I?ve seen a number of posts recently about software licensing issues. This may be the worst thing an admin has to deal with. While we are all aware of the predatory practices MS has instituted, what about all the other software companies?
In thepast, I?ve gotten different answers from every company I called. There was a delay in receiving software I had ordered from on company, and when I called, they said since I had a purchase order, I could go ahead and copy the software where ever I needed it. I asked another company if they would replace the media in the event of a fire and I was told that I would have to repurchase the software, even though I could prove that I had bought the software.
I had an employer that thought we neededto keep every copy of disks that we bought because that was our license. Another company told me all we needed was our paid invoices, they proved we had bought the license.
If you read the MS EULA, it says that you cannot transfer the license unless the recipient agrees to accept it. If a thief steals your laptop, do you have the license or does he? You didn?t agree to transfer it, and you still have the receipt for the purchase, so do you still own it?
I think that these are questions that need to be addressed by the software industry. I think it?s hard to justify licensing agreements until there is an industry standard.