I'm guessing this has to do with them filing for their IPO.
Yup, plan on something not very favorable to their dev community coming out when they go public.
Hmm, like what?
Dropbox Developer Terms and Conditions
11–20 of 57 posts
Re: Dropbox Developer Terms and Conditions
#12Lawyers willing to opine: > 14.5. NO CLASS ACTIONS. Developer may only resolve disputes with Dropbox on an individual basis and will not bring a claim in a class, consolidated or representative action. Class arbitrations, class actions, private attorney general actions, and consolidation with other arbitrations are not allowed. Is this exact thing what's being considered in some of the more recent Supreme Court cases…
> Is this exact thing what's being considered in some of the more recent Supreme Court cases? https://www.npr.org/2017/10/06/555862822/no-class-action-sup.... -- but that's still being sussed out.
(Not a lawyer.) It's the same issue, but a different context. The issue currently before the Supreme Court is whether the National Labor Relations Act, which provides workers the right to unionize and engage in concerted activity, prohibits class-action waivers. The (eventual) outcome of that case will not be relevant to the Dropbox agreement at issue here, because the Dropbox agreement is not an employment contract.
Re: Dropbox Developer Terms and Conditions
#13Given that nobody reads these things anyway, how enforceable are they? People just click 'Accept' and continue doing whatever they want.
Very enforceable. You clicked accept, you accepted. If you didn't read it, that's on you. According to the American Bar Association's wording on "Best Practices for Ensuring Enforceability" [0] > There is a check-box that users must click adjacent to an affirmation similar to, “By clicking on the box, you are indicating that you have read and agree to the Terms of Use”; > The webpage is designed so that if the user d…
Seems absurd to me. Companies could claim they put whatever they want in that text and the burden of proof would lie with the end user.
Re: Dropbox Developer Terms and Conditions
#14Given that nobody reads these things anyway, how enforceable are they? People just click 'Accept' and continue doing whatever they want.
Very enforceable. You clicked accept, you accepted. If you didn't read it, that's on you. According to the American Bar Association's wording on "Best Practices for Ensuring Enforceability" [0] > There is a check-box that users must click adjacent to an affirmation similar to, “By clicking on the box, you are indicating that you have read and agree to the Terms of Use”; > The webpage is designed so that if the user d…
please don't use code formatting for quotes, use
> this style instead
(surround the text with asterixes for italics)
Re: Dropbox Developer Terms and Conditions
#15Dropbox's ToS for their file storage service also has an arbitration clause: https://www.dropbox.com/privacy#terms.
> We Both Agree To Arbitrate. You and Dropbox agree to resolve any claims relating to these Terms or the Services through final and binding arbitration by a single arbitrator, except as set forth under Exceptions to Agreement to Arbitrate below. This includes disputes arising out of or relating to interpretation or application of this "Mandatory Arbitration Provisions" section, including its enforceability, revocability, or validity.
Re: Dropbox Developer Terms and Conditions
#16Given that nobody reads these things anyway, how enforceable are they? People just click 'Accept' and continue doing whatever they want.
Very enforceable, thanks to the GOP-stacked Supreme Court. See AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion (https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/10pdf/09-893.pdf) and Amex v. Italian Colors (https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/12pdf/12-133_19m1.pdf).
Re: Dropbox Developer Terms and Conditions
#17Earlier quoted context omitted.
Very enforceable. You clicked accept, you accepted. If you didn't read it, that's on you. According to the American Bar Association's wording on "Best Practices for Ensuring Enforceability" [0] > There is a check-box that users must click adjacent to an affirmation similar to, “By clicking on the box, you are indicating that you have read and agree to the Terms of Use”; > The webpage is designed so that if the user d…
please don't use code formatting for quotes, use > this style instead (surround the text with asterixes for italics)
Reformatted for mobile:
> There is a check-box that users must click adjacent to an affirmation similar to, “By clicking on the box, you are indicating that you have read and agree to the Terms of Use”;
> The webpage is designed so that if the user does not check the box manifesting assent to the terms, the user cannot proceed in the transaction;
> In addition to a check-box that users must click, the terms of use are available either in a nearby scrolling text box or a nearby hyperlink;
> Any hyperlink of the terms is obvious, e.g., “Terms of Use” is underlined and has decent size lettering and visible coloring (not small lettering and not obfuscatory coloring);
> Any hyperlink of the terms has a central or obvious location on the webpage, e.g., the hyperlink is directly below the “I Agree” button (not relegated to the bottom of the webpage, which would require the user to scroll down to a submerged portion of the webpage);
> Any hyperlink of the terms immediately displays the terms (instead of requiring the user to click on a series of hyperlinks to view the terms);
> The terms of use are evident in every webpage on the website (rather than visible on only one webpage), in addition to requiring users to attest that they have read the terms of use;
> The terms are in readable font (at least 12 point); and
> The agreement contains all requisite elements of an enforceable contract (e.g., consideration, sufficiently definite material terms, etc.).58
Re: Dropbox Developer Terms and Conditions
#18Re: Dropbox Developer Terms and Conditions
#19Earlier quoted context omitted.
Very enforceable. You clicked accept, you accepted. If you didn't read it, that's on you. According to the American Bar Association's wording on "Best Practices for Ensuring Enforceability" [0] > There is a check-box that users must click adjacent to an affirmation similar to, “By clicking on the box, you are indicating that you have read and agree to the Terms of Use”; > The webpage is designed so that if the user d…
Seems absurd to me. Companies could claim they put whatever they want in that text and the burden of proof would lie with the end user.
Absurd but very common.
It is important to capture terms when you sign up for things commercially and fight/negotiate terms that allow changes without notification.
I’ve definately run into situations where vendors decide to change the rules after the fact, even with things like shrinkwrap desktop software.
If you cannot negotiate with the counter party or it’s a goliath like Microsoft/Google/etc who wont negotiate with you, make a practice of downloading terms every quarter as they change.
Re: Dropbox Developer Terms and Conditions
#20Lawyers willing to opine: > 14.5. NO CLASS ACTIONS. Developer may only resolve disputes with Dropbox on an individual basis and will not bring a claim in a class, consolidated or representative action. Class arbitrations, class actions, private attorney general actions, and consolidation with other arbitrations are not allowed. Is this exact thing what's being considered in some of the more recent Supreme Court cases…
IANAL, but as far as I understand this is grey area and some courts/judges will see something like this differently, because there is a set of rules that courts find irrelevant whether you put them in your terms or not. For example, you can agree to the terms where point 1.2.3 says "you agree that our employee can break into your house in the middle of the night and strangle you to death". The mere explanation "they agreed on the terms" clearly will not suffice; furthermore courts have found that terms of service have to be reasonable that a sound person would have to agreed upon (sorry not enough time to find citations). Whether the judge will dismiss lawsuit because corporation told them "no in-court litigation" or not is really up to a judge and not a cover-them-all type blanket.