Commercial Modules: Link to CMEULA and related considerations

Commercial Modules
1

While reading about SysAdmin Pro Module Change Logs available in its latest release (sysadmin-2.11.0.26.tgz, October, 23rd 2013) I discovered that LICENSE.txt contents:

"Copyright 2011 by Schmooze Com., Inc.

By installing, copying, downloading, distributing, inspecting or using the materials provided herewith, you agree to all of the terms of use as outlined in our End User Agreement which can be found and reviewed at www.schmoozecom.com/cmeula"

should be updated/adapted because actually CMEULA, among others End User Agreements adopted by Schmooze Com Inc., can be found here:

www.schmoozecom.com/legal.php

and CMEULA is exactly here:

http://literature.schmoozecom.com/EUA/FreePBXCommercialModule-EndUserAgreement.pdf

and not at the proposed URL.

So, if LICENSE.txt has still some importance to Schmooze Com Inc., please tell someone to update it accordingly.

P.S.
The latest version (?) of CMEULA, the one that has the PDF modified on September, 5th 2013, has a statement in the introduction (look at the legal.php page and look for a date!) that sounds hilarious given the overall context.

“Any modification to these Terms and Conditions will be effective on the first day of the month
following the posting of the modified Terms and Conditions at http://www.schmoozecom.com/legal.php/ Customer should therefore check the site regularly for updated versions.”

Schmooze Com Inc. should take care of (not only) posting/releasing it (as it does) but also to state clearly WHEN that happens (exactly like when it states, e.g., the Release Date of any new FreePBX Distro): that isn’t difficult and it will avoid a real non sense statement (sure a user can check many times a day that legal page but he has no way to understand WHEN a change happened and, even downloading the relevant EULA’s PDF and inspecting it for any modifications, he will not be able to argue enough to let him say when that EULA is going to be be effective/started to be effective…no matter if that EULA has been posted and it exists on that web page).

Schmooze Com Inc. only knows (well…the one that physically published that document on that page).

In brief: to state that an EULA starts to have Legal value after some time since it was officially released/posted in a web site somebody must officially state WHEN it was posted and (or?) which EULA revision is considered valid (no matter the time when that EULA was released/posted).

It’s not a Legal debate…it’s matter of writing down statements with a meaning and let this meaning to have a glue with the real word (=when the PDF is released and touches users).

Isn’t it?

2

I wont get into a debate on the fact that the EULA can and will change from time to time but I have made the web guys aware of the broken link. We will setup a re-direct today on that and also update all future modules to look to the legal.php page.

3

Yes EULA can change.
That’s not the point.
The point is that if an EULA (or any other type of document) contains a statement like the one above (with that semantic structure) then who has the responsibility to publish it/take care of it should also take care that it will not loose its meaning to whom it may concern (providing the official date of its release/change if this is a requirement necessary to understand when its validity starts): it’s like what happens to our Laws…Laws have dates from which they are usually valid and users (Lawyers) don’t need to guess them.

A note/edit: when above I wrote “…guess them.” I meant that a user, even if she/he is able to guess a date associated with a document by browsing a discovered URL containing documents and showing their Timestamps (see them <a href=http://literature.schmoozecom.com/EUA/?C=M;O=A>here), could then infer very little about that.

This because the same document could be:

  • uploaded in a date but never released publicly
  • uploaded in a date and released afterwards
    In both cases there isn’t a single official release date if that one is not stated officially (automatically via a CMS or manually by human).

P.S. I’m not a Lawyer!

4

I don’t always read the EULA… but when I do I sit Back with a Dos Equis and a few hot women and we notice that most of them say they can change without notice and that you are bound to the changes regardless of being informed of said changes or not.

So what is your point. If you don’t like the EULA you don’t have to use the software. Are you starting with FreePBX before you move on to the likes of Microsoft and Apple?

5

I have taken your concerns on the date and talked with Legal. We will go from there.

6

You missed the point (and maybe few hot women too).

I care about EULA/CMEULA (and so I’m writing about that) exactly like I care about any other type of document I read and I started this thread with a consideration about a specific statement which is found in the CMEULA Document (please, read it again): my way of reasoning could be applied to any other type of written document in which there is a statement that says that the whole document starts its real validity IF there is OUTSIDE a date reference and who read it (who should agree with it) is easily able to find the required reference OUTSIDE the document itself (in this case the required reference is clearly the publication date - which should be found OUTSIDE the document - used by the user to determine when the content of that document starts to have the validity it’s reclaiming).

It’s like to state “The agreement stated below starts his validity 30 days after the publication of this document”…if nobody then release (to publish) that document with a clear release date there is no date to use as a reference. Sic et Simpliciter (It’s so simple).

Sorry for my English…it’s not my mother tongue…so all this words look too strange to you, forget about it.

By the way, I prefer a good Matusalem Grand Reserva 23.