Autodesk details perpetual licensing changes
Feb 04, 2015 by CGP Staff
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Autodesk has posted a FAQ detailing the licensing policies it will be implementing in its transition to a rental-only model. According to the document, customers who already have a perpetual license (or purchase a perpetual license before February 1, 2016), retain the perpetual license to that software, and if it is covered by Maintenance Subscription, they will also continue to receive their Maintenance Subscription benefits.
The elimination of perpetual licenses on Feb 1, 2016 only applies to new purchases of perpetual licenses. New seats of standalone desktop software purchased from that date onward will generally be available only as a Desktop Subscription. More on Autodesk’s website.
The elimination of perpetual licenses on Feb 1, 2016 only applies to new purchases of perpetual licenses. New seats of standalone desktop software purchased from that date onward will generally be available only as a Desktop Subscription. More on Autodesk’s website.
Boo.
Worst news ever, at least we will be able to maintain our licenses, but havin auto desk going on a rental only mode, this is BAD news, I wish they realize that there won’t be more benefits this way, Adobe is not receiving more revenue with this model, and they are also slowing down the development speed of new features…
…can someone tell me one big feature that has appeared in Photoshop or AE since they started this model? Not even one feature, and I’m referring to BIG feature, eye popping, those who used to convince the people to upgrade, there is nothing in this regards, there are some bug fixes and small features, nothing more…
Cheers.
Now they need to inform how much it’ll cost.
it’s making the move away from autodesk simpler by the day.
Blender, we put all of our hope into your bright future !!!!!!!
Software rental “only !!” is the worst thing ever and will force us stopping to use the software. A copmany has to be able to deliver backups for projects for a some years, this is often part of the contract ! Imagine that you use rental software and 3 years later you have to go back to your backups, but you can´t open /use it anymore, because the “rental software” company meanwhile closed its doors and you can´t get a license. Bam, you broke your contract with the client !!!!!!!
I agree with you that going rental only is a sad move – but for example, people are still using Adobe software which is also rental only. So, (most) people did not stop using the software. But I also know that Adobe is quite a different case as there is less to no competition for Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign. In the field of 3D there is at least some competition.
As for the other thing: If you are doing your backups properly, I think nobody can blame you for not being able to access the software any longer – if that company does not exist anymore.
That is the reason that we order a bunch of Adobe Suite 6 and stay now on this version for years, by by Adobe !
“If you are doing your backups properly, I think nobody can blame you for not being able to access the software any longer – if that company does not exist anymore.”
Do you really think this is true ? I guess you never had any contract with a big studio, they don´t care about our problems. You have to sign or you get no job. And it is our if you can´t fullfill it. They just care about money, if they can get some from you, they will do.
There is another issue for copmanies: A LOT more admin work ! you have to care about each license, software, plugin and always care about the date you need a new one. This is just easy if you A: keep all subscription all the time automatic (what Autodesk want, for sure) AND iy you are connected to the internet with your production network. There are studios out there which force you to remove ALL production network cables from the internet ! in this case the admin have to copy and install all the temp license everytime the old runs out, this will be a full time job in the future for each packet.
For us this is a deal breaker and we will stop buying this kind of software.
As long as you can stay with your CS6 and get the job done it is great.
I am not a lawyer and yes – I did not have any contract with a ‘big’ studio. So, rental software does not work for you.
But as Igor wrote (see down below)…
“I don’t see any 3d software or plugin in 2018 which does not run as rental with an limited perpetual option, as sad it sounds.”
…there might come a point where you have no other option. Let´s hope that at least some software will stay with perpetual licenses.
As long as the listen to the stockowners more than the users this will look much more beneficial than perpetual license. They probably think that they will gain more Licenses by cutting down on piracy. Would like to know the benefits for the users from this move.
If the rental price for a year is less than the yearly Subscription then it would be a benefit for me, but if not then good bye Autodesk.
@Nils How exactly does this cut down on piracy? Do you suppose a rental license is harder to crack than a perpetual license?
“Customers with Maintenance Subscription on those perpetual licenses will continue to receive corresponding benefits for as long as the subscription remains active”
This is a little unclear in my opinion. Are they saying that current customers under subscription will continue to get VERSION UPGRADES, or only maintenance and updates for the current version owned?
