'Windows 10 destroyed our data' Microsoft taken to US court

Re:'Windows 10 destroyed our data' Microsoft taken to US court by Someone on Friday March 24, 2017 @07:02PM (#13952938)

IANAL, but as far as I know, the law always takes precedence over contracts. You cannot sign a contract that makes you a slave, or that gives somebody else the right to kill you, for example.

Less extreme examples likely (IANAL!) are that you signing a contract that gives you a job that pays below minimum wage or gives away your right to vote isn't enforceable, and makes the entire contract containing such a clause null and void (some contracts have provisions to prevent such things from making the entire contract void)

Contracts can only operate in the space that the law leaves open for them.

Back to this case: for software licenses sold to consumers, AFAIK, there's little jurisprudence about whether they are enforceable. That probably applies even more to the Windows 10 upgrade because Microsoft, using 'innovative' tactics, made it extremely easy to upgrade.

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Re:'Windows 10 destroyed our data' Microsoft taken to US court by marcosdumay on Friday March 24, 2017 @08:56PM (#13953453)

The GP was talking about arbitration clauses. It's an absurd that any democracy would accept those (and favored forum ones), and they don't seem to be restricted to software companies in the US.

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Re:'Windows 10 destroyed our data' Microsoft taken to US court by mark212 on Friday March 24, 2017 @09:32PM (#13953573)

Absurd it is, but they are legally binding and have been used to screw consumers since 2011. Thanks Scalia!

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