German software licensing law

MJ Ray mjr at phonecoop.coop
Wed Sep 21 20:00:11 UTC 2005


Can a software licence in the English language only be valid
if it specifies that it is governed by German law?

I've been told that the reverse isn't true: an English court
would not normally consider a licensing agreement in German
only that claimed to be under English law, without some special
circumstances. I know even less about German law, so I'm hoping
some kind soul on this list knows about this situation. Any
pointers or references welcome.

This seems to be a common situation with European software.
There was also the QPL which was in English and specified Oslo
courts, but I care less about that right now.

There was a draft of something called the d-fsl published,
which was in both English and German and was said to be seeking
to satisfy all requirements of German law. Was being in German
too part of that?

Thanks for reading,
-- 
MJ Ray (slef), K. Lynn, England, email see http://mjr.towers.org.uk/



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