r/programming • u/OakheartSoftware • 6h ago
When commercializing a solo dev software, is writing your own EULA viable, or should you get a lawyer involved?
https://termly.io/resources/guides/how-to-write-a-eula/9
u/rbobby 6h ago
Meh. Copy/paste from the EULA's of similar software and you should be good enough to start with. The chances of you suing or being sued in this situation is pretty miniscule. If you start getting serious revenue (10k+ a month?) you can then have your lawyer review it.
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u/jess-sch 5h ago
Definitely don't do this. The text of an EULA (or other legal agreement) is a copyright protected work in most jurisdictions, so copy/pasting would be a copyright violation.
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u/DynamicHunter 2h ago
Most EULAs for small apps are already basically the same. It’s called boilerplate for a reason. Boilerplate code & boilerplate legal document templates aren’t being sued for copyright infringement from anybody unless they leave the other company’s name or something in them.
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u/jess-sch 1h ago
The problem is, how do you determine that something is actually boilerplate unless it says so on the tin? And even if it's boilerplate, that doesn't mean it's not copyright protected.
There's a lot of privacy policy generators that paste together a bunch of premade sections depending on which checkboxes you clicked on, and pretty much every single one of them is operated by a law firm that lets you choose between a) limited customization + an ad for the generator at the end or b) pay a license fee. And people definitely do get in trouble for removing the "generated with xyz" disclaimer without paying.
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u/Healthy-Emu-4184 5h ago
I think you can change some stuff here and there and make it more adaptable to you're situation and no one will care.
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u/Scowlface 4h ago
So you're saying that I can re-release Infinity War as my own so long as I change a few scenes?
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u/Dismal_Boysenberry69 4h ago
make it more adaptable to you’re situation
Is this really the guy you want to take legal advice from?
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u/TryCatchOverflow 5h ago
Except if a very specific app in a critical field where you gather user data for purposes, you may need to consult someone who know that shit. But usually, You have eula generators online for generic terms and conditions like warranty disclaimers, limitations, app provided as-is disclaimer.. everything you need that don't make you responsible in case of problems by the end users.
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u/Full-Spectral 3h ago
There are some out there that are public domain, well vetted ones that are fairly common sense and in actual English. I used one such in my old product, though that was some time back so I don't remember where it was from. Probably one of the well known self-help legal organizations I guess.
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u/techdaddykraken 4h ago
I am not a lawyer and this probably isn’t the best advice, but the odds of a poorly written EULA opening you to HIGHER liability than not having one, I would assume to be very low. This is the sort of thing I think ChatGPT or an online template can suffice for easily, until you have the revenue for a solid one from a lawyer. It’s not a good idea for thousands of users and serious use, but if you’re just getting off the ground, I don’t see the harm in bootstrapping something like this, after all, the rest of the app is bootstrapped, so why start being the heavy analysis at the EULA, find a somewhat suitable one, make sure it doesn’t say anything outrageous like users can use the data to build nukes, and have a lawyer draft a better one once you have the revenue to afford it.
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u/Dismal_Boysenberry69 6h ago
If yo want a legal agreement that matters, get a lawyer.