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The End User License Agreement (EUAL) is a type of license used for most software and is also regarded as a software license. The EULA is a binding legal contract between the manufacturer or the author and the end user of an application. The EULA details how the software can and cannot be used and any restrictions that the manufacturer may impose. That is, the EULA prohibits users from sharing software with other people (Wikipedia 2005). It also disclaims all responsibilities if the software damages the user's computer, as it is believed that it is unfeasible for a software company to test a program in great detail on a PC. Different combinations of hardware problems or software bugs are always the cause of losing data in the computer (Answer 2005).
In its inital stages of development, the EULA was reasonably brief. Most content in the EULAs were about software warranty and a reminder to not copy the software. Yet, it is widely acknowledged that the EULAs are becoming increasingly complex. In the year 2000, a new commercial code called the Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act (UCITA) for computer information transactions and other software licenses was adopted by the US government. The UCITA code was written by the National Conference of Commissioners, which included members such as legislators, judges, attorneys and law professors. After the UCITA was introduced, software developers and vendors have added more restriction to their EULAs (Bellevue Linux 2005).
Acceptance of EULA acknowledged by the end user is not the same in every case. The acceptance mode is determined by software developers and is usually based on how the software is distributed. These methods include:
The disputes generated by the EULA concering the ownership of virtual property over computer games, such as the massive multiplayer online game (MMOG), can be looked at from one particular perspective, in which the game developers have the advantage over game players. The EULA contains language that grants game players the right to use the software and it also claims virtual property rights for game developers. That is, the game players buy permission from the game developers to play the MMOG rather than owning the game. The restrictions in the EULA ignore the efforts the players have made for levelling up characters or accumulating items in MMOGs. For example, MMOG players spend about US $12 a month to subscribe to a game in order to access it. However, equally significant is the investment of time from the players. In the end, the players do not own virtual items they have created in MMOGs (Humphreys 2005, p.38-43).
On the other hand, Vanguard Okratas believes it normally takes millions of dollars for a game development company to make a MMOG. Essentially, the value of a game for a company is to sell the permission to game players to play the game. In actuality, game companies can “sell�? the game if a game player wants to “buy�? the game and its property rights. However, this will cost the game player millions to buy, making it impractical. Nevertheless, due to restrictions stated in the EULA, game development companies can sell the game at the lowest cost and the game players are able to play a multi-million game, although not owning the virtual property, by paying a reasonable amount of money (Vanguard Okratas 2004).
Answer.2005.EULA.http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery?method=4&dsid=1512&dekey=EULA&gwp=8&curtab=1512_1&linktext=EULA (accessed October 3, 2005)
Bellevue Linux. 2005. EULA definition. http://www.bellevuelinux.org/eula.html (accessed October 3, 2005).
Humphreys, S. 2005. Productive players: Online computer games’ challenge to conventional media forms. Journal of Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies. 2 (1): 36-50.
Tech Target. 2005. End User License Agreement. http://searchwin2000.techtarget.com/gDefinition/0,294236,sid1_gci341294,00.html (accessed October 3, 2005)
Vanguard Okratas. 2004. Interview with Don Shelkey. http://vanguard.okratas.com/index.php?module=subjects&func=printpage&pageid=28&scope=all (accessed October 17, 2005)
Wikipedia. 2005. Software license. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EULA (accessed October 16, 2005)
The link to key entry:Computer Games - Ethics
--Chang I-Jung 19:49, 19 Oct 2005 (EST)
