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"EULA" or End User License Agreement is something you get when you buy or install software. One of the conditions in this EULA is your right
to use the software.A software license is more like a rental agreement. Although you paid money, you don't really own anything and the property manager can change the agreement at any
time. (Companies like Microsoft can and do change the agreement all the time, invariably to the detriment of the end-user.) When you spend a lot
of money to pay for a "full version" of software, as opposed to an "upgrade version" for example, you get the software (which you don't own) and one or
more rights to use that software (the "license"). If you upgrade your software, what you are paying for is the time the software maker invested in improving the software and the convenience of
distributing it to you. You get additional features in the software, but you don't get any more "rights to use it." So, don't give away your old disks and assume it's OK for your friends to use
them. Unless your friends have purchased a "right to use" that software, it's illegal for them to use your old copy. Now, you can also give your friend your "right to use" that old software, but
by doing so, you surrender your right to use your new software. Confusing, huh? Basically "don't copy that floppy". |
