User talk:CBeard:Fx2 EULA Requirements

Feedback from a random user

This is a bad idea. This is necessary for proprietary software, where the EULA makes stronger provisions than copyright law (e.g. no reverse-engineering, etc.). In the case where the EULA is weaker than copyright law (as in MPL or GPL), if the user does not accept the EULA, they are still bound by copyright law, so a click-through license is not required. Basic copyright law gives the user the right to run the software, but not to copy it, or do much else with it. If the user does not accept the EULA, his rights are strictly weaker than under either the MPL or GPL.

See GPL V2, section 5, or GPL V3, section 9. You can also download the speech from Eben Moglen at the unveiling of GPLV3, which is one of the places the legal theory is explained better than I can.

- anonymous

Response

You are correct in that in the absence of an express agreement, the user will have the right to practice IP rights very similar to those that we grant in the EULA, simply by virtue of lawfully obtaining a copy of the software: to run the program and create a backup copy. These rights are laid out in Title 17 and one needs no express license to obtain them. However, this is not the primary purpose of the Firefox EULA.

The primary purpose of the Firefox EULA is to manage Mozilla's and our contributor's liability, particularly on a product that is free of charge, where we can't afford to be liable for lots of business risk. Without the EULA in place, the limitations of liability, warranty disclaimers and similar provisions do not apply. (In commercial software another very important term is a reverse engineering prohibition, but that is not the same concern for Mozilla, of course.) So, not only does the Firefox EULA provide a convenient vehicle for us to meet the MPL notification requirement (section 3.6 of MPL v1.1) but it provides for this limitation on liability and sets the terms of the license to the small amount of IP (e.g. logos, trademarks, etc) that's part of Mozilla products and is not licensed under the tri-license.

In drafting the Firefox EULA we worked hard to strike a balance, paring down the terms to the very minimum to manage Mozilla's liability.

- cbeard@mozilla.com