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Windows 8: More EULA, Fewer Rights.
sl4shd0rk writes "Microsoft has adopted a brand new licensing scheme for Windows 8 which effectively removes your right to file a class-action lawsuit against them should you feel the need. '...Many of our new user agreements will require that, if we can't informally resolve the dispute, the customer bring the claim in small claims court or arbitration, but not as part of a class action lawsuit.' Class-action lawsuits are intended to help individuals stand up to corporate law-breaking but this new EULA model simply nullifies that course of action for the consumer."
Good - class action lawsuits are bad for the individual consumers anyway, only make money for the law firms. I'd rather 200 people file small claims suits than someone file a class action.
So does this mean I can put a sticker on my car that says:
"By Reading this Bumper Sticker you agree to the following Terms and Conditions:
In the event of an accident the operator of this vehicle shall be held harmless for any damage or personal injury incurred to any person involved. You agree to take full personal and financial responsibility for any damage incurred to this motor vehicle and belongings."
Forget about class action. Go with crowd action. Let 100,000 people file in small claims court at the same time. Assuming the courts can handle the load, I'm guessing even MS doesn't have enough lawyers to appear personally in each suit.
They don't allow plaintiffs to pay out coupons in small claims court.
Another great ruling by Scalia. Seriously someone should do a Kennedy on him. He's the one who organized the scotus coup on Gore in 2000. No I really don't think that someone should do a Kennedy on him. Sorry if that gave anyone ideas. But the guy is an asshole and is hurting the people of the U.S. You know the people: The general populous who he is supposed to help by ensuring the law is applied fairly. Oh wait, he was one of the (ahem, so called) justices that ruled that corporations are people. Go figure. I do hope he has an aneurysm or heart attack though. I don't wish someone would die very often, I can make an exception for him and even Clarence Thomas; come to think of it, maybe especially Thomas... another fucktard of the supreme court of the US.
-- I ignore anonymous replies to my comments and postings.
As opposed to the infinite "Legal Wisdom" of mbone, I'll take Scalia any day of the week.
FYI: The Supreme Court exists to INTERPRET LAW, not to create it. So unless there is a law on the books that says that you can't put a clause preventing the signatory party from engaging in Class Action suites in a binding agreement, then how can any Court rule that you can't?
If you start letting judges making up laws, what sort of law shall we have? Easy: You get Kangaroo Courts where the laws are made up to fit the ends of the Court.
Just by not buying Windows, Microsoft won't see they lost a sale.
Everyone go out and buy a copy of Windows 8, open the box so it can't be resold, then return it for a full refund with the reason that the EULA you can't see until you try to install it was an unacceptable attack on basic civil rights.
This is about the only way Microsoft would get a clear message and see how much its costing them.
It may well depend on what state you live in.
Personally, the better option would be to just not bother with Windows 8, and demand a refund (or if the OEM allows it, demand a non-Windows 8 preload). If Microsoft refuses to refund your money, take them to small claims court for that refund.
I wonder though - can an enterprising lawyer raise up a class-action lawsuit over the EULA clause itself?
Quo usque tandem abutere, Nimbus, patientia nostra?