In re RealNetworks
United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
2000 WL 631341 (2000)
- Written by Sarah Larkin, JD
Facts
RealNetworks, Inc. (RealNetwork) (defendant) permitted downloads of free, basic versions of various software products it owned. Before the products could be downloaded, a user had to accept the terms of the License Agreement, which appeared on the computer screen. The agreement included an arbitration clause. The clause was provided in the same font and size as the rest of the agreement and was the final clause on the screen. This pop-up window did not expire, but would only close when directed by the user. The clause also provided Washington as the forum in which a litigant could file the arbitration action. The clause additionally did not provide for class arbitration and provided that the user must pay costs. Lieschke, Jackson, and Simon (plaintiffs) filed a lawsuit individually and on behalf of a class against RealNetworks. RealNetworks moved to enforce the arbitration clause under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA).
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Kocoras, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 805,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.