Article

Reading the fine print: buried hurdles in the EULA

Until just recently, the End User License Agreement for the Macromedia Flash Player prohibited its use on kiosks - which meant that most of the world's kiosks were in direct violation of the terms of use. Paying attention to software's fine print is becoming more crucial with each passing day.

September 18, 2005 by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

Ask most computer users whether they carefully read the terms of the EULA, or End User License Agreement, for a piece of software they're installing, and if they're being honest, most of them will say "No." It's an awful lot of fine print, after all, and it can be skipped just by clicking "Next" and hoping for the best.

Users do so at their own peril, though. A very vivid case-in-point was demonstrated recently when it was discovered that the EULA for Macromedia's popular - indeed, predominant - Flash Player carried this caveat:

You may install and use the Software on a single desktop computer that has a Windows PC operating system (including desktop PC versions of Windows 95, 98, 2000, NT, ME and XP (Home and Professional), a Macintosh desktop operating system, a Linux desktop operating system, or a Solaris desktop operating system; provided, however, that, notwithstanding anything contrary contained herein, you may not use the Software on any non-PC product or any embedded or device versions of the above operating systems, including, but not limited to, mobile devices, internet appliances, set top boxes (STB), handhelds, PDAs, phones, web pads, tablets, game consoles, TVs, DVDs, gaming machines, home automation systems, kiosks or any other consumer electronics devices or mobile/cable/satellite/television or closed system based service. A license for the Software may not be shared, installed or used concurrently on different computers. (Emphasis added.)

You can't use it on kiosks?

A furious series of discussions about this EULA recently erupted on tech-related bulletin boards, most of them concerned with the hypothetical notion that the prohibition against Flash Player's use on "mobile devices" meant that anyone using it on a laptop computer was in violation.

But the admonition to not use the software on a kiosk posed a serious problem to the kiosk industry: Flash is one of the key tools used to generate dynamic content for both kiosks and digital signage. And furthermore, if the Player was in fact forbidden on kiosks - a point that some industry experts felt was up for debate in the first place - then the entire Internet kiosk business was likely in violation.

"I don't think it is smart of Macromedia to have such a restriction on their free player," said Larry Mahar, chief technology officer of software firm TouchVision Inc. "If they were to strictly enforce this, it would mean that any public pay-per-use Internet device - technically a kiosk - would not be able to access the many Internet sites that are rich with Flash content."

KioskMarketplace.com contacted Macromedia's public relations department to ask why the company explicitly banned Flash Player's use on kiosks. Macromedia responded that the EULA was in fact being changed - with the word "kiosk" being excised.

"The intent was to restrict the player to desktop and laptop machines running an authorized operating system, and the EULA has been revised to make this point more clear," said Sandra Nakama, public relations manager for Macromedia's Flash team. Within one week of our contact, the EULA was revised and a new version posted to the Macromedia Web site, with the reference to kiosks removed. (Click here to view the new version of the EULA.)

Macromedia declined to comment on whether KioskMarketplace.com's investigation prompted the change.

All's well that ends well?

Kiosk companies no longer need to worry about the Flash Player, but this issue calls to light the importance of reading the EULA on every bit of software that is installed.

"People don't take EULAs seriously," said Scott Stanton, digital signage technical services manager for ActiveSource. "Most people click through them without even knowing what it is - it is just one more dialog box to clear on the way to installing the application. It can get you in trouble, though."

Keep up-to-date on the latest Kiosk news.

Stanton said that in addition to possible legal woes, EULAs are the usual hiding ground for spyware installers both benign and malicious. "Spyware vendors are notorious for being very clear about what they intend to do with your computer but it is hidden in the thousands of lines of the click-through EULA. So, by clicking that, you agree, without knowing what you are agreeing to, and you are asking for trouble."

And the legal issues certainly cannot be discounted. When asked whether his company has ever pursued EULA violators, Jeff Whattcott, vice president of product management for Macromedia gave an unflinching, unqualified "Yes."

"We have an anti-piracy team that aggressively pursues software pirates and others who willfully use our products outside of the terms and conditions of the EULA," he said. "Customers should always keep in mind that EULA compliance is a condition of using nearly all software products, and failure to do so can result in unexpected licensing costs and substantial inconvenience. Like any agreement, it's always important to know what you are agreeing to."