Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
At least Microsoft is willing to state that its software will actually do more or less
what the documentation says it can do. The warranty for Railroad Tycoon, distributed
by Gathering of Developers (no longer in business), promised only that you would be
able to install the software:
LIMITED WARRANTY. Owner warrants that the original Storage Media holding
the SOFTWARE is free from defects in materials and workmanship under normal
use and service for a period of ninety (90) days from the date of purchase as
evidenced by Your receipt. If for any reason You find defects in the Storage Media,
or if you are unable to install the SOFTWARE on your home or portable computer,
You may return the SOFTWARE and all ACCOMPANYING MATERIALS to the
place You obtained it for a full refund. This limited warranty does not apply if You
have damaged the SOFTWARE by accident or abuse.
Here is even blunter language from the license agreement accompanying Sid Meier's
Civilization Revolution game:
Licensordoesnotwarrant...that the Software will meet your requirements; that
operation of the Software will be uninterrupted or error-free, or that the Software
will be compatible with third party software or hardware or that any errors in the
Software will be corrected.
In other words, don't blame us if the program doesn't do what you hoped it would do,
or if it crashes all the time, or if it is full of bugs, and we're not promising to fix any of
these problems either!
How can software manufacturers get away with disclaiming any warranties on what they
have sold? It's not clear that they can. If the software is mass marketed or if it is included
in a sale of hardware, it is likely to be considered a good by a court of law [57]. The
damages and warranty provisions of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) often apply
to the sale of goods, despite what the warranties may say.
An early court case,
Step-Saver Data Systems v. Wyse Technology and The Software
Link
, seemed to affirm the notion that software manufacturers could be held responsible
for defective programs, despite what they put in their warranties. However, two later
cases seemed to indicate the opposite. In
ProCD v. Zeidenberg
, the court ruled that the
customer was bound to the license agreement, even if the license agreement does not
appear on the outside of the shrink-wrap box.
Mortenson v. Timberline Software
showed
that a warranty disclaiming the manufacturer's liability could hold up in court.
STEP-SAVER DATA SYSTEMS v. WYSE TECHNOLOGY
AND THE SOFTWARE LINK
Step-Saver Data Systems Inc. sold time-sharing computer systems consisting of an IBM
PC AT server, Wyse terminals, and an operating system provided by the Software Link
Inc. (TSL). In 1986-1987, Step-Saver purchased and resold 142 copies of the Multilink
Advanced operating system provided by TSL.
