my desktop app popped a warning that I should read the ToS.
I suppose something changed? Are the changes highlighted somewhere?
It’s 22 full screens so we all know, nobody is expected to read it in full, especially not recognize the changes, hence it doesn’t apply. It’s something that doesn’t actually work in court, either. It’s either common sense or not important or legal fail.
I’m fairly sure it’s nothing important, most likely the name of some entity changed or given the Brexit they realized some data processing must be mentioned. I’ve never broken the ToS in a way that would go to court (yes, I’ve been upset and said nasty things, like most everybody else). So I’m not worried.
I’m just trying to push Blizzard legal to put in the not-so-extra mile and produce a highlight of changes, like virtually every company does and is required by law (such as where I work).
https://tosdr.org/en/service/539
from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terms_of_Service;_Didn%27t_Read
from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terms_of_service
Actually it does apply, not reading something is not an excuse for it not applying. I don’t think much except the names have changed. I do think differences should have been highlighted.
They often do not. If ever there is a conflict between the law and the ToS, the law wins. So, if I have the right to make as many copies of a CD I want for personal use and to break any DRM along the way, and I do as a Dane, no amount of DRM or copy protection clauses in the ToS can stop me.
In fact, I am legally allowed to crack a game to enable gameplay provided I can prove I bought it. So therefore, I am allowed to play on private servers under Danish law.
This is why Blizzard is so hesitant to shut down private servers. It’s a lot more complicated than it seems.
You must prove that the user was given a choice to see the agreement before he consented to the EULA or ToS - that is to say that you are allowed to return a game for which you cannot accept the EULA or ToS that pops up on first start. If you cannot do so, the agreement is not binding.
The company must further be able to prove that you signed it and when you signed it, as well as which version. Merely sending the update you and saying “Well if ya continue then you consent” is not enough and is not enforceable, and companies do this all the time.
Lastly your ToS must be written in good faith and the belief that your audience is able to read it. That is to say, selling a game to a 13 year old and then expecting them to consent to miles upon miles of legalises isn’t going to fly, and yet they do it all the time.
If you actually look around in the media you will find thousands upon thousands of cases where a ToS was clearly violated and the one who broke said ToS won anyway.
Governing Law. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of France. If you are resident in a member state of the European Union, you also enjoy the protection of the mandatory provisions of the consumer protection laws in your member state.
Of course it does because this is patently true, but it never specifies exactly what that means because it varies by country - so if you’re sitting there reading the ToS and something strikes you as being against the law, then do check the law. If they contradict the law wins.
This one has actually caused a fair few EULA’s be thrown out of court in the UK, as they were written in obscure and obfuscated legalese instead of plain English. But keep in mind, you WILL need to be financially able to take them to court over it to get it thrown out. Otherwise it is still legally binding.
It is not false, and I can prove it to you - but you’ll have to understand Danish which you might not do, I don’t know.
It is illegal to host a private server since you are enabling piracy, but it is not illegal to play one as you are simply breaking the DRM on content you have purchased because it was on the disk.
Digital signing is included, including if the program is constructed in such a way that it is impossible to do something that the user has done without agreeing, e.g. if you log into WoW through the client that implies you saw the EULA screen and if you did and affirmed that you accept, then it is binding - however Blizzard must be able to prove that you actually clicked that button - but they can do that simply by pointing out that you logged in at such and such time, so they are covered.
Of course you must also be able to refund WoW before playing it - which you can do. Valve got in hot water for these sorts of problems in Europe a few years ago and were forced to implement a refund policy.
Yes, I do agree that’s a problem, which is why you ought to speak up a little less about Danish law. I do not think you know it.
Precisely. Happens all the time. However I would point out that you being unable to afford lawyers does not make you legally wrong.
What you can do here in Denmark is go to your towns “Retshjælp” office. What they do is that they are public lawyers of some experience, and they will sit down with you for half an hour to an hour to work out your problem and give you any advice you might need. I made use of the one in Central Copenhagen as well as the one in Lyngby Library once due to a legal dispute over healthcare, but they can be used for civil suits, too.
Of course it’s not as good as a full lawyer, but a simple case of “May I copy a CD?” is something they can sort for you in the blink of an eye. They’ll simply hand you a slip of paper and you hand that in and your problem’s over.
