To get the free digital download of Fox Crazy Heart, you are supposed to read 2,900 words of legalese

The Digital Copy “bonus” DVD inside Crazy Heart requires reading and accepting a 2,925 page legal agreement that seems hefty for just watching a movie.

The intent is to allow consumers to buy a Blu-Ray DVD and watch the movie on their computer, iPhone or other portable device and Blu-Ray player. All good intentions.

Crazy Heart is a second rate re-make of  Tender Mercies, a touching and believable movie with Robert Duval in the lead.If you haven’t seen Tender Mercies, rent it or buy it. I cry every time I see it.

Duval is a co-producer of Crazy Heart with Jeff Bridges playing himself as a country singer “Dude” down on his luck from alcoholism.

It’s an OK movie. Jeff is the dude. The country music, mostly by T Bone Burnett of the excellent Oh Brother Where Art Thou, sounds authentic and is forever forgettable.

Maggie Gyllenhaal creates a memorable character as Bridges’ needy and troubled girl friend.

The nervous nellies at the movie studios still don’t trust their customers, even the one’s who pay them money.

Fox also insisted I install DRM or Digital Rights Management software on the computer.

I don’t think so. I had to agree to install the DRM to read the license below. I will have a devil of a time removing it since it has become embedded in Windows.  Probably will have to restore this computer from yesterday.

DRM is not something I would like on my computer. It chews up resources and acts like a trigger happy cop shooting things it “thinks” are bad.

We’ll go with the iTunes version.

Legal digital movies aren’t going to be a big hit with this level of encumbrance.

The Fox Agreement

END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT

This End User License Agreement constitutes a legal agreement (the “Agreement”) between you and TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX FILM CORPORATION and related entities (collectively, “Fox”) stating the terms that govern your use of the digital copy (“Copy”) of Fox’s motion picture (which may be a film, television episode(s) or other such content) and any and all elements thereof, including video, audio, music, images, artwork, text, software and other copyrightable materials embodied therein (collectively, “Content”) included on your disc.  PLEASE READ THE ENTIRE AGREEMENT CAREFULLY.  You must accept and abide by the terms of this Agreement as presented in order to access and use your Copy.  Changes, deletions and counter-offers to this Agreement will not be accepted.  By entering the serial code (included with your disc) and accessing the Copy, you fully and irrevocably accept and agree to be bound by this Agreement.

LICENSE TERMS AND RESTRICTIONS.

Fox grants you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-assignable, revocable and non-sublicenseable license under copyright laws to create a Copy of the Content, transfer the Copy you have licensed to Authorized Devices, and to view, use, display and store such Copy only for personal, non-commercial use on Authorized Devices, subject to and in accordance with the terms of this Agreement.  “Authorized Devices” consist of, at most, one (1) personal computer or laptop and (1) portable media player, each that meet the applicable System Requirements.

You may not sell, re-sell, re-distribute, sublicense or otherwise transfer your license.  Except only for the rights expressly granted to you in this Agreement, all rights in and to the Copy and Content are reserved by Fox and/or the respective owners of such Content (as applicable).  Any other copying, access, transfer or use of the Copy or Content other than as expressly permitted in this Agreement shall constitute an act of copyright infringement and a breach of this Agreement.  Furthermore, Fox may, in its sole discretion, terminate your license to the Copy and/or any pursue any other available rights or remedies at law or in equity for a violation of this Agreement or such copyright infringement.

Any capabilities to transfer, export and/or store the Copy as permitted hereunder are solely an accommodation to you and shall not constitute a grant or waiver of any rights of Fox (or any other copyright owners, as applicable)
in any Content.

You may not copy, reproduce, transfer, download, capture or store in any physical media (except as expressly authorized by this Agreement), re-license, reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble, translate, publish, transmit, distribute, display, broadcast, re-broadcast, redistribute, modify, create derivative works from, market, rent, sell, lease, sublicense, or participate in any sale of or exploit in any way, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, the Copy, any Content or any related software.  You may not reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble, translate, modify, erase, delete, damage or disable any computer file, software, security technology, copy protection or use limitation systems associated with the Copy or the Content. 

