Proving the point?

By Jon Festinger on October 18, 2014

 

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Check out this story from techdirt:

Nintendo Bricks Wii U Consoles Unless Owners Agree To New EULA

Thanks to Nintendo for their spectacular though inadvertent  timing in supporting our course curriculum.  Many of the arguments against contractual overreaching through EULA’s and ToS’ which we have explored over the last couple of weeks seem to find resonance here.  Is Nintendo courting a class action suit? What is the appropriate recourse against Nintendo for a gamer if they don’t want to agree and whose hardware has been impacted as a result? What might be the potential remedies here? What causes of action do you see in tort? In contract? Anything else?

Thoughts/reactions/suggestions?

jon

 

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2 responses to “Proving the point?”

  1. eduj
    eduj October 19, 2014 at 12:34 am

    In contract, I’m thinking about causes of action that protect weaker parties. For instance, the law of duress can make a contract voidable or find certain obligations unenforceable. Given that users do not have a practical and reasonable alternative course available, there is an argument of duress. Another, perhaps, is unconscionability. This route invokes relief against unfair advantage gained by an inconscientous use of power by a stronger party against a weaker one. If I recall correctly, these are all equitable doctrines and so I think an injunction would be something to parties would ask for in this scenario.

  2. eduj
    eduj October 19, 2014 at 12:36 am

    Does anyone think that Nintendo will have a hard time enforcing these agreements given their nature?



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