Shrinkwrapped Books

NortWind writes "I just saw this in the InfoWorld paper, in the "The Gripe Line" by Ed Foster. It describes how a "...book arrived wrapped in plastic with a shrinkwrap license on the front". Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse..." I wrote an essay about this a year or two ago.

Comments

Re:Some Java books are even worse

[chris_mahan]

There is no law that says that you have to read "every single page" of a book you buy. You just say: I skipped those pages (I had a headache or something) They're going to ask why you skipped them, and you'll say: "It looked boring" to which there is of course no reply, because that would be the go-awful truth.

Licensed Books are not New

[em.a18]

Books that comes with a license are NOT new. It's not at all unusual to receive books of documentation when one signs a non-disclosure agremeent (NDA). That's not the unusual part.

There are two new aspects to this idea. I'm not a lawyer, so perhaps the more legal minded can answer these.

First, can I attach a shrinkwap license to anything? It seems well accepted for software. But what about apples? Can I enforce a shrinkwrap agreement that says you won't sell the apple to somebody else?

Second, are you bound by a shrink wrap license one receives unsolicited through the mail? One is *not* bound to return anything or even acknowledge merchandise that one receives unsolicitied through the mail.

charge a storage fee

[dutky]

If I were to receive an unsolicited item bearing a restrictive license of this sort, I would immediately send an invoice and rental agreement to the licensor for weekly storage and handling of their merchandise at my location, payable within 15 days unless the licensor came to my location and retrieved the item forthwith. Failure to retrieve the item within 15 days would indicate acceptance of the rental agreement.

Every month I would send a new invoice for the elapsed period, less payments, plus any late payment fees and interest.

When the total amount owed exceeded the local small-claims limit, I would confiscate the licensors' property for auction and file suit to recover the debt.

"The Supply Room"

[Ungrounded Lightning]

Of course, damn near everyone I know at work also gets spam e-mail to buy toner supplies for our d getting them two months after being hired. (Yeah, like the most recent hire automatically has purchasing control. *plonk*)

There was a phone scam something like that maybe 20 years ago - back when the long-distance rate wars were just starting.

Company on the west coast named itself "The Supply Room". In the morning (when night rates were still in effect on the west coast) they'd war-dial the office phones of businesses in the Eastern time zone. If they got a human (no doubt groggy in the morning) they'd say something like:

"This is 'The Supply Room'. Do you need any supplies? Xerox paper? Toner? Pens?"

If the poor sap at his desk said yes they'd ship some stuff to his office, and a large bill to the company's accounts-payable. (I hear they recorded the call as proof that the stuff had been "ordered", too.)

(I got one of those calls when consulting at an auto company's process automation department. Told 'em they were talking to the wrong person. Found out what they were when the company sent warnings around a few days later.)