With the PSN being taken under the wing of Sony’s new Entertainment Network, it’s got a whole new set of terms and condition hidden in its End User Licence Agreement that’s causing a fair bit of concern. Why?
Well, it includes a clause or two removing your right to sue Sony should they screw up again, as we saw recently with the PSN hacks that left 70 million users personal information exposed
By skipping past the new EULA (as we all do) you’ve implicitly agreed to not Sue Sony. Technically, what it means is that all legal disputes you have with Sony be settled out of court, with third party arbitration.
Other than those matters listed in the Exclusions from Arbitration clause (small claims), you and the Sony Entity that you have a Dispute with agree to seek resolution of the Dispute only through arbitration of that Dispute in accordance with the terms of this Section 15, and not litigate any Dispute in court. Arbitration means that the Dispute will be resolved by a neutral arbitrator instead of in a court by a judge or jury.
That’s not the worst of it though; The T’s and C’s also deny group action via Class Action lawsuits. Got a problem with Sony? Settle it man-to-man
There is a way to opt out of the EULA though – but it requires real pend and paper, and a postage stamp.
RIGHT TO OPT OUT OF BINDING ARBITRATION AND CLASS ACTION WAIVER WITHIN 30 DAYS. IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO BE BOUND BY THE BINDING ARBITRATION AND CLASS ACTION WAIVER IN THIS SECTION 15, YOU MUST NOTIFY SNEI IN WRITING WITHIN 30 DAYS OF THE DATE THAT YOU ACCEPT THIS AGREEMENT. YOUR WRITTEN NOTIFICATION MUST BE MAILED TO 6080 CENTER DRIVE, 10TH FLOOR, LOS ANGELES, CA 90045, ATTN: LEGAL DEPARTMENT/ARBITRATION AND MUST INCLUDE: (1) YOUR NAME, (2) YOUR ADDRESS, (3) YOUR PSN ACCOUNT NUMBER, IF YOU HAVE ONE, AND (4) A CLEAR STATEMENT THAT YOU DO NOT WISH TO RESOLVE DISPUTES WITH ANY SONY ENTITY THROUGH ARBITRATION.
You’ll probably find that this is all rather shaky when it comes to its legality – but it hardly matters. There are no cases of a EULA being held up in court – mostly because everybody knows that nobody reads them anyway.
Source : Kotaku
Last Updated: September 15, 2011
