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Executive Summary
This article analyzes the growing use of end-user license agreements (EULAs) in connection with patented and copyrighted products. Sometimes called presale product licenses, EULAs have become progressively more common and now accompany a wide range of goods, imposing increasingly restrictive terms on consumers. Product categories that employ EULAs include software, media products, electronics, video games, directories, and agricultural products. The restrictions are not trivial. They may prohibit consumers from using a product in multiple locations, bar repairs at nonapproved service facilities, restrict product resale, or ban reverse engineering. Perhaps more important, the enforcement of the restrictions is also nontrivial, with intellectual property infringement lawsuits available as a potential remedy for use against those who violate license terms. This article explores the limits and enforceability of EULAs through an analysis of relevant case law, including the decision in Lexmark v. Static Control Components. The article then assesses the implications of broadened enforceability of product licenses and makes recommendations for improved public policy, including regulatory and market-based approaches.

Biography
Jeff Langenderfer is Associate Professor of Marketing & Law at Meredith College in Raleigh, NC. Before employment at Meredith, Dr. Langenderfer served as Assistant and Associate Professor of Marketing & Law at Berry College in Rome, GA. He holds a BA in Economics from the University of North Carolina, a JD from North Carolina Central University, and a PhD in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing from the University of South Carolina. His research interests include the effects of technology on privacy, policy implications of intellectual property rights, and the growth in copyright infringement and its effect on the market for copyrighted works. Dr. Langenderfer also consults for several Web-based companies, including Paperbackswap.com, Swapacd.com, and Swapadvd.com. Recent research has appeared in Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, Journal of Consumer Affairs, and Journal of Macromarketing.

Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, Volume 28, Number 2, Fall 2009
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