AutoCAD Home Use
Way back when...
Microstation started letting people
legally take home a copy
of Microstation so that folks could learn the tool. Autodesk
responded in kind and allowed users to have a copy at work and
one at home. I am talking about legal copies (not the software
that you got from your brother in law that you installed for
"just fooling around").
Well times have
changed a little over the years. One change is that AutoCAD
installs require "Verification" and "Registration and
Activation". This means that the installation process first
Verifies your serial number and then Registers it to the machine
it is installed on and Activates the software. If you have
installed the product, you know the drill.
By doing this
Autodesk has reduced pirated software and sold more legal
copies. Something I applaud - I don't like folks using illegal
software to make money.
Here is the wording of the software license agreement related to
multiple installs... (you agreed to this when you installed the
software)
3.1.2 Additional Installation.
Except with regard to Educational Institutional, Student
and Evaluation Versions only, You may Install and Access a
second copy of the Software on the hard disk of a
second Computer owned by You or
under Your control provided that:
(i) the original and
second copies are used only by the same person;
(ii) the second copy
is Installed and Accessed only on either (a) with respect to
Network Versions, a redundant server that makes the Software
available for use only when Your primary server on which the
active Software copy is Installed becomes inoperable, or (b) a
notebook computer or other non-server computer away from Your
usual work location for the purpose of enabling You to perform
work while away from Your usual work location;
(iii) only one of the
Software copies is Accessed at any one time; and
(iv) both copies of
the Software are Installed and Accessed exclusively with the
copy protection device (if any) supplied with the Software.
This all sounds good - except...
"second Computer
owned by You or under Your control." So if your company owns the
software and the first computer - but your User owns their home
computer (the second computer) - that would violate the letter
of the license. Technically both machines must be owned by the
same entity. Hmmm...
I am sure that
Autodesk will not hunt you down (unless someone starts making
loads of cash from their home based business with your company
assets)
The above relates to
standalone versions. What about Network copies?
The concept is that
you should not allow more installs of home use than the total
number of legal seats you own. So let say you have 25 licenses
being managed by FlexLM on your LAN or WAN. You have it
installed on 35 local machines in the office and it is limited
to running 25 at any one time. You can only have 25 home use
licenses - not 35.
Let's think about
what this means. Do the right thing. Are you legit? Are you
striving to control the software assets that your firm owns?
Don't let home use get out of hand at your company.
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