I can't find finale's end-user license, but most end-user licenses I
have ever read contain a clause which removes all liability from the
publisher of the product. Here are some quotes from Finale 3.5 upgrade:
[bracketed words are my remarks.]
2. OWNERSHIP. [snip] This License Agreement is NOT [their capitals] a
sale of the SOFTWARE. [this clarifies that you have no property rights
in anything other than the documentation and the media the program ships
on -- you have no property rights at all in the software itself.]
SOFTWARE DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY AND LIMITED WARRANTY FOR MEDIA
[after the usual software and documentation are provided on an as is
basis paragraph and a warranty on the media only]
Neither CODA nor anyone else involved in the creation, production,
licensing or deliver of the SOFTWARE and documentation mateirals shall
be liable for any indirect, incidental, consequential, or special
damages (including damages for lost profits or the like) resulting from
breach of warranty or any type of claim arising from the use or
inability to use the SOFTWARE, even if CODA has been advised of the
possibility of such damages. In any event, CODA's responsibility for
direct damages is never more than the purchase price and license fee you
paid for the FINALE package.
[snip]
EXCEPT AS EXPRESSLY PROVIDED ABOVE, CODA MUSIC TECHNOLOGY MAKE SNO
WARRANTIES REGARDING THE SOFTWARE, DOCUMENTATION MATERIALS, OR MDEIA,
EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDED BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF
MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. No oral or
written information or advice provided by CODA, its dealers,
distributors, agents, or employees shall create any other warranty or
increase in any way the scope of this warranty, and you may NOT rely on
such information or advice. THIS LIMITED WARRANTY GIVES YOU SPECIFIC
LEGAL RIGHTS AND YOU MAY ALSO HAVE OTHER RIGHTS THAT VARY FROM STATE TO
STATE.
[end quotes from license agreement.]
So basically Coda has said that it has absolutely NO obligation to
continue to keep the software working. It also states that anything
that any employee says does NOT change its obligations under the
warranty (sorry, Tyler!)
So, again, what legal basis would we have to take MakeMusic or its
successors to court to try to force them to continue to provide
activation codes for Finale2004 forever?
Even if they DON'T go out of business, they can still pull the plug on
any earlier version they care to at any time, so inspite of Tyler's
assurances (and the end-user license has told us all what it thinks of
any employee statements) that MakeMusic won't use the activation code
issue to force upgrades (Gee, you bought a new machine?
Congratulations, but I am sorry we don't issue activation codes for
Finale2004 anymore. I can offer you a fantastic upgrade to Finale2008,
though, for a mere $180 and we can get you activated within seconds!)
there is nothing in the law and nothing in the only end-user license I
could find from Coda (anybody wonder why software publishers have gone
to electronic end-user licenses that we have to click I AGREE before the
installation can continue?) that obligates them to continue to keep
older versions working.
Remember also that we all own licenses to use FINALE, with no version
number being shown. So we don't have a license specifically to use
Finale2004, we have a license to use Finale. So they are within their
rights to try to force us to upgrade to a current version of Finale if
they choose to. And it seems as if they have the perfect mechanism now!
Tobias Giesen wrote:
Now, not too tangentially: Tobias, you seem certain Makemusic
would have to support this product into the future. Why? Can
you point me to any law which requires Makemusic or its successor
to provide license keys? ...
I don't think it would require a specific law. They sell you the software,
grant you a license that's not limited in time. So you have two contracts: a
sales contract, and a license agreement. Neither are limited to a specific
CPU; you are free to carry the software product from one PC generation to
the next.
If Coda stopped the software activation at some point in the future, they
would
a) void the original sales contract
b) cancel the license agreement
c) violate your property rights
etc.
This would be against all rules of trading. I don't know the specific laws
in the U.S., but they're sure there.
Cheers,
Tobias
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