What happens to our plugins when we die?

[Numanoid]

I mean, can they be inherted, can I put them in my will?

[Frantz]

They go to plugin heaven.

[Tricky-Loops]

In this case I would sell them because you don't own the plugins themselves but only the licenses to use them. The licenses cannot be handed on.

But I don't hope you'll die so soon...

[Numanoid]

In this case I would sell them because you don't own the plugins themselves but only the licenses to use them. The licenses cannot be handed on.

Didn't Bruce Willis or somebody make a case against Apple, because he wanted to pass his considerable iTunes collection in his will, but found out that it was tied to him only

[thecontrolcentre]

TBH I couldn't care less ... I'll be dead.

[zerocrossing]

Interesting topic. I'll ask my good friend, who's an intellectual property lawyer down in Palo Alto, CA. He normally deals with tech stuff but I bet he'll know the answer at least in the USA.

I bet with any license that can be transferred via sale, it could be "willed" or "gifted" to a person of your choice, of course becoming NFR after that. If you already bought your plug in used, you're probably S.O.L unless it's just a simple license number.

Then there's the "practical" part of all of this. Will my daughter, who's now 9 mo., care about my plug-ins? Even if she does get into electronic/computer based music they'll (hopefully) be a long overlap anyway where I'd get her her own software anyway. Will she want my music collection? I sure don't care about my parents' vinyl collection. Could be that they had crappy taste, where mine is good.

Perhaps another plus on the real side of the real vs. virtual fight we love to have here is that I have a giant crate of actual CDs and most of my music is on CD and I still buy CDs. As for plug-ins... I hope she's happier I have a Moog Sub Phatty.

[Uedi]

...

[murnau]

i will remember my mortality when the GAS strikes me again.

ps. then again as vampire i'm dead anyway..

[Compyfox]

In case of Roger Nichols, he only "bought" the code, but didn't program anything. In case of Tim Conrardy and Reason Lahalla, this is a bit different - the former had no partner, and with the latter, the partner was also involved in an accident and then the company went poof.



The rest of the topic is however very interesting, and indeed a valid question.

Here in Germany, if someone passes away, the first people that are contacted in terms of a heritage are the close family (children and widow/widower) if you were married or a "married like" relationship. If not, or not clear to identify, then it's the still existing relatives (brother/sister, parents). Unless you stated different in your testament. If there was a testament found!


And this is where the problems start.

If you wrote a testament, that in case of death all you belongings will given to (say) your children and wife/husband... then it's pretty much clear who is getting the right over future handling of that material. Germany even goes so far, that you can not(!) stop subscriptions, GEZ, insurance and all that jazz without a death certification. And if there were some savings and no testament - then it's down to the closest relatives, or the ones that were declared in the testament. The notary then has to clear who is getting what (If there was no testament, 50% of the belongings that go to the widow/widower, the other 50% are shared amongst remaining relatives!). While Family (husband/wife, children) have a stronger right than normal relatives (brother/sister of deceased person, parents of them, godfather, etc).

So by German rights (in theory, I am no lawyer), the person that inherited the goods, maybe even has the same last name as the deceased person (in case you were married), has the full rights to do with your sh*t whatever he/she wants. And the companies need to accept that. Again - in theory.


The thing is (the reality), that these companies will be like "no, it's registed to - that person is dead, you're sh*t out of luck" as ultimate solution. It's not covered by the EULA/Terms of Service - so they can be like "not our problem, thnx bye". Which is indeed a problem - at least on German grounds.


Bringing that up is actually a well throught through topic. And this needs to be further adressed IMO.

Why isn't that covered in the terms of use/AGB?
What if either party (the developer or the user) deceases?


So far, if the developer deceased or vanished, you could keep on using your tools until your rig couldn't handle it anymore. In case of hardware, until it broke and can't be further repaired. It's not really cleared - and if there was a v2 in development and you bought in on the company - out of luck. So far I only know one company that explicitly said "should we go out of business, we make sure that you can continue our tools for a while" - and that is Spectrasonics.

On the other hand, if the user dies... the one that is inheriting everything is out of luck (currently, depending on written law of the country - but we're talking in general here). The inheritant can't even sell the goods without written permission (hah, the person is dead - talk about having a "ghost writer"). At least as of this moment - until someone chimes in here (a lawyer) and sets things straight.


So... I'd love to hear how developers think about this topic.

Even though I might be still young - I am considering writing a testament in the near future. Lifeforms are delicate. And recent KVR history showed that you don't need to be ill in order to go back to the planet (so to speak).

[Tricky-Loops]

In case of Tim Corardy and Reason Rahalla

Tim Conrardy and Reason Lahalla

Imagine someone would call you Pompyfrogs instead of Compyfox...

[Compyfox]

Sounds actually like a majestic name. Then again, I did the edit.

[Urs]

We had a few users who passed away. We were then contacted by the family or musician partners and they put the licenses up for sale.

[Tricky-Loops]

We had a few users who passed away. We were then contacted by the family or musician partners and they put the licenses up for sale.

So u-he plugs survive their users...

(Or better this one: )

[Compyfox]

So it's ultimately down to the company in terms of what can be done about the situation.

Good to know that U-HE is among those people, that don't make it "that" difficult.

But still... (Example):
Let's assume there is a Mister Miller. He's not married, but lives in a married like relationship, has one child. Mister Miller is a freelance musician.

Now, Mister Miller unfortunately passed away from one day or another due to whatever reasons. There was no Testament to be found, so Scenario A is automatically taking place

Scenario A (non married family):
Would the surviving family members (the cohabitant and the child) actually get the license? Or do the relatives (mother/father/brother/sister) only have access to them? In theory, both can't use the plugins/VSTi without asking first and changing the license.

Scenario B - there is a testament found:
Now let's assume, that Mister Miller said "you know what... my child is an aspiring musician, my wife is a music teacher - they can have my licenses". What's happening in this case?



Then let's focus on Family Smith:
Family Smith is in a married relationship, have kids, etc. Unfortunately, Mister Smith choked on his feet while going haywire on the drums, dropped off the chair and was dead.

In Germany, all the belongings of Mister Smith would be inherited and continued to be maintenanced by the wife, and maybe even later the kids. The wife was playing a mean bass, and actually wants to upgrade the licenses. Can she do that after her husband deceased?

In theory (Germany again), yes - since they were married and shared the same rights as her husband. But... the user account was "licensed" to Mister Smith, not "family" Smith.




I think, this is where the problems might start to appear - fineprints.

Since Urs is in here, sharing his opinion on all of this, I'd love to hear some ideas how this all could be handled. Maybe 2014 will see a certain revolution in this. As dark as this all may be - it is a valid question.

[RunBeerRun]

Lol I hope that anyone who knows me thinks I was a nice guy, not some music dork.

I drink coffee as it helps what was asthma when I was younger, and frankly I need a hobby.