An hour ago, in the supermarket, I saw a cereal box advertising this flying game inside. What caught my eye was small, bold text under the ad saying you need to agree to a legal release form and a End-User License Agreement to use the game. This seemed odd, and because the form was on the back, I started reading. Here’s a rough translation of what I found: (Text was in Hebrew. Bold parts were not originally emphasized.)

From the moment you insert the disc into your optical drive, you agree to waive your legal rights against the publisher, should it damage your optical drive. […] By using this computer program, you confirm you are aware any computer program may contain a computer virus (“infection”) or any form of malicious code. All possible actions were taken to make sure the disc will not have any defects or errors. However, you agree to waive your legal rights against the publisher should the disc contain any defects, errors or malicious code. […] The application may gather information about your computer and use of the software and send it to the company’s servers, should you contact technical support. You agree to have the application gather information about your use of it, your computer and its configuration.

It “may” damage your drive? It “may” contain malicious code? It “may” watch what you do and tell its creators? Awesome!

I’ve read about cases where a license agreement was tricky and had some bad parts, and we all know about SecuROM, a known “legal computer virus”. But this is just too much. You’re basically agreeing to not take any legal action against the developer/publisher or even complain if the game turns out to be a malicious spyware-like virus! Earlier cases and the legal release form above (Yes, the game also comes with an additional EULA you must agree to. Crazy!) emphasize the fact a user should NEVER install software without thoroughly reading the attached agreements.

Welcome to the 21st century’s revision of the “Buyer Beware” rule.