The complication is that there is software to contractually protect both installed on individual products and a web based application provided as a SaaS. The individual product software can be used standalone without having signed upto the SaaS service. We would expect a customer (an organisation) to sign a contract in order to use the SaaS service but we don’t really want to get into individual signed contracts associated with individual product purchase (again by an organisation). Is the right legal structure a SaaS agreement plus some form of software licence which can be deemed active on use of the product? Any insight or pointers you can provide gratefully received. Thanks
Alasdair Taylor's Answer
IoT licences which are simply included with IoT products may face the same kinds of issues – relating to acceptance and enforceability – as old-style shrink wrap licences did in respect of boxed software. See for example:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrink_wrap_contract
I haven’t previously prepared an IoT licence in circumstances where there wasn’t an opportunity to get a clear prior acceptance of licensing terms, and I don’t know the current state of industry practice in this regard.
