[OT] EULA and legality

[Lynn Fredricks]

> There is another point which is is maybe overlooked by people 
> whose official language is English. It seems to me that EULAs 
> suffer from a "vice de forme" in the sense that they are 
> often written in a language that is not an official language 
> of the country where it is supposed to apply. Specifically, 
> most EULAs are solely written in English and rarely 
> translated because (I assume) the vast amount of money it would take
> 1) to translate the EULA into one official language of the 
> target country/countries
> 2) to adapt the text to the local jurisdiction (while keeping 
> in mind that international treaties, in particular concerning 
> IP, apply above national law)

That's true - also there is the risk that the altered language of the EULA
will alter the intent. I know of some that include a translated version, but
with the caveat that says "if there is any variance in interpretation of
this agreement in this language, the English version trumps it", or
something similar.

> This the point of view from the vendor's jurisdiction. If the 
> end user is in another country, another conclusion may be 
> drawn locally.

That's the conundrum. Any jurisdiction should be looking out for its
citizens, but often they step beyond their own borders of realistic
enforcement - it happens all the time, just between US states.

For example, in the USA, many states want taxes to be collected from vendors
who ship into their state (digital goods as well). In general, to do that,
there has to be some form of tax nexus - meaning, some element of that
vendor in the state. Some states try to redefine that in various ways to try
to grab more taxes. Some states have tried to come up with a plan to support
each others sale tax collections, and that hasn't really worked out. Then,
there are states (like where I live) where there is no state sales tax at
all, and we just thumb our noses at the idea of collecting taxes for someone
else.

Now with this going on between the states, how can European countries even
dream of US companies collecting VAT without a tax nexus?


> If you want to have an idea of what a mess this can be, look 
> at the World Trade Organization.
> The European Union (unfortunately) also gives good examples 
> of how difficult these things are difficult to achieve in 
> practice (take for instance the managing of the euro :( ).

We have lots of legal fun to look forward to over the next several decades.
I guess what we all need is an alien invasion to set matters into
perspective. Lets hope they bring lots of tourism money with them.

Best regards,

Lynn Fredricks
President
Paradigma Software
http://www.paradigmasoft.com

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