Acustica Audio still does not allow license transfers and violates European laws

[bmanic]

firstly where the hell does it say that you are required to offer resale for purchased goods?? Software is not like a car FFS.

EU law says that. It's really not black and white at all.

[Faland]

However, Acoustics Audio is a small company that produces those who are perhaps the best plugins on the market, apart from the considerable CPU load, I use their plugins and will continue to do so even though Giancarlo's manners are not the most delicate. But I try to understand him: it's not easy to be on the market, to relate to people from different countries and cultures. Often you look at your rights without trying to understand the others ones. Being an Italian company, like me, I'm proud of its products being so good.
Therefore, Giancarlo does not get angry and congratulations for your great work. Ciao!

[kmonkey]

Solution to the described scenario would be not to allow Paypal then.

Who want to buy without paypal these days...noone

Lol everyone who buys Spitfire stuff. Spitfire don't accept Paypal...they're not exactly a small company

Hahaha...ok i never even tried it let alone consider to buy it. Why would industry and well known practice change behavior because of one company behavior haha..

[Zaphod (giancarlo)]

firstly where the hell does it say that you are required to offer resale for purchased goods?? Software is not like a car FFS.

EU law says that. It's really not black and white at all.

There are several ways for avoiding it.
Expiring licenses with zero cost renew is a way. So it is a matter of "form", exactly because software licenses are... Just licenses. The main problem with Europe is.... Europe. Those 26 countries have the strangest rules in the whole world.
A friend today told me the user is authorized to "crack" the software if the protection is invasive. Go figure.

[Zaphod (giancarlo)]

I dont ever leave my house, because somebody somewhere once got run over by a car !!!!

Software developers are not special little pixies that need protecting, all businesses face the possibility of scams and fraud, but software developers believe they have this special right to laud it over paying customers.
If you want to sell in europe it is the law to offer free licence transfers, if you dont it is YOU that is pulling a scam, did you ever even consider that, YOU are breaking the law the same as scammers break the law.

There are ways commonly used for avoiding it. They work easily exactly because software is not hardware. So it is a matter of "form", not substance.

[Zaphod (giancarlo)]

Ok I think I have a good idea and possibly a very fair set of rules on next days you'll see the announcement on our forum

I am sure that this response could come much earlier (instead of MS Office). Anway I thank for this approach

Well I would prefer you didn't call me a liar to be honest. Anyway I thank you for your comprehension.

[Zaphod (giancarlo)]

Solution to the described scenario would be not to allow Paypal then. It's a fact in your story that the developer sold licenses to someone that used a hacked Paypal. It has very Little to do with license transfers because that is not the root of the problem.

That specific case is linked to the ability to monetize the hacked account. We didn't have frauds any more after the suspension.
The hacker was not interested in plugins, just in resellable goods. Why they decided to buy plugins instead of cars or other things, I have no clue.

[Zaphod (giancarlo)]

However, Acoustics Audio is a small company that produces those who are perhaps the best plugins on the market, apart from the considerable CPU load, I use their plugins and will continue to do so even though Giancarlo's manners are not the most delicate. But I try to understand him: it's not easy to be on the market, to relate to people from different countries and cultures. Often you look at your rights without trying to understand the others ones. Being an Italian company, like me, I'm proud of its products being so good.
Therefore, Giancarlo does not get angry and congratulations for your great work. Ciao!

I'm not delicate, but at the same time I don't insult people!

[masterhiggins]

I wish some more developers would chime in. It'd be interesting to know where they all fall on this law.

[Fleer]

firstly where the hell does it say that you are required to offer resale for purchased goods?? Software is not like a car FFS.

EU law says that. It's really not black and white at all.

There are several ways for avoiding it.
Expiring licenses with zero cost renew is a way. So it is a matter of "form", exactly because software licenses are... Just licenses. The main problem with Europe is.... Europe. Those 26 countries have the strangest rules in the whole world.
A friend today told me the user is authorized to "crack" the software if the protection is invasive. Go figure.

Trying to avoid EU consumer legislation this way will backfire and result in fines. A better way to address this is to work with the EU administration. They're not some crazy weirdoes doing this to hurt developers. They of all people understand what it means to run a business. Talk to them. You'll find they're actually quite collaborative.

[rod_zero]

There is a reason consumer rights exists, because before companies got away with tons of BS.

What is amazing is that companies write EULAs that violate consumer rights and they don't even understand than consumer rights can't be renounced.

And then the company states that "if you dont agree go elsewhere", that's not how it works, you have to comply with the law if you intend to sell a product to the public.

[Faland]

Trying to avoid EU consumer legislation this way will backfire and result in fines. A better way to address this is to work with the EU administration. They're not some crazy weirdoes doing this to hurt developers. They of all people understand what it means to run a business. Talk to them. You'll find they're actually quite collaborative.

On this point I have to give full reason to Giancarlo. European legislators (and Italians in particular) are not concerned with the problems of those who work in the market. If you think that a former italian Prime Minister publicly stated that he had worked intensively to "destroy the Italian domestic market" and said it with pride, you can understand how things really are.
It is also the same person who stated that "Greece is the Euro greatest success".
And he was not ironizing ...

[masterhiggins]

They of all people understand what it means to run a business. Talk to them. You'll find they're actually quite collaborative.

What makes you say this? I know in the US, professional politicians are exactly that. Professional politicians. They don't live in the private sector in almost any way.

[Burillo]

A friend today told me the user is authorized to "crack" the software if the protection is invasive. Go figure.

that's not really what the law says. it basically says that it is legal to bypass protection that puts unreasonable restrictions on the consumer. for example, if you rip CSS-protected DVD's, you're technically violating the law, even though you own the DVD and you're creating a copy for your own use. AFAIK it is also permissible to bypass protection if the goal is compatibility (i.e. you can't forbid anyone from using third-party printer cartridges, even if the manufacturer disagrees) or, say, preserving software history (running old software on an emulator).

and i think this is how it should be. the goal is not to make cracking fair game, but to allow licensed user to actually use his product in a way that does not infringe on his rights as a consumer, and to allow preserving usage for things that can't be used legally any more. i fully support such laws. you can't just say "i say it should be thus" and expect it to be a valid agreement between yourself and the user.

[Zaphod (giancarlo)]

There is a reason consumer rights exists, because before companies got away with tons of BS.

What is amazing is that companies write EULAs that violate consumer rights and they don't even understand than consumer rights can't be renounced.

And then the company states that "if you dont agree go elsewhere", that's not how it works, you have to comply with the law if you intend to sell a product to the public.

No because in a global world all laws overlap creating a mess. If there was a single rule for all countries it would be way more easy to handle. And I don't see for what reason a country should have a software transfer policy and an other not.