Topic Title

Ok I know I should have gone to Datacad and bought the license, I want to put this on site so all of you will not have to go thru what I am right now.

I use EBay allot for buying parts for my sailboat and last week did a search for Datacad. There was a copy of Datacad 11 for sale on EBay and I bid On it. I am a registered user of 10 and a registered user of 11 LT, I was looking to Upgrade and get another license for Datacad so I thought that this would be a good idea to bid and buy the license. What has evolved is that this copy was a dealer copy of Datacad and today I found out after spending 570.00 that this is a NFR Copy. So what does this mean? I now have a copy of 11 that I can not register in my name, Nor ever upgrade it to 12. It has given me the software and the hard lock key to use the program but that is it. The person that has sold this copy to me has refunded me part of my money and allowed me to keep the program. He has been more than nice about the whole issue, and Datacad from the get go has known that I had bought this from eBay. When I called them they asked "So are you the person who bought this off of EBay?"So what I am saying is buyer be aware that what you might buy is not what you might get. There is a copy of version 9 on eBay now for sale, I just hope that no one will bid on this because I am sure it will not be a good copy to use. I have no proof from Datacad that this is a NFR (not for resale) copy, and the owner tells me that he did purchase this copy, and it might of been a NFR copy at a dealer discount. I have been using Datacad since version 5 and have always upgraded thru them. Next time I will not try and save a buck or two and just order the upgrade, or license thru Datacad.

Here is a link to the Ebay ad
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7146275509&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWN%3AIT&rd=1

Hello Chris:

Did you know that your 11 LT license can be upgraded to a full version -- and you get credit for the cost of LT? (At least I think this is the way it works! I could be wrong.) Also, did you know that an additional 11 license is about half the cost of a new license?

http://www.datacad.com/cgi-bin/commerce.exe?key=DCDA-1100&preadd=action

[Clay Rogers]

Generally, people do not check with us before posting DataCAD software on eBay for sale. Unfortunately, people who buy DataCAD software on eBay don’t call here first either.

I have spoken to a couple of people today, who had purchased DataCAD from the "Grey Market". Neither of these people own a legal license of DataCAD.

One individual purchased DataCAD 10 from a tag sale. He had no illusions about being able to upgrade the software. He knew that he would need to purchase a legal DataCAD software license.

Another person had a copy of DataCAD 9 which he said that he bought two years ago from an individual. Strangely, he could not remember the name of the guy he bought it from. I suspect that he is the person currently selling the DataCAD 9 on eBay. He does not own a legal license of DataCAD, so another unfortunate individual will probably buy it and be stuck with software which cannot be upgraded.

As I have told many people, intellectual property and software licensing issues are complex. Many people get confused about what their rights are under the DataCAD Software License Agreement. DATACAD LLC is the only authoritative source for information on the subject. If you know of anyone who has questions on the topic, please direct them to me.

P.S. Don't buy DataCAD software on eBay if you expect to be able to upgrade it. At the very least, check with us first - before you bid on it.

[Clay Rogers]

Here is a e-mail message which was posted yesterday to the DBUG Forum. I am posting it here as another example of how you can get burned by buying software on eBay, NOT as an accurate representation of DataCAD policies on software licensing.

Mr. Underwood purchased a copy of DataCAD Plus on eBay. After researching the origin of the software, I discovered that it was an Educational License which was sold to a school by our Educational Distributor. As an Educational License, it is neither upgradeable nor transferable. How it ended up on eBay is anybody's guess.

To: datacad-dbug@world.std.com
Subject: DBUG> DataCad 9
From: William Underwood <ehomeworks@yahoo.com>
Date: Thu, 14 Apr 2005 06:30:41 -0700 (PDT)


I write this as a warning to potential DataCad software purchasers from third parties - not DataCad LLC.

Before you purchase any copies of DataCad from someone other than Datacad, you need to talk to Clay Rogers at DataCad about this. This is the way he explained it to me.

The license on upgraded software cannot be transferred.

Full purchase software can be transfered IF the proper transfer paperwork is completed through DataCad. It costs $25. Upgrading and tech support is subject to proper documented transfer.

Reduced cost "student" or "promotional" versions cannot be transfered - period. No tech support, no upgade possible.

Purchasing DataCad on an "Online" auction is frowned upon and is considered an illegal transfer unless the full purchase, not upgraded, proper paperwork scenario is met.

DataCad maintains a detailed database of every copy of its software - who it was sold to and when. If you show up with a copy that has been "illegally" transfered, you cannot upgrade it and will be subject to their wrath.

Be careful.

William Underwood