virtual machine - Is it legal to use the trial version of a software over and over?

07
2014-07
  • bastibe

    My boss proposed I should pirate Photoshop, as documented here. I would not do that.

    However, a coworker proposed that I could just use virtual machines to re-use the trial version of that software over and over. I feel that this is probably just as illegal as using a pirated copy from a legal point of view.

    Do you know more about this?

    • Answers
  • Traveling Tech Guy

    It's not ethical and it's not legal to circumvent licensing methods. Trial software is meant to allow you to experience the software before you buy it, not to give you free software. I sometimes understand (though never condone) such behavior when done by a poor, private person. But if it's done by a company or for commercial reasons (i.e. you're making profit from someone else's work without paying) it's down right criminal.

    And to finish my argument: I suppose you work in a software company. How would you answer if I ask you whether it's OK for me to install your software on a new VM every month to avoid paying for YOUR software?

  • mskfisher

    Definitely not ethical. The obvious intent of a demo/trial is that it be available for an evaluation period, then disabled or crippled until it is purchased.
    Note that a trial version's EULA might prohibit it from being used for commercial purposes anyway.

    As @reinierpost commented, you can't know if it's legal without reading the EULA - they may mention reinstallation explicitly.
    Even if it does look like there's a loophole because virtualization or reinstallation aren't explicitly mentioned, it may just be that the EULA's legal language hasn't caught up with the technological landscape yet. In that case, if it goes to court, it'll be up to someone else to decide if it's legal or not - and unintentional loopholes are not likely to stand up to serious scrutiny.

  • Kissaki

    Often trail-versions are explicitly for non-commercial use, just for trying it out, if it does fit your needs. If that is the case using it in everyday company work is illegal anyway, even on first install / usage. (Again, this may differ from app to app; see EULA.)

  • Rolf

    It surely is circumvention, but whether it is strictly legal or not, I don't know. It sounds less bad than blatant piracy.

    (l) "Trial Version" means a version of the Software, so identified, to be used only to review, demonstrate and evaluate the Software for a limited time period.

    Source: http://www.adobe.com/products/eula/server/


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    I would like to know whether these free SMS alert sites such as My Today SMS, Alertix pay for the sites such as religate, oneindia.in e.t.c, Or they just mention in their website that this service powered by Oneindia.

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  • William Hilsum

    There is no one answer fits all.

    The main reason for content owners offering RSS feeds is simply because they want to syndicate the content to people in a quick and easy way.

    Generally people offer this service for end users to see the content and there should be no harm in building an application or using a feed for yourself.

    If however, you are going to be references, reselling or offering someone's content to anyone, you start going in the area of copyrighted work... Look at the recent complaints about Google News for example.

    I am pretty sure that if you use any content from any website, you have to agree to their terms and conditions as well as their terms of service which may prevent this sort of activity.

    The only real way to know is to get in contact with the website in question and ask for their permission.

  • Rich Bradshaw

    If you didn't want your content syndicated, you wouldn't publish an RSS feed.

    I'd say that allowing this syndication is one of the reasons for having an RSS feed, and to pursue legal action for someone using it would be stupid.

  • Peter Mortensen

    Their is no Such Legal issue.

    Feel Free to extract them and use them Where ever you want to use or do whatever you want to do with them.

    Giving RSS means the Publisher wishes RSS as frequently updated data.

    Just to get the incoming links / Repearing visitors.

    And there are tons of tools that fetch data.Safari/Firefox/Opera/.. Have built-in features. Yahoo fetches them...