I did it. I bought a Razer Mamba mouse. It’s a AU$200 mouse, AU$140 of which is in the form of its packaging. Besides being beautifully designed, it performs very well, and it’s highly recommended if you have the money.

Being inclined as I am, I decided to read through the legalese that accompanies the mouse, including the EULA for the driver software.

Razer™ IS WILLING TO LICENSE THE ENCLOSED SOFTWARE TO YOU ONLY ON THE CONDITION THAT YOU ACCEPT ALL OF THE TERMS CONTAINED IN THIS LICENSE AGREEMENT.

That’s generous. I wonder what kind of license they’re willing to grant.

Razer™ grants you a non-exclusive, revocable license to use one copy of the enclosed software program, licensed and not sold to you, (“Software”) on one computer only with the Razer™ product you have purchased. No other rights are granted. [Emphasis added.]

It’s good to know that I won’t be able to use this mouse with more than one computer, especially given that it comes with on-board memory specifically for the purpose of easily moving it between multiple computers.

Installation on a network server for the sole purpose of your internal distribution of the Software is permitted only if you have purchased an individual Software package or concurrent dedicated license for each networked computer to which the Software is distributed. …

You may not transmit the Software over a network (except as expressly permitted above) or electronically using any means. [Emphasis added.]

So I can’t store it on my home server either. Nice.

It goes without saying that Razer does not, I’m sure, intend to enforce any of this. Indeed enforcement would be difficult for a number of reasons, particularly Razer’s inconsistent advertising. (I would emphasise, however, that there is no fair use concept in Australia.)

One of the goals when drafting a contract is to protect your client’s interests. But the other is to give effect to the bargain struck. It’s incredibly frustrating when lawyers draft licenses such as this and completely ignore the latter.

Today, The Daily Show website joins a long list of innovative online content services, such as Hulu and Pandora Internet Radio, that are unavailable to Australian residents:

Then there are the services, like iTunes and Audible, that offer limited catalogues of content to their Australian users. And movies and television series that are made available to Australians months after they’re made available elsewhere.

The frustration is ineffable.

A number of people have noted that you can use VPN services, such as HotSpotVPN, or other US-based proxies to make these sites believe you’re connecting from within the US. You can, of course. But, other than the extra cost, you’d be in breach of the terms of service:

This Site is offered and made available only to users 18 years of age or older who reside in United States of America. If you are not yet 18 years old, or do not reside in the United States, please discontinue using the Site immediately … by using or attempting to use the Site, you certify that you are at least 18 years of age and meet any other eligibility and residency requirements of the Site.

At least we have Foxtel.com.au, where you can watch ads for Foxtel 24-hours-a-day.