7/15/10

Ridiculous license agreements

The following pertains to the Pocket Yoga HD iPad app made by Rainfrog LLC.

Below is a written review, first posted in the app store in itunes

I opened the app and the Licence agreement came up. I normally just hit agree but thought I would read this one for no reason.

First off, in the first paragraph, it says:

"IF YOU DO NOT AGREE WITH THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THIS AGREEMENT, YOU SHOULD REJECT THEM BY NOT DOWNLOADING THE APP"

I thought was was too ridiculous, mainly because I could not find this certain agreement anywhere else in the app description in the app store or in their website prior to purchasing the app. So I thought, what else in the agreement can make me raise my eyebrow.

Section 2: pretty much says you can't "...loan or otherwise convey the Software or any portion thereof to anyone" What, your telling me my family cannot take my iPad and use this application? I simply cannot agree to that.

Section 3: "You may copy the software onto you iPhone device. And you may make one (1) copy of the software for backup purposes"
What if I have two iPads? What if time machine backs up my iMac and then I make an archival backup of my time capsule on another hard drive (Which I do). And what if I have an online backup solution? I now have several backups of the software. Which means that by accepting the agreement, I will be breaking it if I make a backup of my computer. I simply cannot agree to that.

Section 5: "... the Software is licensed to you, not sold" I guess I can understand that, many other software and operating system is like this.

Section 7: "If you fail to fulfill any of your obligations under this Agreement, this agreement will automatically terminate, and Rainfrog and/or its licensors may pursue all available legal remedies available to them."
Holy flying dingos batman! this means I can get sued by them if I break the agreement? As I mentioned earlier, Section 3 would already do that for me.

Section 9: "You should consult a licensed physician prior to beginning or modifying an exercise program... and you acknowledge that Rainfrog had advised you of the necessity of obtaining such consultation."
Oh, and if your below the age of 18, you better not click agree because "In addition, the software should not be used by pregnant women or individuals under the age of 18."

Section 10: "Rainfrog provides the software to you 'as is', with all faults, and without warranty of any kind... including without limitation any warranty of merchantability." So if the software does not work as advertised, Rainfrog is not responsible. That's like buying a pair of shoes only to find out that the left one is missing and you can't do anything about it.

Section 11: "In no event shall Rainfrog or its licensor be liable to you for any... damages of any kind. (Including without limitation the cost cover, damages arising from loss of data, USE, profits or goodwill)"
Simply put, they are not responsible for the financial damage that downloading this app cost me because according to the first paragraph, I should not have downloaded it if I did not agree with the agreement. Which according to the statements I can't agree in the fear of getting sued because I did not follow everything.

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What is my point in all of this? I don't think Rainfrog is doing anything wrong. They are just covering their be-hind from being sued, and protecting their software from being stolen or reverse engineered. In doing so, it criminalizes the normal people like you and me. I personally will not agree to the EULA, if it is taken seriously. By not agreeing, I cannot use the software. And by fact of downloading the software I cannot reject the agreement. I am stuck in a limbo where the company has taken my money for service that they cannot provide.

With all that said, since I cannot actually use the software I will be giving this app a neutral 3 stars.