Friday, January 2, 2015

ADOM EULA for Steam (Draft)

One of the many rather annoying things to handle when becoming more professional is to tackle the various legal and tax issues involved with selling software. In a rather regulated state like Germany these things (to me) sometimes seem to be more difficult than in other countries (or maybe other people just care less about repercussions ;-) ).

Here's on such bit... the proposed EULA (End User License Agreement) for ADOM on Steam. Feedback of any kind is very welcome as this is just a draft:


END-USER LICENSE AGREEMENT FOR ADOM (Ancient Domains Of Mystery) 


IMPORTANT PLEASE READ THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THIS LICENSE AGREEMENT CAREFULLY BEFORE CONTINUING WITH THIS PROGRAM INSTALL: Thomas Biskup's End-User License Agreement ("EULA") is a legal agreement between you (either an individual or a single entity) and Thomas Biskup for the software product(s) identified above which may include associated software components, media, printed materials, and "online" or electronic documentation ("SOFTWARE PRODUCT"). By installing, copying, or otherwise using the SOFTWARE PRODUCT, you agree to be bound by the terms of this EULA. This license agreement represents the entire agreement concerning the program between you and Thomas Biskup, (referred to as "licenser"), and it supersedes any prior proposal, representation, or understanding between the parties. If you do not agree to the terms of this EULA, do not install or use the SOFTWARE PRODUCT.


The SOFTWARE PRODUCT is protected by copyright laws and international copyright treaties, as well as other intellectual property laws and treaties. The SOFTWARE PRODUCT is licensed, not sold.


1. GRANT OF LICENSE. 
The SOFTWARE PRODUCT is licensed as follows: 
(a) Installation and Use.
Thomas Biskup grants you the right to install and use copies of the SOFTWARE PRODUCT on your computer running a validly licensed copy of the operating system for which the SOFTWARE PRODUCT was designed.
(b) Backup Copies.
You may also make copies of the SOFTWARE PRODUCT as may be necessary for backup and archival purposes.


2. DESCRIPTION OF OTHER RIGHTS AND LIMITATIONS.
(a) Maintenance of Copyright Notices.
You must not remove or alter any copyright notices on any and all copies of the SOFTWARE PRODUCT.
(b) Distribution.
You may not distribute registered copies of the SOFTWARE PRODUCT to third parties. Evaluation versions available for download from Thomas Biskup's websites may be freely distributed.
(c) Prohibition on Reverse Engineering, Decompilation, and Disassembly.
You may not reverse engineer, decompile, or disassemble the SOFTWARE PRODUCT, except and only to the extent that such activity is expressly permitted by applicable law notwithstanding this limitation. 
(d) Let’s Play Videos and Fan Made Content.
You may create fan content (including "Let’s Play" videos) incorporating videos of actual game play, and may publish and monetise your fan content. All such fan content must be respectful to our industry, company and the SOFTWARE PRODUCT. We reserve the right to revoke this permission at any time and for any reason by notice to you. Upon such notice, you must immediately remove the fan content from distribution.
(e) Rental.
You may not rent, lease, or lend the SOFTWARE PRODUCT.
(f) Support Services.
Thomas Biskup may provide you with support services related to the SOFTWARE PRODUCT ("Support Services"). Any supplemental software code provided to you as part of the Support Services shall be considered part of the SOFTWARE PRODUCT and subject to the terms and conditions of this EULA. 
(g) Software Updates and DLC.
We may release updates, patches, DLC, or new versions of the Software from time to time. You have no automatic right to any updates or DLC, but where we choose to provide these to you, they shall be considered part of the Software and shall be governed by the terms of this EULA.
(h) Compliance with Applicable Laws.
You must comply with all applicable laws regarding use of the SOFTWARE PRODUCT.
(i) Dispute Resolution.
You agree that in case of a dispute or claim, you will first attempt to informally negotiate a settlement or resolution of the dispute by contacting creator@ancientdomainsofmystery.com and informing us in a comprehensive way of the grounds of your dispute before resorting to any legal action.


3. TERMINATION 
Without prejudice to any other rights, Thomas Biskup may terminate this EULA if you fail to comply with the terms and conditions of this EULA. In such event, you must destroy all copies of the SOFTWARE PRODUCT in your possession.


4. COPYRIGHT
All title, including but not limited to copyrights, in and to the SOFTWARE PRODUCT and any copies thereof are owned by Thomas Biskup. All title and intellectual property rights in and to the content which may be accessed through use of the SOFTWARE PRODUCT is the property of the respective content owner and may be protected by applicable copyright or other intellectual property laws and treaties. This EULA grants you no rights to use such content. All rights not expressly granted are reserved by Thomas Biskup.


5. NO WARRANTIES
Thomas Biskup expressly disclaims any warranty for the SOFTWARE PRODUCT. The SOFTWARE PRODUCT is provided 'As Is' without any express or implied warranty of any kind, including but not limited to any warranties of merchantability, noninfringement, or fitness of a particular purpose. Thomas Biskup does not warrant or assume responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of any information, text, graphics, links or other items contained within the SOFTWARE PRODUCT. Thomas Biskup makes no warranties respecting any harm that may be caused by the transmission of a computer virus, worm, time bomb, logic bomb, or other such computer program. Thomas Biskup further expressly disclaims any warranty or representation to Authorized Users or to any third party.


6. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
In no event shall Thomas Biskup be liable for any damages (including, without limitation, lost profits, business interruption, or lost information) rising out of 'Authorized Users' use of or inability to use the SOFTWARE PRODUCT, even if Thomas Biskup has been advised of the possibility of such damages. In no event will Thomas Biskup be liable for loss of data or for indirect, special, incidental, consequential (including lost profit), or other damages based in contract, tort or otherwise. Thomas Biskup shall have no liability with respect to the content of the SOFTWARE PRODUCT or any part thereof, including but not limited to errors or omissions contained therein, libel, infringements of rights of publicity, privacy, trademark rights, business interruption, personal injury, loss of privacy, moral rights or the disclosure of confidential information.


7. LEGAL FEES
In the event that we obtain the legal assistance to enforce this EULA for your breach of these terms, all legal fees (on a solicitor or own client basis) incurred in enforcing this EULA may be recovered from you.

4 comments:

  1. Looks good, and it's especially good that you've addressed the YouTube monetisation issue that some other games companies have mismanaged. Only thing I'd say is normally you wouldn't have your name repeated throughout the text. You state early on that you will be referred to as "the licenser" - use this term in the rest of the text.

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  2. Good to have all clear now at least from the legal point of view. In my honest opinion fighting piracy is a tilting at windmills as i can't see ANY software product that has not been cracked/ put into torrents etc ( excluding web apps that require intranet connection from the certain company). I didn't create any software for the market so my point of view may be distorted. Maybe developer HAVE some options to actually execute justice upon thee :)

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  3. Finally. An EULA Terms and Conditions worth reading.

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  4. Youtube's all covered by fair use so no need to add anything about that, you can't control it. Apart from that it's just your standard EULA stuff, there's not much room to be creative with them.

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