You may not: (i) modify the Copy or the Content in any way, including but not limited to, removing any proprietary notices or labels on the Copy or contained in the Content; (ii) use your Copy or the Content in conjunction with any device or service designed to circumvent, avoid, bypass, remove, deactivate, impair, or otherwise defeat, technological measures that control access to, or the rights in, the Copy or the Content or other work protected by the copyright laws of any jurisdiction; (iii) use the Copy or Content to violate any legal right of any third party, including any publicity or privacy right, copyright or other intellectual property right, or to take any action that is harassing, libelous, defamatory, abusive, tortious, threatening, harmful or otherwise objectionable; (iv) counterfeit or paste any Content to any web site or web page; (v) publicly display, transmit, broadcast or exhibit the Copy or any Content. In addition, you agree that you will not attempt to, or encourage or assist any other person to, circumvent or modify the Copy, and Content or the Terms of Use.  Any third-party owners of Content are expressly made third party beneficiaries of each of the license and use restrictions set forth in this Section and elsewhere in this Agreement.

OBJECTIONABLE MATERIAL.

You understand that the Copy may include Content that may be deemed offensive, indecent, or objectionable, which Content may or may not be identified as having explicit language or content.  Nevertheless, you agree to access, transfer and/or use the Copy at your sole risk and that Fox shall have no liability to you for Content that may be found to be offensive, indecent, or objectionable.

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS.

In order to access and use the Copy, an Authorized Device must meet the applicable “System Requirements” as follows:  (a) a personal computer or laptop must have a DVD-ROM drive and run Microsoft Windows XP or Vista operating systems and Microsoft Windows Media Player 10 and above. (b) A portable media player must be Windows PlaysForSure™ compatible and have video playback support of files at least 768 Kbps. (c) A working internet connection is required for serial code verification.

SECURITY.

You understand that your Copy includes a security framework using technology that protects the Content, your information (if any) and limits your usage of such Copy pursuant to limitations and restrictions with respect to your license, and certain usage rules established by Fox (“Terms of Use”).  You agree to comply with such limitations, restrictions and Terms of Use, and you agree not to violate or attempt to violate any security components.  You agree not to tamper with any of the security components related to such limitations, restrictions and/or Terms of Use for any reason whatsoever.  Terms of Use and other limitations and restrictions with respect to your Copy and the Content may be controlled and/or monitored by Fox for compliance purposes, and Fox reserves the right to enforce the Terms of Use and other limitations and restrictions contained herein.

TERMS OF USE.

In addition to any other restrictions and limitations contained in this Agreement:

Your access, transfer, viewing and any other permitted use of the Copy is conditioned upon your acceptance of the terms of this Agreement.

You are only authorized to use the Copy for personal, non-commercial use.

In order to access, transfer and use the Copy, you may be required to have certain hardware and/or software, which are your sole responsibility.

You are required to use the serial code included with your disc in order to access the Copy.   The serial code you enter will be verified.  Once the serial code has been entered and accepted, it cannot be used again.  If the serial code is determined to be invalid (for example, if it has already been used or was not issued by Fox), you will not be able to access the Copy.

There is a redemption period during which you will be able to access the Copy using the serial code included with your disc.  To access the Copy, you must use the serial code within twelve (12) months after the Release Date of the DVD which included the Copy.  The “Release Date” is the date a DVD is first made available for purchase by consumers.  After such 12-month period, the serial code will expire and you will not be able to use it to access the Copy.

You are authorized to transfer your Copy to, and store your copy on, up to two Authorized Devices: one (1) personal computer and one (1) portable media player.

You agree that you will not attempt to, or encourage or assist any other person to, circumvent or modify any security technology or software that is part of the Copy and/or Content and/or used to administer these Terms of Use or other limitations and/or restrictions contained herein.

You do not have any commercial or promotional use rights in the Copy or Content.

You acknowledge that Fox reserves its rights to modify these Terms of Use at any time.

