here is my opinion on this matter:
I tried reasoning with autodesk but it did not work as I hoped.
Here are some of my opinions and the laws in my country (EU member) are pretty much covering my opinion as far as I understand and as far as my relatively extensive research has shown so far:
- in the EU if you buy a software you can use it for all eternity because you bought the right to use it, as intended. So it is not a subscription in this case (different to modern licenses).
- the problem is that there is of course the desire to make money off of people who bought a license many years ago and there is a general trend, for many years now, to go from product to service in many aspects of the market (software, phones and even cars). this is what has happened here. which I have no issue with. BUT
- allow me an analogy: I buy a car and you tell me after 10 or 20 years or whatever that you will not allow me to start it ever again if I move to another town or garage or if I sell the car. I know the analogy is not perfect but bear with me. The idea is good enough to show you my point.
- people are going to move to newer versions of the software by themselves as soon as the software becomes technically obsolete (I dont think anyone is using anything older than autocad 95 for example - and even that is real stretch). Anydesk making it obsolete by force is not acceptable in my opinion. And here is the tricky bit: I ask not for help with installing the software. I ask not for any software copies and so on. I would like to activate it myself but the system is made in such a way that it requires the push of a button on anydesk side. This is neither a service nor anything I want of them. This is the way they built the software to make sure it is not distributed illegaly. Ok so far. IF you want to tell me that multimillion autodesk is not capable of building an automated key gen and put it somewhere on a small server to run and activate old software then I get from that that I have to take care of that myself. I am allowed to do anything I see fit to use the item I bought since anydesk will not aid me.
- the people on the forums arguing: "what do you want? it is decades old software!" to them it is always the same answer: "it is mine! and I do with it as I please! - I will not allow you to take away my property just in the name of profit!" again: I do not ask for help with the software. I know the limitations of it. I dont aske them to make it work on windows 10 or whatever but I want to use it as it was, as it is. I dont want updates or service or any other stuff. So if you take away my possibility to use an item I bought just by choosing arbitrarily that you will not activate it any longer, then my conclusion is that since you leave me no choice I need to activate it myself for example.
- you will find dozens of such conversations on the internet. the idea is always the same: people profiting from autodesk will always defend them (regardless of what they do) and people who want to save money by reusing the old software (since new software is very exensive) will try to do so. fanboys? blind followers?
I think it is in the best interest of the company (long term) to praise where praise is due and shame where shame is due. By this virtue alone many large companies could live longer (history has taught os this lesson over and over again: GM, Polaroid, Nokia, ... . concentrating on profit and not on innovation and a healthy user base. healthy user base does not consist of giving away free software to universities so they learn and stick to the software "ecosystem" (this will just lead into a dead end some day even if now it brings in some money) but rather opening the system up for input and expansion with ideas and innovation keeping it healthy. Android for example. Or even democracy for that matter. No dictatorial c... I'm wandering way off the topic here.
- all in all: a PERPETUAL LICENSE as it was sold might confuse some people, but even they can look up the word perpetual.
- I am not sure if there are any court cases regarding this matter or if there will ever be... but my experience was mixed: I got my activation just a few days before or after the deadline or so... so the anydesk service lady was helpful. but they also told me that this is not standard since they do not activate old licenses anymore. If you tell me to let it go since it is old and useless why not make it freeware or put up a crack/keygen for people to use (if you argue with costs to operate servers for activation - which is just ridiculous).
- in my opinion this could result in some court cases if they stick to this and find someone who REALLYYY wants the old software and will fight for it... esepcially in the EU... where they still know the meaning of perpetual licenses. BUT even if not... the alternative would be to hunt down people who activate decades old software licenses they are legally allowed to own... I don't know if they can have it both ways though: it's either "worthless" and you should let it go and just buy a new one in which case why bother catching people activating their old licenses on their own OR it is still something worth fighting for but then it begs the question: why are you takining away something from me that is still worth something and not call it theft? .
You can argue both ways but either way it is not a simple matter.