You are given 14 days to decline the new service, however, by logging into Battle.net and or playing the game you are deemed to have accepted the service. It was in the email. So shucks, looks like you’re onboard if the terms popped up from the interface. So pretty pointless reading.
[Quote from the email]
'you expressly agree to waive this right of withdrawal if you access Battle.net and/or play Blizzard games within these 14 days. ’
Not reading it doesnt exclude you from punishment/consequences. You clicking on agree binds you to it. Providing its in accordance to the law and not some random wambo jambo one wouldnt expect in it or has no real connection to the service you want access to.
Our ToS are also bound to a lot more rules than the US counterpart.
There is no alternative option or negotiation in this matter. The offer of service is to play the game under their terms, so the choice is simple. I doubt their is any merrit what so ever in reading the terms as you either want to play their games or not. I doubt anyone has ever been able to negotiate a different contract clause just cus they didn’t like the wording. So once you log or play the game you are bound by the terms. I haven’t been playing so I got the email. And I won’t be playing any time soon… not that that has anything to do with contract wording.
Firstly, their terms can’t override your laws, and secondly you must be given the opportunity to revoke your consent if the agreement changes.
This could even, though it has never been tried in court, go as far as saying “Well I got 3 months of subscription but as of next month I cannot accept the terms. I’d like 2 months refunded” - why? You are not given the service you purchased because the terms of the service was changed.
Secondly, you must be able to return the product before you agree to anything. That means that if I buy a software product but during the install cannot agree, I can get a full refund.
"“Harassment, “griefing”, toxic, abusive behavior or chat, conduct intended to unreasonably undermine or disrupt the Game experiences of others, including but not limited by, intentionally/repeatedly killing your in-game character and/or intentionally/repeatedly letting the opposite player/s to kill your in-game character, intentionally/repeatedly hindering your team in any ways, deliberate inactivity or disconnecting.”
So, what parts of the EULA is against your laws? Please be specific, or if you haven’t read it as you claim, how can you know that parts of it breaks your countries law?
Btw you don’t buy the software, you buy a licence to use it. EULA = End User Licence Agreement and that doesn’t give you the right to alter it.
From the info you link it’s not. Most of it says intentionally being bad or disruptive is against the EULA. Just being bad at it isn’t.
I didn’t say anything did. I responded to your claim that Blizzard could just make a 3 billion line agreement and put whatever they wanted in there and you’d have to follow it.
I’m sure there’s something in there though - but the EULA itself points that out so no need to worry about that.
Yeah, you’ve bought a license and accepted specific conditions, some of which may or may not be legal, but regardless they can’t change the conditions of the deal on you without re-asking you or get away with deliberate TL;DR 3 billion line legalese here, unlike in the US.
But buying a perpetual license comes with consumer protection and is considered “buying the software” - it does not mean buying the rights to distribute the software. The law is very clear on this.
They can call it whatever the hell they want, it doesn’t change anything.
That is not a claim I made. Why do you think there are 3 billion lines in it? Having looked through it it looks like only the names of the company have changed. “Buying the software” suggests you own the rights to do what you want with it and you don’t.
Alright fair enough, I found it and copied it into LibreOffice Writer and it was actually only 21 pages, 9635 words, or 60343 characters of legalese. That’s roughly the length of The Call of Cthulhu, exactly as scary and dense to read, but a hundred times less entertaining but in your way to entertainment.
Wanna know something funny? Near the end it protects Blizzard against liability if an act of God occurs. No, really.
Blizzard shall not be liable for any delay or failure to perform resulting from causes outside the reasonable control of Blizzard, such as natural disasters, unforeseen intrusions into our cyberspace, war, terrorism, riots, embargoes, acts of civil or military authorities, acts of God, fire, floods, accidents, strikes, or shortages of transportation facilities, fuel, energy, labor or materials.
I think it’s fair to say that people don’t read these things because they just wanna start downloading Overwatch and 99.9999% of this is irrelevant and stupid, which is precisely why it’s there. Nobody is going to sue Blizzard because their neighbourhood flooded and they can’t play WoW, or because their apartment in Syria got bombed and therefore they can’t play WoW. It’s just plain filler.
Agreements don’t need to be like this, but it is so you cba to read it.
So they put all this boring garbage over there so people don’t notice actually important stuff written in the middle of it.
No, I don’t think so. It talks about add game to cart and then you purchase the contents of the cart, but we all know they mean license; but nobody really talks about it that way.