[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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.
-- David H. Bailey [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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