Slashdot Mirror
Using EULAs To Bait and Switch
jalefkowit writes "Watchfire, the company behind the popular Web accessibility testing package Bobby, has come up with an innovative way to squeeze money out of customers: they changed the licensing terms of Bobby for the latest release, but don't mention the changes in any of their sales materials -- the first time you'll hear about it is in the EULA, when you install the software. The kicker is, the changes mean that some customers will now have to buy many, many more copies of Bobby than before -- and if the new cost is too rich for your blood, they won't refund the money you paid before you found out about the new terms, since they laid it all out in the EULA! Your options are to either pony up for the additional licenses, or ditch Bobby without ever getting back the money you paid up front. I've written up my experiences dealing with Watchfire and their "upgrade" to Bobby 5.0 -- consider it a cautionary tale for people considering upgrading their own copies, or for anyone who's concerned about how EULAs let companies dodge responsibility for being honest with customers."
...Watchfire has announced a $3.7 Million lawsuit against Slashdot and Jason Lefkowitz. Citing the DMCA, Watchfire explained that the defendants violated copyright by making available to the public, parts of thiar copyrighted EULA.