High Dollar Software & Licensing

[trdhrdr007]

Stopped in at the local Salvation Army this morning & picked up some auto cad software. Even though it's a few years old it's worth something because it's the commercial version. There was one that sold recently on eBay that was a BIN at $999 that sold for best offer. No idea what it actually sold for but when I sorted by price + shipping highest 1st it was at the top of the stack & the next lower sold went for $500. Would love to sell & make a good score off this. The problem is I'm not sure if it's legal to sell and/or if it will come back to bite me in the butt. It's entirely possible the other seller slipped through the cracks or was an authorized reseller. I do have the sticker on the back with the serial number & product key. I've got a small but steady income stream coming in from eBay sales & don't want to screw that up. Looking for opinions.

 

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[GibH]

Unless it was sealed and you could be sure it had never been installed, I wouldn't try selling it on ebay. Autocad licenses are not transferable with out their written permission.

 

[diggummup]

Read this- Court smacks Autodesk, affirms right to sell used software | Ars Technica


Court smacks Autodesk, affirms right to sell used software

With the help of Public Citizen, an eBay merchant has won the right to sell

 

[GibH]

Same site, later update:
No, you don?t own it: Court upholds EULAs, threatens digital resale | Ars Technica

Reversed on appeal.

 

[diggummup]

In this country, nothing surprises me anymore. It's disgusting really. Welcome to Amerika where only big corporations matter. Screw you Joe citizen, lowlife, peasant, scum. How dare you pay upwards of $2-3k for a piece of software and actually think you own it, ha! Off with your heads.

 

[GibH]

In this country, nothing surprises me anymore. It's disgusting really. Welcome to Amerika where only big corporations matter. Screw you Joe citizen, lowlife, peasant, scum. How dare you pay upwards of $2-3k for a piece of software and actually think you own it, ha! Off with your heads.

I agree with you 100%.

If you really want to get worked up over something, the auto companies are using this case as precedent to make working on your own car illegal. That's right, working on your own car could violate the DMCA.

 

[kali_is_my_copilot]

You don't own anything you can't open/anything non-transferable/etc (IMHO anyway), I would be hard-pressed to buy a car that I couldn't work on (or an Apple product for that matter).

 

[diggummup]

Time to head for the hills, literally.

 

[DeepseekerADS]

Prior to retirement, used AutoCAD for 25 years. Purchased AutoCAD 2000i for $3,999 and have it installed on my PC now - still works, some iffy things, but fully functional. And I have all original paperwork, etc. Great software, and it paid for itself. I use it now for garden planning

As I recall, even my 15 year old software is not transferable.

I agree with Gib....

Edit: Civil 3D is a strange bird, only based on AutoCAD, thus there would be a more limited market for it. You could use it for mechanical or other type drawings, but would have to work around a whole lot of limitations. Autodesk did that on purpose - to promote sales of their other categories of disciplines. A general contractor, architectural, or engineering firm would have to purchase separate licenses for separate disciplines......

 

[GibH]

This thing with the auto companies is troubling. The more I think about it, it isn't just about gear heads and working on your own vehicle. If their argument holds up, every independent garage would have to pay royalties or a licensing fee to every auto company to work on those vehicles. Take it another step further and you may end up having to pay a transfer fee to the companies if you sell your car.

 

[DeepseekerADS]

This thing with the auto companies is troubling. The more I think about it, it isn't just about gear heads and working on your own vehicle. If their argument holds up, every independent garage would have to pay royalties or a licensing fee to every auto company to work on those vehicles. Take it another step further and you may end up having to pay a transfer fee to the companies if you sell your car.

Yep! Troubling.... But there's a whole lot of "troubling" around now. Force all repairs to a auto company licensed repair shop. Guess how much vehicle maintenance would cost in years to come... Unfortunately perhaps on the tip of things which could come.