Honoring Software Licneses

[DTSMAN]

Software licensing wording and actual usage I find confusing. If I buy a maintenance type software, it seems to me I should be able to use it on whatever coputer(s) I want to because I am the one who bought it and I am the one who is using it not reselling it or giving it away. For example, a technician owns a copy of Norton's Partition Magic, the license agreement says you can only use it on one computer, but lets say he uses it when he is servicing another computer is this illegal if that computer that was partitioned with the partitioning tool does not have the partioning software tool loaded on it. What I am driving at is if you purchase disk maintenance tools, shouldn't you as the purchaser be able to use that tool whenever you want to. Of course the manufacturer would love to sell a copy of a software for every computer sold but that isn't realistic. I am shopping for a partitioning and a cloning software and I want to be leagal, but at the same time I am questioning if these people have the right to restrict my personal usage of a product that I bought? To keep this simple lets not bring up operating systems, I understand that, but concentrate on maintenance utilities like Partition Magic and Ghost etc.

Bo

Kentucky phone support-
"Mash the Kentrol key and hit scape."

 

[ChrisHunt]

Software licensing wording and actual usage I find confusing...

You don't sound in the least bit confused by the terms of the licence, just unwilling to comply with them.

I am shopping for a partitioning and a cloning software and I want to be leagal...

Then buy one whose terms you can agree with, or comply with the terms of the one you want to buy.

-- Chris Hunt
Webmaster & Tragedian
Extra Connections Ltd

 

[Thadeus]

This would be a far more interesting discussion in an ideal world where the majority actually followed the EULA. The reality is that most home users and small, small business owners (3 - 4 employees) with more than one machine are not buying individual copies of Partition Magic if that's what they use.

~Thadeus

 

[svanels]

The home users would "borrow" the one from work

Steven

 

[Grenage]

I believe some MS licenses actually allow the use of the product on a home and business machine for the same user!


Carlsberg don't run I.T departments, but if they did they'd probably be more fun.

 

[DTSMAN]

Example #2

I purchase a drive imaging software. I only load it on one terminal per the EULA. Then I physically take the hard drives I want cloned to that machine from other machines and slave them into it and make my backup images for storage onto the machine with the imaging software.

Legit?

Bo

Kentucky phone support-
"Mash the Kentrol key and hit scape."

 

[mrdenny]

I believe some MS licenses actually allow the use of the product on a home and business machine for the same user!

That comes into play with software assurance and the Volume Licensing programs. It's not available for everything or everyone.

I purchase a drive imaging software. I only load it on one terminal per the EULA. Then I physically take the hard drives I want cloned to that machine from other machines and slave them into it and make my backup images for storage onto the machine with the imaging software.

I'd say this is a grey area at best. For imaging software it will probably be spelled out in the EULA.

Denny
MCSA (2003) / MCDBA (SQL 2000)

--Anything is possible. All it takes is a little research. (Me)

http://www.mrdenny.com

 

[lionelhill]

(1) I have met agreements that tie themselves to one particular part of the PC set up, typically the processor or (amazingly) the monitor. The up-side is that issues of carrying slave drives around are all crystal clear. The downside is that you may need to buy/negotiate a new agreement/license if your monitor goes up in smoke or you decide to upgrade your processor!

(2) Related, how much of an original PC can I upgrade before I'm not allowed to continue with OEM software. New motherboard, processor, drive, graphics card, monitor, mouse, but it's still the old keyboard and case??

(3) Now the one that really gets to me is shop-bought software where you can't see the EULA without removing the wrapper, the EULA then typically says if you don't accept the terms you can return the product, but the shop won't accept it because you've removed the wrapper... I've never bothered to fight it out, but assume the EULA is right, and I must be able to return the product, even unwrapped.

 

[mrdenny]

2) I haven't found a good answer to that. I think that even with most of the components upgraded it's still technically the same machine so you should be ok.

3) Reciently I had a problem with a game and the OEM couldn't figure it out. They offered to send me a shrinkwrapped copy of the game which I could then return to the store for a full refund.

There were some lawsuits about returning opened software a while back. I believe that stores are supose to have a copy of the EULA available for reading before you purchase. You'll have to google for the exact info however.

Denny
MCSA (2003) / MCDBA (SQL 2000)

--Anything is possible. All it takes is a little research. (Me)

http://www.mrdenny.com

 

[svanels]

I believe that stores are supose to have a copy of the EULA available for reading before you purchase

Vendor: (who has not sold nothing yet for the day):"Please sir, read the EULA before you buy this game"

Prospective client gets out confused without buying anything

Shop owner to employee: "I am paying you to sell, counsellers are not on the payroll!!!"

If we like professionals are confused with the EULA, imagine the mere mortals

Steven

 

[Thadeus]

Actually, at CircuitCity, the title of the people on the floor is "Sales Counselor". So maybe they can help with the EULA.

~Thadeus

 

[lionelhill]

Thanks for the hints about EULAs being available to read; I'll try it next time I buy something. Could be interesting...

Seriously, though, I see no point in having legally binding stuff unless it is universally accepted as legally binding. It's shocking that EULAs are taken so lightly by many users and vendors.

 

[svanels]

Thadeus, the guy / woman is a Sales Counselor from the perspective of the Shop Owner.
If he/she would "counsel" all the prospective clients not to buy the "crap" in the shop, I predict a short "counselling" career

All good advisors "vendors" aside, who really take their time to attend a client.

Steven