On Wed, 1 Jun 2005 13:23:37 +0000, MBCAD <> wrote:
>This topic has been getting way too much play lately.
>If you are a nice person and use the software nicely (this means one licence, one computer) then there is nothing to talk about. A whole lot of common sense goes a long way.
> Are we done?
Maybe the whole agreement needs to be read and understood.
What are users' concerns?
Firstly, when you go onto subscription you lose the rights to use
earlier versions should you decide not to renew a subscription when it
next becomes due.
Secondly, you give Autodesk the right to access your computer and its
files either physically or electronically. This is not JUST the AutoCAD
program files, but any other files you have on your system including any
files you have prepared under a NDA or other confidentiality agreement.
It also includes any programs you have spent time on and developed. Yes,
this can be done at the moment by Autodesk applying for and obtaining an
Anton Pillar warrant, however this has to go through a magistrate at the
very least and Autodesk has to satisfy a magistrate that they have
reasonable grounds for requesting such a warrant. Oh yes, and Autodesk
can send you a bill for conducting this audit.
Thirdly, if you enter into any arrangement with a creditor your
subscription is cancelled without any further action by Autodesk. So you
have a minor cash flow problem and you call up a supplier and ask for an
extension to the payment terms. Bingo. You have entered into an
arrangement with a creditor and you have lost your subscription and
ability to access your data. If this is discovered on audit, you have
lost your license. If this has happened prior to the audit, you have
been using the program in breach of the subscription agreement and
Autodesk can seek damages.
In Australia (probably elsewhere) Autodesk is offering a "special" deal
to those upgrading. You receive a free 12 month subscription when you
upgrade your normal license to a normal license of 2006. The lure is
that you get 2007 when it comes out at no cost. What the user who
upgrades does not realise is that the moment you accept the 12 month
free subscription because you do not want to miss out on the free
upgrade to 2007, you lose your normal license and convert it to a
subscription, not for just 12 months but permanently.
There is a saying that he who has nothing to hide, hides nothing. The
reality is that agreements we enter into everyday have clauses cloaked
in legalese that not many fully understand. This is precisely why these
clauses are cloaked in legalese. They are designed to swing the
agreement way in favour of the "seller" of the agreement and away from
the "buyer".
Just as an example, there was a case reported where a driver was
involved in an accident and the car was written off (a $60,000 Benz).
When the owner put in an insurance claim, the claim was denied because
the driver's then wife failed to disclose that over the past 3 years,
her then husband had received 6 speeding fines (0 - 9 km/h over the
posted limit). What both of them did not realise was that paying a fine
was the equivalent of attending court and pleading guilty. In the fine
print of the insurance renewal, again cloaked in legalese there was a
clause requiring the disclosure of any driving related convictions. Now
most people would not have realised that paying a speeding fine would
constitute a driving conviction, but because of the looseness of the
clause in the insurance renewal, it was considered as such.
With regard to the AutoCAD subscription license, this is what is going
to catch many users out. They could find themselves in breach of the
subscription license agreement and lose their subscription, or they can
find themselves in breach of any NDA or confidentiality agreement they
have entered into and suffer penalties.
As I have said before, read and understand the agreement BEFORE
committing to anything. Of course, the problem is that you only get the
agreement after you have ordered the upgrade.
--
Regards,
Ian A. White, CPEng
ianwhite@wai.com.au
WAI Engineering
Sydney 2000
Australia
Ph: +61 418 203 229
Fax: +61 2 9622 0450
Home Page: www.wai.com.au
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