In this answer, the Microsoft Windows license agreement is describe as having a sort of use-wrap method of action, where using Microsoft Windows creates an agreement between you and Microsoft because Microsoft has said so in the Windows license.
Is this genuinely a term of the license, in that its legal effect is limited to cases where whatever "use" one might make of Microsoft Windows would require a license? Would it no longer have any legal effect after the applicable version of Microsoft Windows passes into the public domain?
Or does this mechanism form a contract independently of whether the user purchases, requires, or even actually has a license to use the software for a particular purpose? More like the terms of service on a web site, where browsing the site having notice of the terms creates a contract without relying on copyright law?
