An end-user license agreement is a contract between a licensor of software and the end-user, which provides the latter with permission to use the software under acceptable terms. The owner (or in some cases, the sublicensor) of software has a property right to their offering. When a person purchases software, they are not purchasing full ownership rights. Instead, they are purchasing a license to use the software for the purposes that the license agreement deems appropriate. Typically, end-user license agreements will have provisions restricting sublicensing, reverse-engineering, multiple users, or other harmful or impermissible behavior. Well drafted end-user agreements may also place limitations on liability, and set venue, arbitration, and attorneys fees clauses.

Websites also use end-user agreements, thought they are typically called "Terms and Conditions" or "Conditions of Use". These are also important agreements. Under the SaaS model, concerns of piracy are not as serious, as the source code is kept on the server. However, end-user agreements still provide several levels of protection for developers. In addition to drafting the terms of these agreements, Springmeyer Law will provide guidance for the placement and procedures of online end-user agreements to increase the likelihood that the agreements will remain fully intact if they are ever subject to litigation.

If you are interested in creating an end-user license agreement for your software or website, please contact us.