EULA's are becoming more and more restrictive. They in general give
no warranty that the software will do what is supposed to. In fact, it
is common practice to explicitly disclaim all warranties and to
explicitly make no guarantees about the reliability, functionality, or
usability of the software.
If you buy commercial (non-free, non-open source), then usually you
will not be able to return the software if you find that it is unfit
for the purpose you intended. Usually, the only way to return software
is to show that the physical media was damaged. In this case, most
stores will only replace the media for you; you won't get a
refund. If you read the EULA before breaking the seal on the media case itself, you are probably in a better position to demand a refund. If you break that seal, there's almost no chance.
When purchasing software in shrink wrap, it is not usually possible
to read the EULA before you purchase the software and open the
box. Sometimes that same EULA will say that by opening the box, you
have agreed to the terms of the EULA. If this is the case, and the
EULA gives the software company the right to bring the BSA down on you
for an audit or something, then you're screwed.
By agreeing to an EULA, you now commonly give software providers
the right to install other software on your machine, monitor your
behavior (web pages visited, etc), use your computer's resources for
other purposes than those you have designated (BDE's Altnet, for
example), and so on. Many EULA's also state that you do not own the
software that you have paid for, you are rather leasing or renting it
from the software company, and also that the privilege of using the
software may be revoked at anytime. EULA's nearly constitute service
agreements now, and since it's a good bet that many people buying
software these days are connected to the 'net, it is easy for a
company to remotely disable the software (until you rebuild your
machine, but you might be screwed even then; if the software can
connect to the providers site and the provider has a database of
disabled software, it will be simply disabled again).
Some say that clauses in EULA's are unenforceable. Indeed, I don't
believe that an EULA has been tested in court until now. The
Blacksnow/Mythic case holds that at least certain clauses of EULA's
are enforceable by law (pending appeal / ruling from higher
court). This ruling only applies in a certain jurisdiction, but I
think you'll see other courts looking at this decision whether or not
they should be. Other jurisdictions and countries will probably follow
this precedent. So be careful about what you actually agree to.
If you are purchasing commercial software, and cannot read the EULA
without opening the box, then ask a salesperson to open the box for
you. Explain that you would like to purchase the software because you
think it will do what you need it too, but that you have concerns
about the EULA. Stores will probably be reluctant to do this at first,
but if enough people become concerned about the contents of EULA's,
then they will have to allow people this in order to sell
software.
Of course, most people don't care about the contents of
EULA's. They just want to run to the store, pick up Quicken or
whatever, and get their taxes done before the deadline. However, I
think we will see more and more cases of software companies going
after others citing the draconian clauses that the user agreed to by
installing the software, then people will become more aware of this
problem.
People must begin to treat EULA's like any other legal contract. I
hope people aren't signing employment contracts (which can sometimes
say things like "you cannot practice {profession} for two years after
the termination of this contract, anywhere in {country}") without
reading them through, and neither should people be clicking "Agree"
without reading them through.
If you don't have time to read and understand the EULA, find a
trusted third party (like your lawyer) to look it over for
you. Otherwise, don't use/buy/download the product.
Of course, I have to squeeze in the obligatory plug for free
software (as in free speech), and one for open source software too (the
differences are subtle, but important). If I download a program
covered by the GPL, then I know exactly what my rights, privileges
and responsibilities are with respect to that piece of software. I
know this because I have read the GPL license, which is really short
and terse as software EULA's go. The same goes for programs covered
under BSD licenses.
EULA's for commercial software often vary widely between different
products from the same company, and even between different versions of
the same product. I have to read every single one of those very long,
fine printed licenses if I want to understand my rights, privileges,
and responsibilities. Thus, if a GPL'ed or BSD licensed alternative is
available, I can use it without having to read. I also get the benefit
of having the source code, meaning I can (or my organization can) audit
the software for security holes, quickly (if I'm willing to invest the
time to learn the code) fix bugs that may appear, and add new features
without begging to the deaf ear of a software company.
Ultimately, my point is, read the EULA, and understand what it
means, before opening/installing/downloading software, especially if
you want or need to be aware of what you legal obligations and rights
(or lack of) are.