disk equals license

From: James L. Rice <jrice_at_texoma.net>
Date: Thu Feb 12 15:02:58 1998

Roger Merchberger wrote:

> ;-) Clearing the snow from my glasses, I saw John Foust typed:
> >John Higginbotham <higginbo_at_netpath.net> wrote:
> >>If I then came across a higher version for that
> >>product and it was cheaper if you already owned a previous version
> (say it
> >>takes the older version disk to upgrade to newer, then I'd expect to
> pay
> >>the cheaper price, because it is upgrading the program found on my
> original
> >>set of install disks, that I rightfully own.
> >
> >You might hope to pay the lower upgrade price, but Autodesk will
> surely
> >tell you that you have someone else's copy, and without a letter of
> transfer,
> >they won't sell you an upgrade. Or if the copy had already been
> upgraded,
> >they'll transfer you to their anti-piracy department.
>
> Yes, but to own a version upgrade versus an actual standalone product,
> you
> *must* keep the original version. If you own V9, and upgrade to
> V10/11/12/13/14 on that basis, you cannot toss your V9 media -- or you
> are
> chucking the license that allows you to own just the upgrade and not
> the
> real thing.
>
> Methinks Autodesk's anti-piracy department would set up a conference
> call
> between them, you and the folks who threw away the older media,
> because the
> company doing the pitching is wrong as well, for without proof of the
> original, they have essentially pirated the upgrade version.
>
> >>I look at it this way: If someone throws away the disks, they are
> giving up
> >>their license to use the product.
> >
> >Not if they upgraded. It may seem ridiculous of me to pretend for
> the sake
> >of argument that these disks came from a dumpster, but that's in fact
> the
> >way a lot of us collectors get our stuff. :-)
>
> You're both right, in a way.
>
> John H.: Chuck the disks, give up license. Yup.
> John F.: The upgrade disks require a license to previous software --
> you
> now essentially have two linked licenses - you cannot legally give up
> 1/2
> of that license, so: "Don't throw the original media away." - to do so
>
> could be asking for trouble.
>
> So here's a question: Let's say you find dox & stuff for Lotus V.2 in
> the
> dumpster, but with only the original disk 1 of the 3-disk set (IIRC).
> Do
> you in fact have the license, or not. Is the license bound to *all* of
> the
> media?
>
> If this is the case, then that version of Autocad cannot be split. To
> xfer
> the license, you need to xfer *all* the media involved - to throw away
> half
> would be wrong, the way it seems to me.
>
> Just my $0.00000000002 (that's what it's worth, anyway... ;-)
> Roger "Merch" Merchberger
> --
> Roger Merchberger | If at first you don't succeed,
> Programmer, NorthernWay | nuclear warhead disarmament should *not*
> zmerch_at_northernway.net | be your first career choice.

AutoDesk requires you to trade the original disks from the previous
version at the dealer to order the upgrade.
Received on Thu Feb 12 1998 - 15:02:58 GMT