Post-purchase EULA modification: Difference between revisions

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Some companies change the language of their End-user license agreements to revoke the rights of the consumer for products they've paid for, such as revoking a perpetual license and, oftentimes, replacing it with a subscription model.

“License euthanasia” is the practice of revoking perpetual licenses under the pretext that the company is looking out for the user’s best interest by forcing them to update to a later version. This term was coined by consumer-rights advocate [[wikipedia:Louis_Rossmann|Louis Rossmann]], who observed that Final Draft’s description of an older version of its software as being “of advanced age” “made it sound like they’re doing the kind thing” by putting old software out of its misery<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rossmann |first=Louis |date=26 Jan 2025 |title=Final Draft revokes perpetual software license for your own security; how nice of them!! |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXV4VDvseIE&t=439s |website=YouTube}}</ref>.

“License euthanasia” is the practice of revoking perpetual licenses under the pretext that the company is looking out for the user’s best interest by forcing them to update to a later version. This term was coined by consumer-rights advocate [[wikipedia:Louis_Rossmann|Louis Rossmann]], who observed that Final Draft’s description of an older version of its software as being “of advanced age” “made it sound like they’re doing the kind thing” by putting old software out of its misery<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rossmann |first=Louis |date=26 Jan 2025 |title=Final Draft revokes perpetual software license for your own security; how nice of them!! |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXV4VDvseIE&t=439s |website=YouTube |archive-url=https://preservetube.com/watch?v=WXV4VDvseIE |archive-date=23 Feb 2026}}</ref>.

The viability of a lifetime license is dependent on the product's operational costs and its monetization plan.

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====Hidden EULA language====

The use of the colloquial term ‘EULA roofie’ stems from comparisons between the practice of hiding EULA terms, and the practice of spiking a drink – where consent is sought and given for the consumption of the drink, but not for the consumption of whatever it has been spiked with. The most common association with this term is when a company retroactively amends their terms to introduce forced arbitration, such as with [[Nintendo]] in [[Nintendo's May 2025 Policy Updates|advance of the release]] of the [[Nintendo Switch|Nintendo Switch 2]]{{Citation needed}}.

The use of the colloquial term ‘EULA roofie’ stems from comparisons between the practice of hiding EULA terms, and the practice of spiking a drink – where consent is sought and given for the consumption of the drink, but not for the consumption of whatever it has been spiked with. The most common association with this term is when a company retroactively amends their terms to introduce forced arbitration, such as with [[Nintendo]] in [[Nintendo's May 2025 Policy Updates|advance of the release]] of the [[Nintendo Switch|Nintendo Switch 2]].{{Citation needed}}

===Retroactive policy enforcement===

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 Some companies change the language of their End-user license agreements to revoke the rights of the consumer for products they've paid for, such as revoking a perpetual license and, oftentimes, replacing it with a subscription model.
-“License euthanasia” is the practice of revoking perpetual licenses under the pretext that the company is looking out for the user’s best interest by forcing them to update to a later version. This term was coined by consumer-rights advocate [[wikipedia:Louis_Rossmann|Louis Rossmann]], who observed that Final Draft’s description of an older version of its software as being “of advanced age” “made it sound like they’re doing the kind thing” by putting old software out of its misery<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rossmann |first=Louis |date=26 Jan 2025 |title=Final Draft revokes perpetual software license for your own security; how nice of them!! |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXV4VDvseIE&t=439s |website=YouTube}}</ref>.
+“License euthanasia” is the practice of revoking perpetual licenses under the pretext that the company is looking out for the user’s best interest by forcing them to update to a later version. This term was coined by consumer-rights advocate [[wikipedia:Louis_Rossmann|Louis Rossmann]], who observed that Final Draft’s description of an older version of its software as being “of advanced age” “made it sound like they’re doing the kind thing” by putting old software out of its misery<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rossmann |first=Louis |date=26 Jan 2025 |title=Final Draft revokes perpetual software license for your own security; how nice of them!! |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXV4VDvseIE&t=439s |website=YouTube |archive-url=https://preservetube.com/watch?v=WXV4VDvseIE |archive-date=23 Feb 2026}}</ref>.
 The viability of a lifetime license is dependent on the product's operational costs and its monetization plan.
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 ====Hidden EULA language====
 {{Main|Hidden EULA language}}
-The use of the colloquial term ‘EULA roofie’ stems from comparisons between the practice of hiding EULA terms, and the practice of spiking a drink – where consent is sought and given for the consumption of the drink, but not for the consumption of whatever it has been spiked with. The most common association with this term is when a company retroactively amends their terms to introduce forced arbitration, such as with [[Nintendo]] in [[Nintendo's May 2025 Policy Updates|advance of the release]] of the [[Nintendo Switch|Nintendo Switch 2]]{{Citation needed}}.
+The use of the colloquial term ‘EULA roofie’ stems from comparisons between the practice of hiding EULA terms, and the practice of spiking a drink – where consent is sought and given for the consumption of the drink, but not for the consumption of whatever it has been spiked with. The most common association with this term is when a company retroactively amends their terms to introduce forced arbitration, such as with [[Nintendo]] in [[Nintendo's May 2025 Policy Updates|advance of the release]] of the [[Nintendo Switch|Nintendo Switch 2]].{{Citation needed}}
 ===Retroactive policy enforcement===