[email address]

020 7881 3052

Mr John Fingleton

Chief Executive, OFT

Fleetbank House

2-6 Salisbury Square

London EC4Y 8JX

31 January 2008

Dear Mr Fingleton

Whose license is it anyway?

I am pleased to enclose the National Consumer Council's (NCC) latest report, Whose license is it anyway?, which looks at the fairness of terms in the licenses of twenty five popular software products, including office suites, games, security, digital media and education titles.

Software can only be installed and used once the consumer has accepted an end user license agreement (EULA). Other rights, including ownership of the software, remain with the rights-holder. The lack of alternatives means that EULAs are more like legal mandates than consumer choices, and they apply to every computer user in the world.

We found examples of good practice where information about the license was provided upfront and in a range of accessible formats. But there are also examples where terms were not written in plain English and it was difficult to retain a copy of the agreement. Our research shows that all rights-holders can do more to inform consumers. We are particularly concerned by the legal uncertainty consumers are faced with since terms are rarely presented in a way that is directly applicable to local law.

We want rights-holders to address these concerns and for the European Commission to fill the gaps in the consumer rights and protection framework. This could be achieved by including digital contracts and license agreements in consumer law following its review of the Consumer Acquis. We are also asking the Office of Fair Trading to examine the potentially unfair contract terms identified in this report.

I hope you find the report of interest. Should you require further information, please contact Carl Belgrove, the report's author, on 020 7881 3028 or [email address].

Yours sincerely

Philip Cullum

Acting Chief Executive