Software Maintenance Dodging

[SomptingGuy]

If you have a fully purchased software license, paying maintenance gives you access to support and updates. Maintenance isn't generally cheap and we engineers often get asked if it's really necessary. The answer normally is "yes", because without it the vendor will not supply new keys required for later versions - you're stuck in the past if you don't pay.

Now let's say the vendor is a bit lax with the licensing, so that you have perpeptual keys and they seem to work on any version of the software. Given access to new media, you could probably upgrade ad infinitum with no maintenance. And let's say you've got a buddy with some disks he can loan you...

I'd like views on whether this backdoor upgrading is ethical (or even legal). If the vendor can't sort out their licensing adequately, is that an invitation to exploit? You have actually paid for the software after all.

 

[epoisses]

No... not even in France.
You can do this at home if you're willing to take the risk, but taking the risk of being sued on behalf of your company would not be a management decision, not yours.

 

[epoisses]

"...would be a management decision" - sorry

 

[SomptingGuy]

"You can do this at home if you're willing to take the risk"

I was refering to network licenses rather than notional bits of paper or CD codes, so taking the media home and installing it isn't going to be much good.

However, the situation has defused itself.

Still interested in views though.

 

[CajunCenturion]

On what grounds would it be ethical?

If a house is unlocked does that mean that is okay to trespass? Is is okay to shoplift is no one is watching?

Good Luck
--------------
As a circle of light increases so does the circumference of darkness around it. - Albert Einstein

 

[SomptingGuy]

"On what grounds would it be ethical?"

None that I know of.

Personally I'm disappointed that a software vendor can have such a dubious licensing mechanism that I got put into this position in the first place. It wasn't until I started mentioning that it probably wouldn't be legal either that management started to listen.

 

[GregLocock]

If the terms of the license are that you must pay the annual tax in order to use the software, then their failure to enforce that does not give you the right to break the license.

Although some vendors regard old versions as good advertising, none would condone getting free upgrades by exploiting their poor licensing systems.

As in another thread, just because I leave my house unlocked that does not give you the ethical right to come in and nick my TV.

Cheers

Greg Locock

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[Ashereng]

[quoteSomptingGuy}I'd like views on whether this backdoor upgrading is ethical (or even legal). If the vendor can't sort out their licensing adequately, is that an invitation to exploit? You have actually paid for the software after all.[/quote]

I am surprised. A bit saddened actually too.

Is it ethical? NO! It is not ethical. That you have said. I wondered why you originally asked.

Is it an invitation to exploit? NO! The fact that your vendor is dumb/fooling/too trusting/clueless is not an invitation to exploit. You should maybe bring this to their attention as some of their other clients may not be as ethical as you. A good Samaritan sort of thing, you know...

Is this legal? Don't know. Not a lawyer. However, even though you paid for the origianl software, you didn't pay for the updates and new versions. At the least, you may be violating some copyright laws ... or not.

To address the "You can do this at home if you're willing to take the risk." statement. I guess you can do what ever you want/can, doesn't necessarily make ethical or legal.


"Do not worry about your problems with mathematics, I assure you mine are far greater."
Albert Einstein
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[SomptingGuy]

Ashereng,

Don't get me wrong here - the reason I asked for views from others is that I firmly agree with everything you've said. The maintenance on one of our core tools had not been paid for quite a while (previous IT manager "made savings") and I led the campaign to get things back in order. Luckily we haven't done anything wrong during our "outage" (no new versions to acquire) and we should be able to upgrade legally in a while when things are back in place and a new version appears.

But what a fight! I got the "why pay if you don't have to" question from various sides (notably not from any of my engineer colleagues). I was intentionally not telling the whole story upfront so as not to lead the discussion one way or another. However, it seems to have lead itself.

 

[dgowans]

Just to add to this, a bit off topic, but not much. The last company I worked for had some software installed in violation of the license agreements. A disgruntled former employee called the BSA (Business Software Alliance, for those unfamiliar with the organization) and reported the violations. The BSA did an audit and filed charges or some such action. The company agreed to put its ducks in a row, but then spent several years in a pissing contest with the BSA which rang up way more in legal fees than the software would have cost in the first place.

So, in a roundabout answer to the question, NO, it's not ethical, not legal, and definitely not worth it.

 

[rday]

One thing to keep in mind. You usually do not buy software. You buy a license to use the software and are bound by the terms of that license. You know that long piece of text you see during the install that you scoll by and hit "I AGREE" at the end.

Ethical. NO
Legal. Most Likely NO

Rik

 

[IRstuff]

You need to be working for someone else.

Otherwise, you're bound to be placed continually in unethical situations.

TTFN

 

[SomptingGuy]

We saw this as a test for our new management. They passed. I'm staying.

 

[dozer]

But the fact that you had to mention "that it probably wouldn't be legal" bothers me. To me it's management's responsibility to know stuff like this.

It's nice that you're so trusting but my ka-s**t detector is going crazy. They probably knew what they were doing but when you brought it up they suddenly grew a conscience. Hope I'm wrong for your sake.

 

[SomptingGuy]

dozer,

I hear and thank you for your comment. However...

Our new director wanted to stay out of the picture until we had all the facts (costs, alternatives, risks) put together in a simple, digestible presentation. When given the whole story he notably winced, but conceded that we should and would pay. The negatives came mainly from the IT drones loyal to the cost-cutting culture of their previous management.

(Why do service departments like IT feel they need to make a profit?)

 

[IRstuff]

Because generally, they're parasites.

TTFN

 

[MedicineEng]

Is not profit that they are looking for. As all non-revenue generating departments (IT, Maintenance,Administratives) they are constantly pushed for cost-cutting (and believe me I know what I'm speaking about).
They ear constantly:"What??? This fortune to buy some fancy server??? Why do we need that? And what about my 50000 USD laptop with a 15GHz processor for me to open Word and Excel?"
It is easier from management point of view to cut in maintenance or IT than in Production or Marketing since these are the ones that bring the $$$ to the company.

Now, there is a difference between cost cutting and law breaking. And it seems that your IT guys are a little bit blind. This is what I call the myopic savings. You save a dollar ("Ei, boss I just saved a dollar!!!") and then you have headaches and problems the rest of your life (Knock, knock. We are the guys in black suit. We heard that you have been a bad, bad boy).

 

[electricpete]

I'm guessing you're at a small company.

At large companies (at least ours), it seems the opposite. The I.T. department appoints itself guardian of every license. So much is the distrust that our computers are locked such that we couldn't install any software if we wanted to.

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[SomptingGuy]

It's quite a big company, big enough for IT to want to be "the guardian of every license". This is the whole problem. They don't understand the very tools they are administrating. IT people are generally pretty good at rebooting PCs when they lock, and setting up M$ products. Some of them even know a little bit about the more common engineering applications.

But none of them knows anything about software development tools: compilers, debuggers, configuration management software, etc. So having them control the budgets and purchasing for these tools is perverse.