Firefox EULA in Ubuntu alpha provokes complaints

Users testing Ubuntu "Intrepid Ibex" alpha 5 have complained that Firefox, on first use, displays an End User Licence Agreement (EULA) for the Firefox browser. This is the first time that an EULA has been displayed by Firefox in an Ubuntu distribution, and some users have reported it a bug.

Mark Shuttleworth explained, in a comment to the bug report that the Mozilla Corporation requested that the EULA be displayed to protect their rights, specifically the Firefox name and logo image rights. Shuttleworth said "I would not consider an EULA as a best practice. It's unfortunate that Mozilla feels this is absolutely necessary, but they do" and that this came after "extensive conversations with Mozilla".

He also pointed to a new package in Ubuntu, for those who may not want to agree to a Mozilla EULA, named abrowser, a browser built from the Firefox source code, but without the Firefox name and logo.

(djwm)