Perpetual Licenses vs Subscription

[M_c3d]

We have 3 perpetual licenses and 2 on the new subscription plans.  All are on maintenance plans.

According to the previous versions page we can have (c3d 2018 - c3d v2015 versions on all of these licenses).

In the coming years what happens when say we get to c3d 2020 does that mean we can only get c3d 2019 - c3d 2017 on the previous versions?

Will any of the c3d 2016 licenses still work?

Do the perpetual licenses expire or can we continue to use the perpetual licenses for as long as we need. I assume the subscription licenses will be restricted to the set previous versions.

I'm all for upgrading to the new versions, we upgrade every year after a few months of testing and setting up templates etc, but I'm not keen on upgrading a project that was started in c3d 2016 and may still be going by the time we reach c3d 2020

[TrainingNode-01]

Good day

In the coming years what happens when say we get to c3d 2020 does that mean we can only get c3d 2019 - c3d 2017 on the previous versions?  -  Yes that is correct.

Will any of the c3d 2016 licenses still work?  -  Once it has been upgraded to the 2020 version then it will no longer be available by default.  This is for all of them.

Do the perpetual licenses expire or can we continue to use the perpetual licenses for as long as we need. I assume the subscription licenses will be restricted to the set previous versions.  -  Once a perpetual license (maintenance plan) has expired you are able to continue using it as you own that software. However, you will not be able to use the latest software.   This is obviously not the case for subscription-based models where you will be restricted to those terms (3 years).  

I am however not sure if you can request special permission from Autodesk to use licenses on products that are outside of the 3 years license use.  According to our team manager, this is not possible.  I do have some recollection of achieving this a while back but I would suggest that you contact your reseller about this matter.

I hope this helps

Regards

Marnus van Staden

Technical consultant & Civil 3D support Specialist

Prokon Software Consultants 

[M_c3d]

Thanks for the clarification, one last thing...

Do the perpetual licenses expire or can we continue to use the perpetual licenses for as long as we need. I assume the subscription licenses will be restricted to the set previous versions.  -  Once a perpetual license (maintenance plan) has expired you are able to continue using it as you own that software. However, you will not be able to use the latest software.   This is obviously not the case for subscription-based models where you will be restricted to those terms (3 years).  As long as we maintain our maintenance plan on the perpetual licenses, I assume this means we can use the latest version and any older versions we still have installed as long as our maintenance plan is still live?

[TrainingNode-01]

Hi

As long as we maintain our maintenance plan on the perpetual licenses, I assume this means we can use the latest version and any older versions we still have installed as long as our maintenance plan is still live?

The maintenance plan will give you a new release and also take one away.    So that will be current release and 3 years back from then.  So if you have 2020 then you can use 2019-2017.

When you stop the maintenance you lose the benefits of that license listed on this website -->  https://www.autodesk.co.za/maintenance-plan

Edit - I found this on another forum --> https://knowledge.autodesk.com/customer-service/account-management/software-downloads/previous-versi... 

What if I previously licensed a product—how many copies can I use?

You may continue to use previous versions of software previously licensed, installed and accessed, which are not listed on the previous version list, provided they were previously licensed, installed and accessed as part of your subscription or maintenance plan—and you do not exceed the number of licenses previously licensed by you or the number of your current licenses of that product covered by your active contract (whichever is lower). Additionally, you can continue access if you remain active on a subscription or on a maintenance plan. See applicable Autodesk Terms and Conditions for additional details.

For example:
You originally purchased ten licenses of an AutoCAD 2014 subscription. You then installed and accessed all ten licenses. You continued renewing your subscription for these ten licenses. When the current version becomes available, you decide to purchase five (5) more AutoCAD subscriptions. Now you have a total of 15 licenses.

Regards

Marnus van Staden

Technical consultant & Civil 3D support Specialist

Prokon Software Consultants 

[jggerth]

If you continue to pay maintenance, the you will be able to use the current shipping version, plus three previous versions.  If you terminate the maintenance subscription, then you can continue to run the most recent version you paid for forever.  So (presuming nothing changes, and it very well may) when 2020 is shipped, you can run that version, plus 2019, 2018, and 2017. 2016 falls off, and will no longer be usable.  (Stand-alone seats will not get licenses from Autodesk license servers, and the NLM for 2020 will no longer license them either)

It's possible (especially for very large firms with thousands of seats) that you _may_ be able to negotiate with Autodesk and keep your 2016 release functioning.  How likely that is will depend on how badly autodesk wants to keep you happy.  Which in turn is most probably a function of how much you spend with them.

