit Language to TOS	theyarecomingforyou
	10.	Sep 23, 21:50	Re: Origin Adds Anti-Lawsuit Language to TOS	Acleacius
	12.	Sep 23, 22:02	Re: Origin Adds Anti-Lawsuit Language to TOS	eRe4s3r
	13.	Sep 23, 22:23	Re: Origin Adds Anti-Lawsuit Language to TOS	Darks
	14.	Sep 23, 22:39	Re: Origin Adds Anti-Lawsuit Language to TOS	LiTh
	15.	Sep 23, 22:55	Re: Origin Adds Anti-Lawsuit Language to TOS	Acleacius
	16.	Sep 23, 23:00	Re: Origin Adds Anti-Lawsuit Language to TOS	[VG]Reagle
	17.	Sep 23, 23:11	Re: Origin Adds Anti-Lawsuit Language to TOS	Frijoles
	18.	Sep 23, 23:12	Re: Origin Adds Anti-Lawsuit Language to TOS	eRe4s3r
	19.	Sep 23, 23:20	Re: Origin Adds Anti-Lawsuit Language to TOS	Fion
	20.	Sep 23, 23:34	Re: Origin Adds Anti-Lawsuit Language to TOS	LittleMe
	21.	Sep 23, 23:39	Re: Origin Adds Anti-Lawsuit Language to TOS	born2expire
	23.	Sep 24, 00:17	Re: Origin Adds Anti-Lawsuit Language to TOS	TheVocalMinority
	24.	Sep 24, 01:01	Re: Origin Adds Anti-Lawsuit Language to TOS	HorrorScope
	26.	Sep 24, 01:26	Re: Origin Adds Anti-Lawsuit Language to TOS	Draugr
	27.	Sep 24, 01:28	Re: Origin Adds Anti-Lawsuit Language to TOS	Sepharo
	25.	Sep 24, 01:05	Re: Origin Adds Anti-Lawsuit Language to TOS	saluk
	28.	Sep 24, 01:28	Re: Origin Adds Anti-Lawsuit Language to TOS	theyarecomingforyou
	50.	Sep 24, 11:52	Re: Origin Adds Anti-Lawsuit Language to TOS	Flatline
>>	53.	Sep 24, 12:16	Re: Origin Adds Anti-Lawsuit Language to TOS	theyarecomingforyou
	55.	Sep 24, 12:41	Re: Origin Adds Anti-Lawsuit Language to TOS	Wikidd
	29.	Sep 24, 01:59	Re: Origin Adds Anti-Lawsuit Language to TOS	Rockn-Roll
	31.	Sep 24, 02:13	Re: Origin Adds Anti-Lawsuit Language to TOS	[VG]Reagle
	36.	Sep 24, 05:58	Re: Origin Adds Anti-Lawsuit Language to TOS	J
	32.	Sep 24, 03:31	Re: Origin Adds Anti-Lawsuit Language to TOS	Tanto Edge
	33.	Sep 24, 04:27	Re: Origin Adds Anti-Lawsuit Language to TOS	Mashiki Amiketo
	34.	Sep 24, 05:27	Re: Origin Adds Anti-Lawsuit Language to TOS	Luke
	35.	Sep 24, 05:49	Re: Origin Adds Anti-Lawsuit Language to TOS	ASeven
	37.	Sep 24, 06:46	Re: Origin Adds Anti-Lawsuit Language to TOS	clint
	38.	Sep 24, 07:05	Re: Origin Adds Anti-Lawsuit Language to TOS	Bludd
	39.	Sep 24, 07:06	Re: Origin Adds Anti-Lawsuit Language to TOS	Sempai
	40.	Sep 24, 07:52	Re: Origin Adds Anti-Lawsuit Language to TOS	Mashiki Amiketo
	41.	Sep 24, 08:02	Re: Origin Adds Anti-Lawsuit Language to TOS	Fibrocyte
	42.	Sep 24, 08:14	Re: Origin Adds Anti-Lawsuit Language to TOS	eRe4s3r
	43.	Sep 24, 08:32	Re: Origin Adds Anti-Lawsuit Language to TOS	ASeven
	44.	Sep 24, 08:54	Re: Origin Adds Anti-Lawsuit Language to TOS	KGrT
	45.	Sep 24, 09:22	Re: Origin Adds Anti-Lawsuit Language to TOS	Mashiki Amiketo
	48.	Sep 24, 11:37	Re: Origin Adds Anti-Lawsuit Language to TOS	KGrT
	61.	Sep 24, 14:44	Re: Origin Adds Anti-Lawsuit Language to TOS	Mashiki Amiketo
	56.	Sep 24, 12:45	Re: Origin Adds Anti-Lawsuit Language to TOS	Rockn-Roll
	72.	Sep 25, 12:35	Re: Origin Adds Anti-Lawsuit Language to TOS	eRe4s3r
	59.	Sep 24, 13:22	Re: Origin Adds Anti-Lawsuit Language to TOS	Mead
	52.	Sep 24, 11:55	Re: Origin Adds Anti-Lawsuit Language to TOS	Flatline
	49.	Sep 24, 11:38	Re: Origin Adds Anti-Lawsuit Language to TOS	Thakk
	57.	Sep 24, 12:48	Re: Origin Adds Anti-Lawsuit Language to TOS	crypto
	58.	Sep 24, 13:05	Re: Origin Adds Anti-Lawsuit Language to TOS	Acleacius
	62.	Sep 24, 14:47	Re: Origin Adds Anti-Lawsuit Language to TOS	NewMaxx
	65.	Sep 24, 14:51	Re: Origin Adds Anti-Lawsuit Language to TOS	Sepharo
	63.	Sep 24, 14:49	Re: Origin Adds Anti-Lawsuit Language to TOS	Ant
	64.	Sep 24, 14:50	Re: Origin Adds Anti-Lawsuit Language to TOS	nin
	69.	Sep 24, 17:53	Re: Origin Adds Anti-Lawsuit Language to TOS	Surf
	70.	Sep 24, 20:32	Re: Origin Adds Anti-Lawsuit Language to TOS	Dev
	71.	Sep 24, 21:14	Re: Origin Adds Anti-Lawsuit Language to TOS	Mashiki Amiketo