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End-user license agreement
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==Common provisions== According to one study, economic competition from different software services leads to EULAs more favorable to the customer.{{sfn|Mezei |Harkai |2022|p=113}} ===Resale=== According to [[United States federal law]], a company can restrict the parties to which it sells but it cannot prevent a buyer from reselling the product. Software licensing agreements usually prohibit resale, enabling the company to maximize revenue.{{sfn|Terasaki|2013|pp=469-470}} Proprietary software is usually offered under a restrictive license that bans copying and reuse and often limits the purchaser to using the software on one computer.{{sfn|O'Regan|2022|p=394}}{{sfn|Morin ''et al.''|2012|loc=Proprietary Licensing}} [[Source code]] is rarely available. Derivative software works and [[reverse engineering]] are usually explicitly prohibited.{{sfn|Morin ''et al.''|2012|loc=Proprietary Licensing}} The issue of reuse is particularly important in the copyright law of English-speaking countries.{{sfn|Eichstädt |Spieker|2024|p=273}} ===Data collection=== Many EULAs allow the vendor to collect information about the user and use it in unrestricted ways.{{sfn|Carpenter|2023|pp=485-486}} ===Derivative works=== Some EULAs restrict the ability of users to exercise copyright over derivative work made using the software, such as creative creations in the [[virtual world]]s of [[video games]].{{sfn|Ahuja|2016|p=381}}{{sfn|Corbett|2019|p=456}} Although most video game EULAs assert that the developer holds the copyright on any [[user-generated content]], this is contested by users and has not been tested in the court system.{{sfn|Catton|2020|p=21}} Legal scholar Anthony Michael Catton suggests that user-generated content should be considered [[Joint authorship|jointly authored]] by the video game developers and the users.{{sfn|Catton|2020|p=22}} Some companies do allow video footage of their games to be distributed online, even for profit.{{sfn|Aroni|2023|p=2028}} ===License term=== Traditionally, software was distributed in the form of binary [[object code]] that could not be understood or modified by the user,{{sfn|Boyle|2003|p=45}} but could be downloaded and run. The user bought a perpetual license to use a particular version of the software.{{sfn|Clohessy ''et al.''|2020|pp=40-41}} [[Software as service]] (SaaS) vendors—who have the majority [[market share]] in [[application software]] {{as of|lc=yes|2023}}{{sfn|Watt|2023|p=4}}—rarely offer perpetual licenses.{{sfn|Dempsey |Kelliher|2018|p=48}} SaaS licenses are usually temporary and charged on a pay-per-usage or subscription basis,{{sfn|Dempsey |Kelliher|2018|pp=48, 57}} although other revenue models such as [[freemium]] are also used.{{sfn|Dempsey |Kelliher|2018|pp=61-63}} Even if the user purchases a perpetual license, it is common for EULAs to allow unilateral termination by the vendor for any number of vague reasons or none at all.{{sfn|Carpenter|2023|pp=482-483}}{{sfn|Bonar-Bridges|2016|pp=82-83}} Furthermore, many EULAs allow the vendor to change the terms at any time and the customer must choose between agreeing or ceasing use of the product, without getting a refund.{{sfn|Carpenter|2023|p=485}}{{sfn|Bonar-Bridges|2016|p=83}} EULAs are also applicable to [[in-app purchase]]s and [[microtransactions]]. As a result, players could lose access to purchased content if the vendor decides to terminate their license and withdraw the content.{{sfn|King|2016|pp=1368-1369}} ===Product liability=== Most EULAs disclaim any [[software product liability|liability]] for harms caused by the product,{{sfn|Carpenter|2023|pp=480-481}} and prevent the purchaser from accessing the court system to seek a remedy.{{sfn|Carpenter|2023|pp=481-482}}
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