Granted, I'm just a silly 3rd Year law student. But it seems a lot like a good deal of WoW's "these characters are not your property but ours" shpiel would fall on its face in a majority of states because the EULA is an adhesion contract?
Granted, I'm just a silly 3rd Year law student. But it seems a lot like a good deal of WoW's "these characters are not your property but ours" shpiel would fall on its face in a majority of states because the EULA is an adhesion contract?
If the EULA is invalid, you have no right to access Blizzards private servers. The EULA extends your rights, it does not limit them.
It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion. It is by the beans of Java that thoughts acquire speed, the hands acquire shakes, the shakes become a warning.
-Kujako-
Man, I dunno... have you asked Phoenix Wright about this? I've heard the guy's pretty involved in both law and video games.
It's time to level up and quit your newbie ways
You need to go outside and get some new V-rays
A fresh breath of air will help you talk again
Inhale, exhale, feel the Oxygen
- Woodman
WoW's EULA isn't an adhesion contract. Nobody is making you play the game.
"I was a normal baby for 30 seconds, then ninjas stole my mamma" - Deadpool
"so what do we do?" "well jack, you stand there and say 'gee rocket raccoon I'm so glad you brought that Unfeasibly large cannon with you..' and i go like this BRAKKA BRAKKA BRAKKA" - Rocket Raccoon
FC: 3437-3046-3552
The characters on Blizzard's servers are theirs.
You're not strictly speaking forced to play on Blizzard's servers (depending on location).
Because Blizzard can't afford any "real lawyers" they probably made the EULAwith the help from Billy, who watches a lot of Law and order. No way they would have access to any professionals that could easily point out why their EULA would never last. I'm sure before WoW's first birthday the EULA will be shredded to pieces by some 4th year law student who happens to read it.
I'm sorry, but you're wrong. The EULA extends the right for you to play, and moreso, store data on their servers. Any data stored on their servers is their data, regardless of how it originated. Since you have no ownership over the data, or the servers, you cannot transfer an account.
Wrong. I'm not saying the EULA itself is invalid, but portions thereof. (Which raises another issue because most states will only nix out invalid portions of a contract and attempt to keep the parties intent constant. A minority of states, including my own, would deem the whole contract void. And a click-through agreement such as an EULA is deemed a contract.)
But specifically, I'm talking about the ability to transfer an account to a third party. It's a restraint on alienation of trade - in other words, the argument would say something like:
"Even if Blizzard retains property rights to the characters themselves, the inability to transfer that licensed access to an account is a void clause of the contract."
(I am setting aside issue of whether the players are gaining property interests in their accounts based on the hours they play under property law. Merely addressing that clause from an adhesion contract standpoint + restraint on alienation)
---------- Post added 2013-02-20 at 01:53 PM ----------
Wrong. You don't need to have property rights for a restraint on alienation to void a clause of a contract.
---------- Post added 2013-02-20 at 01:55 PM ----------
An adhesion contract does not require me to be forced to play the game. An adhesion contract just means that one side has all of the bargaining power.
---------- Post added 2013-02-20 at 01:59 PM ----------
There's a lot of analogous precedent to the contrary
http://www.gamerlaw.co.uk/
You can mail this guy that has this blog. He's a lawyer that is actively involved into all that regards gaming industry. Let us know if he answer back
It doesn't require a lease/housing contract to be an adhesion contract. Lots of adhesion contracts are 100% fine. I'm not saying that it's because it's an adhesion contract that would make the inability to transfer clause of the EULA void.
But clauses like this could be viewed as unconscionable considering the amount of hours a player may put into their account.
---------- Post added 2013-02-20 at 02:05 PM ----------
Awesome! Ty The kind of response I was looking for.
Not to point any fingers at Rukentuts, who apparently believes that adhesion contracts involve leases and housing contracts.
you're welcome. there's this piece on the blog that should suit your taste: http://www.gamerlaw.co.uk/2012/the-l...les-in-the-eu/ there's direct mention to software likes WoW and MMOs with subscriptions model at a certain point but I can't link it directly.
Yes it does. You are granted that license, not a third party. When that contract explicitly states that we're doing this deal with you, and you only, you cannot just introduce a third party. This is why the contract also says, if you disagree to this, or if your views change in the future, the contract is void (i.e. you lose the license to their IP).
This isn't rocket science people.
This is why I should've said "Only law-yers/students reply please". You just don't get it, lol.
The problem is in the very clause itself saying that you can't transfer it. Agreeing to that clause does not mean that the clause is enforceable. A clause may be unenforceable despite your agreement to it in an adhesion contract such as an EULA if the terms of the clause are unconscionable. An unconscionable contract may exist where one party limits the rights of another party to freely exchange the received service/goods/etc.
---------- Post added 2013-02-20 at 02:22 PM ----------
Yep! I've been checking it out on my other window while this idiot makes circular logic arguments at me
Infracted. Please don't insult other posters.
Last edited by Rivellana; 2013-02-21 at 01:29 PM.