David Ernst A personal site

Classy legalese from OmniGraffle

Callouts to the developers of OmniGraffle for including such a humanistic introductory paragraph to the License Agreement when you install their software:

IMPORTANT.
PLEASE READ CAREFULLY – THIS IS A BINDING CONTRACT.

The document that follows this paragraph is a license agreement. Why do we need such a thing? Well, to be perfectly honest, our lawyers have told us that we need to protect ourselves. We at the Omni Group pride ourselves on our low-key style, but the global nature of the software business means that one lawsuit from one user in a far-flung jurisdiction could seriously affect us and our ability to provide software. It also means that, without this license agreement, we might not have protection from people who misuse our software. We do not want to risk our entire company on such possibilities, however unlikely, because we like doing what we do and want to continue to be able to do it. And, so, we require you to read and agree to the terms of this document before using our software. We think you will find it quite reasonable. Obviously, if you disagree, click “Disagree.” But, don’t just stop there. Let us know. Send some email to info@omnigroup.com telling us what you find unacceptable about our license agreement. We can’t promise to change anything, but we will do our best to get back to you.