Shrinkwrap Agreement - Definition
Written by Jason Gordon
Updated at December 3rd, 2020
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What is a Shrinkwrap Agreement?
A Shrink Wrap agreement can be defined as a legal agreement that is packaged within a product. In this type of agreement, products are sealed or enclosed in shrink wrap (plastic wrap) implying that the goods (and thus the legal document) can only be viewed by the customer who purchases it.
The Shrink wrap agreement generally includes specific terms and conditions of the product or purchase, such as price of products, warranties, right of use and guideline, limitations and licenses as the case may be.
Back To: COMMERCIAL LAW: CONTRACTS, PAYMENTS, SECURITY INTERESTS, & BANKRUPTCY
A Little More on What is a Shrink-wrap Agreement
One of the features of a shrink wrap agreement is that a consumer or customer cannot read its terms of agreement until the package has been accepted and paid for.
Whether shrink wrap agreements are enforceable or not has remained a constant and controversial topic even the court of law. While some courts agree that a consumer consents to the terms in a shrink wrap agreement since he pays for and accepts the product. Others are of the opinion that the consumer could not have consented to the terms since he has no knowledge of what the terms stipulate until the shrink wrap is removed.
An example of a shrinkwrap agreement is an End User License Agreement (EULA).
Academic Research on Shrinkwrap Agreement
- Intellectual property and shrinkwrap licenses, Lemley, M. A. (1994). S. Cal. L. Rev., 68, 1239.Shrinkwrap and Clickwrap agreements: 2b or not 2B, Founds, G. L. (1999). Fed. Comm. LJ, 52, 99.
- Shrinkwrap license agreements: new light on a vexing problem, Hayes, D. L. (1992). Hastings Comm. & Ent. LJ, 15, 653.
- The Death of Copyright: Enforceability of Shrinkwrap Licensing Agreements, Minassian, A. (1997). UCLA L. Rev., 45, 569.
- Mass Market Software and the Shrinkwrap License, Rich, L. L. (1994). Colo. Law., 23, 1321.
- Shrink-wrap licenses: the debate continues, Einhorn, D. A. (1997). Idea, 38, 383.
- Will Shrinkwrap Suffocate Fair Use, Morris, E. (2006). Santa Clara Computer & High Tech. LJ, 23, 237.
- Shrink-wrap, click-wrap, now browse-wrap, Pike, G. H. (2004). Shrink-wrap, click-wrap, now browse-wrap.
- Mass Marketed Software: The Legality of the Form License Agreement, Kemp, D. (1987). La. L. Rev., 48, 87.
- The Shrinkwrap Snafu: Untangling the Extra Element in Breach of Contract Claims Based on Shrinkwrap Licenses, Smith, N. (2003). BYU L. Rev., 1373.
- Shrink-wrap licenses of mass marketed software: Enforceable contracts or whistling in the dark, Stern, R. H. (1985). Rutgers Computer & Tech. LJ, 11, 51.
- Contracts, Copyright, and Confusion-Revisiting the Enforceability of Shrinkwrap Licenses, Heath, S. A. (2005). Chi.-Kent J. Intell. Prop., 5, 12.
- Restricting Reverse Engineering Through Shrink-Wrap Licenses: Bowers v. Baystate Technologies, Inc., Bressman, S. (2003). BUJ Sci. & Tech. L., 9, 185.