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Comment by agilob | Hacker News Reader

In UK supermarkets there are grapes, by buying them you agree only to consuming them and not propagating because they are GMO and IP-protected.

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In the UK you can be subject to license agreements that you were never made aware of and did not consent to?

The same thing happens in the US. There's a court case where someone put a EULA inside of a CD packaging and made opening the CD sufficient to trigger the EULA. They won, making that an acceptable easy to force a license on someone

It sounds like you're misrepresenting the case https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ProCD,_Inc._v._Zeidenberg

The facts were:

1. There was a notice on the outside of the box saying that use of the product was subject to an EULA. Zeidenberg was not bound by that.

2. Zeidenberg opened the box, opened the CD case, put the CD in the drive and ran the software installer on the CD, which presented him with the full EULA and the opportunity to agree to it, or the opportunity to cancel and return the software for a refund. He clicked "Agree" to that.

It was the clicking "Agree" after having a chance to review the EULA that bound him to it, not opening the packaging.

Also, if he was not offered the opportunity to disagree and return the software, it would not be binding.

It's unlikely it will ever be legal to claiming someone's actions before they've been presented the full license text count as assent to said license.

Would a store accept a return of opened software in 1996? In my experience most had a policy forbidding it.

It depends on the software. It's very much like coupons too with their "participating retailers only" clauses, there will be provision for that in the contract between the distributor and the retailer. If the software says you should return it, there'll have be some agreement to allow that, either directly to the retailer or indirectly to the software vendor.

You cannot. I believe the OP is talking nonsense.

It is, however, possible to patent genetic modifications in the UK (and the EU), and for the duration of the patent, require anyone growing plants produced from those modifications to buy a (compulsary) license from you.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Directive_on_the_legal_protect...

There are packs of grapes with that text printed on the packaging. The same goes for some flowers in pots you can buy where it's printed on the label. I doubt any court of law would consider that legally binding.

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