I would be careful not to over-read the court's point. In Specht v. Netscape, the court is trying to highlight factors that distinguish browser-wrap from click-wrap since other courts have generally viewed browser-wrap contracts as lacking strong indicia of mutual assent.
If the website appears to have merely set up a way to download software and provided potential downloaders with a notice (that is not hyperlinked) to read the license, then a court may view the notice as an invitation to read a license (browser-wrap) rather than conclude that there is sufficient indicia of mutual assent (e.g., click-wrap). To be clear, no court has REQUIRED a set of dialog boxes or buttons with "I accept" or "I do not accept." Rather, the point is that the website that seeks potential user input (clicking buttons, pulling down menu items...whatever) may strengthen the licensor's claim that the contract/license is binding upon the parties because contract formation principles have been followed, and the court may infer that the license was read and that the licensee agreed to the terms. -Rod > Lawrence E. Rosen wrote: > > >'Forrest J. Cavalier III' wrote: > >I would want to agree individually, not in bulk. > > > Courts also insist that it should be that way. > > >... That is why I suggested in the notice that you > >there be a simple procedure to review all the licenses. > > > > "Please review and agree to the terms of the Netscape SmartDownload > software license > agreement before downloading and using the software." > (quoted from the > quotation in Specht v. Netscape.) > > The court said that this language is simply an invitation to read the > license, and merely because a user saw this text, it cannot be inferred > that the license will bind the user. > > (aside - On strict legal grounds, I feel that the decision in Specht > requires reconsideration) > > "The name of each software program on this distribution and its > applicable license is listed on the file LICENSE.TXT included with this > distribution [, which you can read by clicking on "REVIEW THE LICENSES" > below]." > > The court will say that this language is simply an invitation to read > the licenses, and merely because a user saw this text and clicked on 'I > agree", it cannot be inferred that the license will bind the user. > > Regards, > Mahesh T Pai. > > > > > > > > ________________________________________________________________________ > Want to sell your car? advertise on Yahoo Autos Classifieds. It's Free!! > visit http://in.autos.yahoo.com > -- > license-discuss archive is at http://crynwr.com/cgi-bin/ezmlm-cgi?3 > -- license-discuss archive is at http://crynwr.com/cgi-bin/ezmlm-cgi?3