End User License Agreement and Key Terms In Eula

Kalpana Borjha| Kalinga University| 17th June 2020   

Introduction

End User License Agreement is and legal agreement between a software company or software developer (licensor) and the end-user (licensee) who has installed or purchased the software for use. This is done under the provisions of the Indian Contract Act, 1872. EULA is important for a business that produces software or websites to protect intellectual property and to limit the potential liability. Let us understand this with an example, you visited a website where you can purchase and download various books legally, the website has signed an agreement with the owner of the copyrights and such websites makes the user agree to an agreement to ensure the copyrights of the owners, such agreement is known as the End-User Licensing Agreement.

The EULAs being a legal agreement requires valid contract formation and other such laws related to the Contract Law are applied. EULAs are enforceable and valid in the eyes of law. It is a type of click-wrap agreement, i.e., this agreement is in a digital form and used for software licensing and online transactions where the user has the choice t either accept or to reject the terms and conditions mentioned, before installing or purchasing the available product or services. In our day to day lives, the EULA can be easily seen when we install an app.

Key Terms in a EULA

Some clauses are most common and very essential at the same time in every EULA. Few of them are mentioned below:-

• Duration: The duration of the license is very important in an End-User License Agreement, such as some portals or websites have subscriptions on a monthly or annual basis. It is therefore very essential to mention the term for which the agreement is in force and valid. The subscription period starts from the day the applicable fee is paid. Some websites, portals, etc also grant a free license to install and use the products for free.
• License Granting: Granting the license of the software to end-users is the primary purpose of the EULA.
• Jurisdiction: EULA must specify the jurisdiction of the court which has the authority to try cases or legal disputes, if arises, between the user and the licensor. The EULA should also mention if there is an alternative dispute resolution method preferred by the licensor to which the users agree while making the agreement.
• Restrictions: This clause of the EULAs specifies that the use of the software other than the permitted use is the violation of the terms and conditions.
• Termination: The disclaimer of terms of Termination specifies that the developer or the software company has the right to terminate the license of any user in case of violation of agreement’s T&C or misuse of the software, website, portal, etc.
• Copyright Infringement: Infringement issues have become quite normal these days, to avoid any such the developers or licensors clearly specify that the user is responsible for any legal issue if arises due to infringement.
• Privacy: This clause makes the user agree that the Licensor may collect, use, and process the user’s personal information, according to the privacy policy mentioned in the terms and conditions.
• Warranty: Warranty clause specifies that whether the software licensor is responsible for a defined term or not responsible for furnishing the software because maintaining the software seems difficult for some users.

Conclusion

Usually the EULA terms are so lengthy and specifically written in legal language, that the users skip directly to the accept or reject section rather than reading it completely. Sometimes they might find it difficult to understand complicated legal language; this might lead to users not agree for the defined clauses. Thus companies should draft the EULA in a user-friendly way so that users read it completely and then agree for the same.