Serial No. & Activation

[bhost1]

I bought a 3-seat copy of AutoCAD 2008 from an eBay seller (a licensened owner) in July 2010.  After installation I had to call the seller to obtain an activation code.

I did that and it worked fine until my motherboard died a couple weeks ago.  Now I've re-installed the same AutoCAD 2008 on a new system, but have been unable to get a response from the seller for an activation code.

Am I hosed, or can Autodesk help me directly?  If so, how do I contact a live person at Autodesk to help me with this?

[TravisNave]

You will probably not have much luck as reselling a license is not permitted.  What the seller did was illegal and eBay should not have allowed such a sale.  In fact, the seller obtaining an activation code for you thru Autodesk and providing it to you is fraud. 

I would contact Autodesk License Compliance and submit a complaint. 

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/item?siteID=123112&id=13151656

[philip.s · Accepted solution]

Hi Bruce,

Generally under no conditions can an individual sell or buy a license, as our software is sold through a network of Authorized Resellers which doesn't include eBay. As we are only able to provide a manual activation for an individual associated with the company that the license is registered, this would explain why the seller had you contact them for the code in the past.

Moving forward, the only clear path for resolution in this sort of situation is to contact the seller for a refund or report them to eBay. Unfortunately due to the length of time that has lapsed since your purchase and the fact that you are unable to get a hold of them, it doesn't sound like the above is a very viable option.

I've attached 2 forms for your convenience, as well as the following License Compliance link.

(1) Our Transfer of License Form, which lists the transfer requirements.

(2) Our End User License Agreement (EULA), which the original owner of the license agreed to upon purchase / use.

Para 3.3 of the EULA states-
3.3 Transfers. You will not rent, loan, lease, sell or sublicense all or any portion of the Autodesk Materials or any rights granted in this Agreement to any other person, or legal entity without the prior written consent of Autodesk.

 Autodesk License Compliance - LINK

I know this is not what you probably wanted to hear, hoever it is the position that we must take per the license policy. I greatly apologize for the inconvenience.

[bhost1]

Well, shucks!  I specifically asked the guy before I bought if what he was doing was legal, and he assured me that it was.

My bad for taking his word for it.  Many thanks for the information.

[philip.s · Accepted solution]

You're very welcome Bruce and sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

Please feel free to let me know if you would like additional assistance, and or accept the above reply as a solution if it has resolved your inquiry.