ReMark Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 AutoDe$k lost round two of their legal battle to squash people trying to sell their personal legitimate copies of AutoCAD. Get ready for round three aptly named WAR OF THE CHECKBOOK! It was going to be called WAR OF THE RADIO POLICE AUTOMATRON but Hollywood already has dibs on the title for a new movie starring Tom Cruise. I read it in the latest (paper) edition of CADalyst Magazine. But here's an online link to a similar article: http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080523-court-smacks-autodesk-affirms-right-to-sell-used-software.html Note the heading further down the page: AutoCAD Is Sold Not Licensed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CADTutor Posted July 16, 2008 Share Posted July 16, 2008 Good article. Looks like it will rumble on a little further if Autodesk appeal (most likely) but it looks like the balance is tipping in favour of sale over licence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ritch7 Posted July 16, 2008 Share Posted July 16, 2008 what is roughly the amount you would be fined if caught having a pirated copy of autocad? i'm all legal by the way, just incase any of you have any IDEAS LOL just curious can they take you to the cleaners big time? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReMark Posted July 16, 2008 Author Share Posted July 16, 2008 I predict that if AutoDe$k loses the appeal we will see a rewording of the EULA. Since one cannot load AutoCAD without accepting the EULA then one will be technically bound by it. I suspect AutoDe$k lawyers are already working on this as the company is not about to let a single day go by where users around the world are free to sell their no longer used copies of AutoCAD. What are the chances that if the EULA is reworded that we don't see it applied retroactively somehow? Makes one wonder now, doesn't it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReMark Posted July 16, 2008 Author Share Posted July 16, 2008 If you are in possession of and are using a pirated copy of AutoCAD or Microsoft Office or any of the other big name programs the fines are enough to bankrupt you or put a serious dent your your budget. Then you are monitored for compliance for I think up to 5 years thereafter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ritch7 Posted July 16, 2008 Share Posted July 16, 2008 If you are in possession of and are using a pirated copy of AutoCAD or Microsoft Office or any of the other big name programs the fines are enough to bankrupt you or put a serious dent your your budget. Then you are monitored for compliance for I think up to 5 years thereafter. yeh i guessed it was a VERY serious amount they fine you but what gets me is how does a big time company prove that having a pirated copy of their software amount to a fine being.. say... £25,000.00 so if someone has a pirtated copy of autocad which they have never run twice on their pc and someone has a pirated copy who illegally uses it and works with it every day, would they get fined the same fixed penalty.. or would evidence then come into play etc and fines increase ... just a thought, sorry im rambiling on a little. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReMark Posted July 16, 2008 Author Share Posted July 16, 2008 Well, AutoDe$k isn't exactly monitoring every desktop in the world so the only way they usually know if someone is using AutoCAD illegally is for a third-party to rat them out. For instance, the disgruntled employee who gets fired (for whatever reason) decides to "tell all". He/she actually stands to collect a bounty of sorts for turning in his/her former employer for having one legal copy and, let's just say, ten illegal copies of AutoCAD running on their computers. The fine/penalty is more about compliance although AutoDe$k has been known to take a very hard stand with flagrant abusers using pirated software. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
centre105 Posted August 28, 2008 Share Posted August 28, 2008 This reminds me of the EULA that Motorola has for it's Radio Service Software. This is the stuff to program Moto radios for Fire/Police use. I have heard horror stories about Moto going after some kid who does radio work on the side out of his dad's garage and sueing him for $500k. Might be an urban legend, but you never know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teeds Posted September 24, 2008 Share Posted September 24, 2008 If you are in possession of and are using a pirated copy of AutoCAD or Microsoft Office or any of the other big name programs the fines are enough to bankrupt you or put a serious dent your your budget. Then you are monitored for compliance for I think up to 5 years thereafter. I worked for a firm that was nailed by AutoDe$k about 15+ years ago. It was expensive then and I am betting more so now. There have been a sporatic ad on radio here in DFW promising rewards up to $1 million for turning people or corporations in. I just got my subscription renewal notice from Autode$k for my two "licenses". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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