You acknowledge that certain aspects of the Copy require administration from Fox.  Accordingly, in the event that Fox changes or discontinues any part of such administration, you acknowledge that you may no longer be able to use the Copy to the same extent as prior to such change or discontinuance, and that Fox shall have no liability to you in such case.

TERRITORY.

The Copy is only available in the country from which you lawfully obtained a valid and authorized version of the Copy (“Your Country”), and is not available in any other location.  You agree not to access or use, or attempt to access or use, the Copy from outside of Your Country, and that Fox may use technology to verify your compliance and/or disable access from an unauthorized location.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY.

Acknowledgement of Ownership. You agree that the Copy and Content, including but not limited to video, audio, music, graphics, images, software and text contains proprietary information and material that is owned by Fox and/or its licensors, and is protected by applicable intellectual property and other laws, including but not limited to copyright, and that you will not use such proprietary information or materials in any way whatsoever except as permitted by and in compliance with the terms of this Agreement. No portion of the Copy or Content may be reproduced in any form or by any means, except as expressly permitted hereunder. You agree not to modify, rent, lease, loan, sell, distribute, or create derivative works based on the Copy or Content, in any manner, and you shall not exploit the Copy or Content in any unauthorized way whatsoever.

Removal of Fox Content or Other Materials. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, Fox and its licensors reserve the right to change, suspend, remove, or disable access to the Copy, Content, or other materials at any time without notice. In no event will Fox be liable for the removal of or disabling of access to the Copy, Content or materials under this Agreement. Fox may also impose limits on the use of or access to certain features or portions of the Copy, in any case and without notice or liability.

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Trademarks.  20th Century Fox, 20th Century Fox Film Corporation, 20th Century Home Entertainment and other Fox trademarks, service marks, graphics, and logos used in connection with the Copy and Content are trademarks or registered trademarks of Fox in the U.S. and/or other countries. Other trademarks, service marks, graphics, and logos used in connection with the Copy and Content may be the trademarks of Fox or their respective owners. You are granted no right or license with respect to any of the aforesaid trademarks and any use of such trademarks.

TERMINATION.

If you fail, or Fox suspects that you have failed, to comply with any of the provisions of this Agreement, including but not limited to violation of the Terms of Use or infringement or other violation of third parties’ rights, Fox, at its sole discretion, in addition to its other legal rights and remedies, without notice to you may: (i) terminate this Agreement; and/or (ii) preclude access to the Copy (or any part thereof).  Fox reserves the right to modify, suspend, or discontinue access to the Copy (or any part or Content thereof) at any time with or without notice to you, and Fox will not be liable to you or to any third party should it exercise such rights.

GENERAL COMPLIANCE WITH LAWS.

You agree to comply with all local, state, federal, and national laws, statutes, ordinances, and regulations of Your Country that apply to any use of the Copy by you.

ENFORCEMENT OF THESE TERMS.

Fox reserves the right to takes steps Fox believes are reasonably necessary or appropriate to enforce and/or verify compliance with any part of this Agreement (including but not limited a third party claim that your use of the Copy is unlawful and/or infringes such third party’s rights). You agree that Fox has the right, without liability to you, to disclose any information to law enforcement authorities, government officials, and/or a third party, as Fox believes is reasonably necessary or appropriate to enforce and/or verify compliance with any part of this Agreement.

DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES; LIABILITY LIMITATIONS.

FOX DOES NOT GUARANTEE, REPRESENT, OR WARRANT THAT YOUR ACCESS, TRANSFER, STORAGE AND/OR USE OF THE COPY WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE, AND YOU AGREE THAT FROM TIME TO TIME FOX MAY DISCONTINUE OR SUSPEND ACCESS TO THE COPY WITHOUT NOTICE TO YOU.

