Is clicking accept enough to form a contract?

In many systems it can be, provided the terms were presented clearly and the user had a real chance to read them before agreeing. Terms hidden behind a link nobody has to pass are on weaker ground.

How is a EULA different from terms of use?

A EULA governs software the person installs and runs; terms of use govern a site or service they visit. A product with both an app and a website often needs both documents.

Do consumer protection rules apply to a EULA?

Where the user is a consumer, local law commonly limits what a licence can disclaim or exclude, whatever the document says.

Software and platforms

End-user licence agreement

The terms presented to the person who installs and runs a piece of software, rather than to the business that bought it. Because it is accepted by clicking rather than by signing, a large part of its drafting is about being presented clearly enough to count. It grants a personal, limited permission to use the software, lists what the user may not do with it, deals with updates and telemetry, and disclaims what the publisher is not promising.

In the catalogue: Software and platforms
Where it can live: Any of the 184 governing laws

Who uses one

App and desktop software publishers shipping to individuals.
Games and utility developers distributing through stores.
Companies whose software is installed by staff at customer sites.

What you are deciding

What the user may do with the software, and on how many devices
Whether the licence may be transferred
What is prohibited: copying, modifying, reverse engineering, sharing
How updates are delivered, and whether they are automatic
What data the software sends back
What is disclaimed, and what the publisher stands behind
How the terms are accepted, and what happens if they change
How the licence ends, and what the user does then

Blanks you leave stay blank and wait in the room. Nothing is filled in from a guess.

The sections a draft usually has

1Acceptance of the terms
2Grant of licence
3Restrictions
4Updates
5Data collected by the software
6Third-party components
7Disclaimers
8Limits on liability
9Termination
10Governing law

A general outline, not a required one. What turns up in a draft follows what you described. A contract is written in the order a contract is read.

What people call it

The names this kind of paper goes by. They are here because people search for them. They also filter the catalogue. They are not a wordlist the door matches. At the composer you describe the deal in your own words instead.

eula
end user licence agreement
end user license agreement
app licence agreement
click wrap agreement
desktop app terms

Questions people ask

Is clicking accept enough to form a contract?: In many systems it can be, provided the terms were presented clearly and the user had a real chance to read them before agreeing. Terms hidden behind a link nobody has to pass are on weaker ground.
How is a EULA different from terms of use?: A EULA governs software the person installs and runs; terms of use govern a site or service they visit. A product with both an app and a website often needs both documents.
Do consumer protection rules apply to a EULA?: Where the user is a consumer, local law commonly limits what a licence can disclaim or exclude, whatever the document says.

General answers about the document. Not advice about your situation. Not written about any one country.

Where it lives

A contract names the legal system it is governed by. That is a separate decision from which paper it is. You pick it at the door, from any of the 184 units in Governing law, including England and Wales, Delaware, California and New York.

You do not start from this page. Describe the deal in one sentence at the door. Read the draft back in plain language, in the order a contract is read.

Start it at the door →

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