In all probability, you'll need to migrate the 2016 job to a later version to continue working on it.

Talk to a reseller to verify -- i am not an employee of the 'Desk, and the above is just my understanding.

[TrainingNode-01]

That seems to sum it up yes  

Just take note on the edit on my previous post.   The likely hood of keeping 2016 active for 3 or more years is going to be difficult since Microsoft/nvidia/amd..etc... will eventually update their OS/drivers and the support for older products will not prevail which will just leave you with a pretty Icon on a modern computer desktop. (2014 does not work on Windows 10) 

"So in all probability, you'll need to migrate the 2016 job to a later version to continue working on it."

Your product reseller should be able to answer all your licensing questions.  If they don't then they will probably contact Autodesk themselves and give you the best possible answer possible since they value you as their client. 

Regards

Marnus van Staden

Technical consultant & Civil 3D support Specialist

Prokon Software Consultants 

[AllenJessup · Accepted solution]

We have 5 network licenses on Maintenance (previously called Subscription). I can still get a Civil 3D 2009 license file so we can run Land Desktop Companion 2009 for conversion purposes. You can request a license file or Auth code for any version you've ever owned. You have to had actually purchased that version and the number of licenses is limited to either the number of licenses you owned of that release or the number of licenses you currently have on Maintenance. Whichever is smaller.

What Maintenance does is give anyone whose plan is current access to previous versions whether they owned them or not. It also gives you the ability to download those 3 previous versions. If you want to run 2012 and don't still have the installation media or files. You're out of luck. You can't download past the 3 previous versions.

[M_c3d]

Our 3 licenses were purchased with the maintenance plan (before it became subscription) and the maintenance is always renewed, does that mean we can continue to use the software such as civil 3d 2016 after it goes out of the previous versions range?

We won't be uninstalling the software so we shouldn't need to re-request the software or new licenses.

We have a large project in civil 3d 2016 that will more than likely still be running in 2019 when civil 3d 2020 becomes live

[TrainingNode-01 · Accepted solution]

Hi

According to the Terms and Conditions on that page, you should be able to use Civil 3D 2016 indefinitely as long as it was installed and activated on that PC.  -- https://knowledge.autodesk.com/customer-service/account-management/software-downloads/previous-versi... 

That is if your operating system supports the product. 

Some important note for if you choose to discontinue your maintenance plan.

What happens to my Previous Version Rights if my maintenance plan or subscription expires?

Previous Version Rights terminate when the applicable maintenance plan or subscription terminates or expires for any reason. Upon expiration of a maintenance plan, you can only use the last activated version of the software and uninstall any other previous version.  After a subscription expires, all previously licensed, installed and accessed versions are no longer eligible for use—and must be uninstalled.

Regards 

Marnus van Staden

Technical consultant & Civil 3D support Specialist

Prokon Software Consultants  

[dgorsman]

Although you'll continue to have access to the license for the old perpetual version, it's still a good idea to have upgrade plans in place.  Project can get delayed, put on hold, or cancelled; and there's always the possibility of being bought out by a larger firm.  In the first case those plans make for good projects in slow times when exec's are prowling the office seeing who isn't fully utilized.  The latter case can force an immediate upgrade without any control on your part, so it's good to be familiar with what's new, what's going to have to change, sticking points, etc. without having to scramble about.

[sboon]

Autodesk is going to make it progressively more difficult to operate in older versions.  The cost of maintenance for those older licenses is going to go up, to the point where the rental option will be more economical.  As more users worldwide transition to the rental model their licenses will be issued from Autodesk's servers, and they won't have any choice about upgrading.  This means that every year when the new version is released a large (and growing) number of your colleagues, clients, suppliers etc will automatically start using it.

We have already encountered this - we're currently in the early stages of a project that has a ten year lifespan.  The contracts all state that drawings are to be in 2014, with an option to move to a newer version in the future when all parties agree to upgrade the project.  The client, who is relatively new to ACad software started using rental licenses and almost immediately began to produce drawings in 2017 format.  Now we have to downgrade anything they send us. 

We've warned our corporate attorneys, who review all major contracts, to not accept any clauses that mandate a specific version of dwg format.

Steve
Please use the Accept as Solution or Kudo buttons when appropriate

[M_c3d]

@sboon @dgorsman I always move us to the latest version and implement it when it is released, after testing and template development etc, however projects that have already been started in a previous release will remain in this previous release.