YOU EXPRESSLY AGREE THAT YOUR USE OF, OR INABILITY TO USE, THE COPY IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK. THE COPY IS PROVIDED TO YOU “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” FOR YOUR USE, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, AND NONINFRINGEMENT. BECAUSE SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES, THE ABOVE EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

IN NO CASE SHALL FOX, ITS DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AFFILIATES, AGENTS, CONTRACTORS, OR LICENSORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, SPECIAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING FROM YOUR ACCESS, TRANSFER, STORAGE, PLAY OR USE OF THE COPY OR FOR ANY OTHER CLAIM RELATED IN ANY WAY TO YOUR USE OF THE COPY, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, CONTENT (INCLUDING ANY ERRORS OR OMISSIONS IN ANY CONTENT), OR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE OF ANY KIND INCURRED AS A RESULT OF THE ACCESS, TRANSFER, STORAGE, PLAY OR OTHER USE OF COPY, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THEIR POSSIBILITY. THE FOREGOING SHALL APPLY REGARDLESS OF THE NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER FAULT OF FOX, ITS PARENT COMPANY, AFFILIATES, SUPPLIERS OR LICENSORS AND REGARDLESS OF WHETHER SUCH LIABILITY IS BASED IN CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE, TORT, OR ANY OTHER THEORY OF LEGAL LIABILITY.  BECAUSE SOME STATES, JURISDICTIONS OR COUNTRIES DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR THE LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, IN SUCH STATES, JURISDICTIONS OR COUNTRIES, FOX’S LIABILITY SHALL BE LIMITED TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW.

FOX SHALL USE REASONABLE EFFORTS TO PROTECT INFORMATION SUBMITTED BY YOU (IF ANY) IN CONNECTION WITH THE COPY, BUT YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT YOUR SUBMISSION OF SUCH INFORMATION IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK, AND FOX HEREBY DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ANY LOSS OR LIABILITY RELATING TO SUCH INFORMATION IN ANY WAY.

FOX DOES NOT REPRESENT OR GUARANTEE THAT THE COPY OR CONTENT WILL BE FREE FROM LOSS, CORRUPTION, ATTACK, VIRUSES, INTERFERENCE, HACKING, OR OTHER SECURITY INTRUSION, AND FOX DISCLAIMS ANY LIABILITY RELATING THERETO.

INDEMNITY.  YOU AGREE TO INDEMNIFY AND HOLD FOX, ITS DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AFFILIATES, AGENTS, CONTRACTORS, AND LICENSORS HARMLESS WITH RESPECT TO ANY CLAIMS ARISING OUT OF YOUR BREACH OF THIS AGREEMENT. THIS INDEMNITY PROVISION APPLIES TO ANY VIOLATION DESCRIBED IN OR CONTEMPLATED BY THIS AGREEMENT.

CHANGES.

Fox reserves the right, at any time and from time to time, to update, revise, supplement, and otherwise modify this Agreement and to impose new or additional rules, policies, terms, or conditions with respect to the Copy. Such updates, revisions, supplements, modifications, and additional rules, policies, terms, and conditions (collectively referred to in this Agreement as “Additional Terms”) will be effective immediately and incorporated into this Agreement. Your continued use of the Copy will be deemed to constitute your acceptance of any and all such Additional Terms. All Additional Terms are hereby incorporated into this Agreement by this reference.

GOVERNING LAW.

The laws of Your Country govern this Agreement and your use of the Copy, including the local and state laws of the region located nearest the corporate offices of the Fox entity based in Your Country.  Your use of the Copy may also be subject to other local, state, national, or international laws.  You expressly agree that exclusive jurisdiction for any claim or dispute with Fox or relating in any way to the Copy resides in the courts located nearest the corporate offices of the Fox entity based in Your Country.

MISCELLANEOUS.

This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between you and Fox and governs your use of the Copy, superseding any prior agreements between you and Fox. You also may be subject to additional terms and conditions that may apply when you use third-party content or third-party software. If any part of this Agreement is held invalid or unenforceable, that portion shall be construed in a manner consistent with applicable law to reflect, as nearly as possible, the original intentions of the parties, and the remaining portions shall remain in full force and effect.  Fox’s failure to enforce any right or provisions in this Agreement will not constitute a waiver of such provision, or any other provision of this Agreement. If any provision of this Agreement is found by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, the other provisions will remain in full force and effect.  Fox will not be responsible for failures to fulfill any obligations due to causes beyond its control.