Software Licence Transfer Debacle

Question

As we all know we now have to activate our software when we
install it. But did you know there are limits on the amount of
times you may transfer your license?
Now as I understand it, when I purchased my Macromedia
software I purchased a license that would never expire providing I
did not breach the conditions of the software license. I also know
that I may install the software and activate it on two computers
legally at any one time providing I never use both installs
concurrently.
I own my own two copies which I install and uninstall
regularly... always making sure that I transfer the activation
prior to de-installing and moving to the next job. (As I understand
it this process was supposed to mean that Adobe/Macromedia could
track my software and through the transfer feature I would never be
in a situation where I was exceeding the number of legally
activated installations).
Imagine my surprise when I tried to transfer my license
lately when I was told that I had exceeded the number of
"Transfers". The first thing I did was call the Adobe activation
centre where I was informed that an "error" had occurred... which
is a load of rubbish as I have been in this situation once before.
Macromedia set a limit on the amount of transfers you could
do but failed to tell anyone about it in the software licence
documentation. The last time I had to go through this Macromedia
was still Macromedia and I was told the following:
Installs: 25 Transfers maximum
Re-Installs: 100 Transfers maximum
Give Backs: 10 maximum
This time I was told that I had an "error" and that the only
way I could re-install my software would be to call up when I want
to activate it the next time. So in future it begs the question of
if I can no longer transfer my activation, how many times are Adobe
going to just take my word for it and activate my software again.
My license says that it expires "never"... yeah right...
provided I "never" want to upgrade my computer.
The next question is when will Adobe drop the ball and
gradually stop allowing us to use the software we purchased a legal
right to use.
....am I the only one that this does not make any sense to?
did anyone else see any details of this when they read their
software license?
I am disgusted to find that these limits are in place.
Providing I activate and transfer my activation each time I should
be able to do this as often as I like since each time
Adobe/Macromedia should be able to track that it is the same serial
number that is being activated and transferred each time. This
makes a mockery of a license that expires "never" since if for some
reason the folks at Adobe/Macromedia decide to not extend your
amount of transfers you are #@%&*ed!
Well that's my rant and short of a class action what are you
gonna do... be warned though.
Elliot

Answer 1

Hi Judy
Can you tell me if you have been through the process in the
tech note you directed me to?
I just had a couple of interesting experiences with Adobe
activation support and I am curious about your experiences. I just
upgraded one of my computers to Leopard and it toasted my
activation and then I began receiving the activation error again
while trying to get it to re-activate.
In the screen that the tech note refers to, it provides
localised phone numbers for users to call. In Australia one of the
numbers is disconnected and the other transfers to the standard
Adobe Activation system...
When I did get a person to talk to the first time, I was told
that FreeHand is not supported under Leopard and therefore they did
not have to help me activate it. I questioned this and was then put
on hold and then hung up on.
The next time I called the person I spoke to had no knowledge
of the tech note you refer to, after I gave her the serial number
the software mysteriously activated without any problem the next
time I was asked to try... this is despite repeated attempts over a
number of days testing.
I don't want to get into conspiracy theories or anything,
however it would appear that Adobe is actively trying to make the
software difficult to activate in order to drive users to
Illustrator instead and effectively terminate the license by
default.
If anyone else runs into this problem I would suggest that
they say they are running OS X 10.3 or 10.4 regardless of what
version they happen to be using. Adobe are trying to use OS X 10.5
as a way to not have to continue providing activation support which
by default renders your software license null if you can't activate
it under the newer OS's.
They could solve this by not forcing us to activate, however
then users would not be forced to buy Illustrator when things don't
work.
Another possibility is that internally Adobe will simply turn
off activation (quietly) and force people to call and go through an
agonising phone call with activation support etc. This will also
have the net effect of making your licence unusable and drive
people to cross-grade to Illustrator and spend more $$$.
Adobe should really provide us with an alternative to
activation but being the type of company they are, Im sure this
will be the last option they offer unless it becomes a legal
dispute.
Just in case they terminate this thread Im going to mirror it
elsewhere just to be sure they can't brush FreeHand users under the
carpet through this interesting and devious method of not honouring
the original licenses.
Let me know if you can add any other info.
Cheers