Licensing of Solutions

I refer to Licensing - Patches - eCart #25 from Tom_M

I just checked too. Looks like the license is back to the original:
When you purchase PowerStore, you receive a developer's license to develop as many websites as you desire; all for one low cost.

Which is good news. In my opinion!

TM

But the licensing seems to have returned to a one domain basis. I got a email from WA offering
a number of solutions for $239.99 which is a great price. However I don't want to use all of them now only Power Gallery and Contact Form. How much customisation do I need to do before the solution is no longer a WA solution but my own. I want to use the solution as a starting point I am worried because if I use WA solution as a foundation do I need to buy another copy of Power Gallery or Contact Form to use on another project just to add my code or do I look at the Power Gallery and Contact Form as examples and work with the extentions.Do I make rewrite some of the php function and change some variable names make some changes to the original code so that it no longer resembles what I purchased but still works just to avoid the additional cost?



To be honest if I can see what Power Gallery is writing to the database I am sure I could write a simple front end for my needs in php. What I am looking for is some of the Power Gallery funtionality for the end user but a simpler way for the end user to upload pictures. As for the contact form I need that to be attached to a database but then if I have to make changes and then buy additional licences everytime I want to re-use it I may as well download a free version and make the changes without incurring additional cost. This is getting to confusing.


This post is taking me ages as I am not quite sure how to approach this maybe I should purchase the solutions and use them as a learning tool of how WA do it and create my own solutions. Some guidance would be appreciated.

Yes it looks like we are back where we started. They switched to the developers license because of the outcry the first time they made it one domain. Now it's back to one domain.

Even though I'm apparently not effected by the change, it makes it very unattractive for the developer. This move supports our previous concerns that WA is moving away from the developer, and into end-user solutions. Hard to switch horses mid-stream without someone getting wet.

Modifying the code and then reselling the modified code as your own is not allowed. You can install it on one domain for each purchase you make regardless of how much the solution has been changed. To have it be your own, you would have to start from scratch and build something.

If you have a specific question on how to achieve something on a particular solution, then you're welcome to post it up as well.

I signed up for a year with this product my mistake I pressed the wrong button and paid for a year instead of the monthly subscription. Due to this licensing thing I am going to look elsewhere for additional extensions. I have already found alternatives to Power Gallery with better licensing terms and cheaper once you take into consideration the licensing restrictions. I think Powerstore and PowerCMS (I have not searched for alternatives) are probably good value for money but as for the rest there are alternatives with better documentation and trial versions or are free so you can evaluate them before purchase. The extension library is good value because there is a lot included.

What is a real concern is that WA changed the licensing agreement and then changed it back and then changed it again. You start a project, price it, complete it and get paid. Somebody else wants something similar but the licensing has all changed. The pre-built solutions are not the real concern but rather the use of the extensions. What guarantee that the subscription library model won't change to a pay for each domain where WA tools are used?

We can't change the license for something after you purchase, so what you purchased still belongs to you under the license you agreed to when purchasing it.

Let me take a step back and explain what led to this... An ISP purchased the powerstore and started offering it to anyone that hosted with them for $3. With the old license, this is kind of against it, but it kind of allowed it as well. Our lawyers described it as a "grey area" that would need litigation to resolve. We don't really want that.

People were already complaining that competing with a webassist $300 solution made their $2000 price-tag look bad. Imagine now competing with every ISP offering it for free. That is the long term possibility we couldn't afford, and would destroy any value our solutions have for our customers as well.

Extensions are already per developer, so they don't have that problem. They will always be sold as a tool and not a solution, so in our minds it would never make sense to move to a per-domain version.

To be honest I agree with you as far as PowerStore and PowerCMS, the more I thought about it the more I can see your problem. As for the other solutions they cannot possibly be used as a turn key solution. PowerGallery, Contact Form and User Registration would have to be applied to a development project. Maybe you could look at the licensing agreement just on Power Gallery, Contact Form and User Registration because a per domain licence seems overkill. Unfortunately I have started testing something else for my galleries but it may be worth considering some of the points mentioned above for future reference.

The change in the license terms wasn't put in place to go after our developers that deploy multiple times after adding value by the nature of them being developers. The goal really was to stop the non-developer from buying the solution and simply redistributing it at a lower price and in high volume because they could.

It gives us the legal standing to be able to make someone stop if/when that happens. We don't intend on investigating, adding code limitations, or actively going after developers that deploy extensions mulitple times, particularly if they are reskinning and adding value by doing some sort of development on top of the solution to make it their own.

This change really was to protect the developer that is using the solutions the way they were intended against the non-developer who would buy the solution and resell it or give it away in volume (because development and becming a developer was never their intention).

We want to help developers be successful, and help non-developers become developers and we want to lower the bar all around to make things easier. It is true that we also want to lower the bar so that non-developers can become developers if they put in the effort, so we do want to work for them as well. We want to push the industry and make everyone's web site better. That means that we will be pushing the developers to create better web sites and take the next step... if you leave us, then a non-developer with our prudcts (or someone elses) could pass you by at some point in the future. If you stay with us you will have to keep evolving with the technology so that you can always add more value to stay relevent. That is technology. It moves and changes quickly and you either need to keep up (with or without our help) or decide to leave that challenge for people that are up for it. I still think we can help someone in your situation, but that is up to you to decide.

Originally Said By: Ray Borduin

  We want to help developers be successful, and help non-developers become developers and we want to lower the bar all around to make things easier. It is true that we also want to lower the bar so that non-developers can become developers if they put in the effort, so we do want to work for them as well.  

Be interesting to see what kind of bar ... and what kind of effort in what kinds of arenas you have in mind, WebAssist.
Peace.