And here’s why:
http://www.businessinsider.com/sc/investing-in-subscription-models-2015-1
-JK
One of the (many) problems with these companies going subscription is that it’s not just them doing it! So on the surface, one might justify paying Adobe a subscription fee, but next thing you know, all my supporting software wants a subscription as well. As a freelancer, I have ups and downs, I usually buy my upgrades after a nice job comes in, then cut back on the lean times. Now suddenly I have to generate revenues to cover Adobe, Autodesk, Marvelous Designer, Faceshift, the list goes on. That ends up being a substantial amount of outlay every single month. This is certainly not a freelancer-friendly sales model.
it is not a studio friendly sales model , too !!! It is just good for software companies !!! They earn much more and bind the customers as close as possible, let them no freedom at all !
Way more admin work, way more Accounting and producing work !!
Don´t get me wrong: The model to rent software if you need more for a peak time is great !!
BUT NOT TO STOLP THE PERMANENT LICENSE MODEL , ADD +++ THE RENTING MODEL TO THE EXISTING ONE AND OFFER 2 !!!!!!! THAT IS THE ONLY CUSTOMER FRIENDLY WAY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I’ll hold the temptation to right out scorch you AD and wait for your price list.
I think it all come down to price. If Autodesk don’t over price it then they should keep their existing customers and will get a lot more new ones as well.
Price and flexibility would make or break this. Its great if you can pick up the leave when ever you want.
There are advantages to this as well. Starting shops/people don’t have to cough up about 4500,- euros just to get starting. And not sure about this but if they drop the sub model complete and go all rent they can be more open about future developments?
And yes if you stop paying you can’t use it anymore.. but realistically, depending on where you live/work the subscription money can be earned in less then a day, up to maybe a few days, of work. So that’s still a reasonable and safely doable investment if you ask me.
Yes, it can be beneficial for some. So why not give that as an option instead of the only option?
Exactly, that is the Main point !!!!!!
I would debate this from another point of view. A lot of startups apply for support from gov or various other entities (we have allocated EU funds). Now instead of getting all of these softwares needed to operate efficiently for many years to come ( until you can afford to update and/or expand), all of it becomes trash the next year with expiration. Swim or sink or gun to your head mentality. For business it is forcing increased spending and causes more risk in a very volatile and competitive market. So I agree that there are BENEFITS to rental but there are also strong DRAWBACKS – this is precisely why you need MULTIPLE licensing models. Make no mistake about it, ADSK is not interested in creating wonderful, feature rich updates that will make whole world want to use the products. No, they have market monopoly and they can do what they want. Essentially they are interested in keeping development costs minimal (just like Adobe CC) and skinning their users for every penny they got. Forget about it.
Have you read this:
“Q4. Will perpetual licenses for Autodesk Design & Creation Suites still be available for purchase after February 1, 2016?
New perpetual licenses for Autodesk Design & Creation Suites and other suite offerings will continue to be offered beyond February 1, 2016. Any transition to a subscription-only based offering for Suites after that time will be communicated well in advance.”
So the suites will continue to be perpetual, only the individual products will be rental only, right?
Yes. At the least you can buy the Max or Maya suite. I guess it’s still better than nothing?
If you think that will last any longer than the last time they said they’d no plans for a forced rental, I’ve a bridge in London to sell you.
Plugins and scripts keep Max alive,I think from now some of them or most of them will gone!
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Actually this is the answer of why that model is much better for product development.
IMHO if suites are still going to be sold as perpetual license if someone wants it, then I’m ok with that, there will still be a way to acquire a perpetual license, the big problem comes when there is absolutely no way to acquire a perpetual license.
Having the suites as a perpetual option is something good, and the problem becomes less problematic, and you know, if you have red me before, that I’m completely against the rent-only model.
The rent-only model is a bad one for customers no matter how you look at it…
Franco I disagree, i won’t be acquiring a plugin for a rented software, and I won’t be renting any plugin, that is for sure, and I think a lot of people thing the same, so I don’t think this is a good model for plugin development…
And this is the Catch22. I have a leased Photoshop and AfterEffects (no other way), and i have purchased Element3D and OpticalLens Plugins. I need them both. Without it I can not do my job (this is just a statement, of course i could search for the solution, but just imagine i don’t have time or alternatives for that money, which is in this case almost true).
So what now? Just stop all productions and close my company because I am radically against rental (or perpetual) plugins?
I think this rental wave will hit soon much more products. I don’t see any 3d software or plugin in 2018 which does not run as rental with an limited perpetual option, as sad it sounds.
Ok, Blender. 🙂
** I think this rental wave will hit soon much more products. **
That is what I was thinking when Adobe introduced Creative Cloud. There might come a point where you do not have other options than going with rental software/plugins – open source stuff aside.
Since the upgrades were mostly underwhelming anyway, it’s maybe good to give us freelancers some time to some money (by not subscribing) and invest in new software in the future. I’m still on After Effects CS5 for the same reason and I don’t miss the CC functions so far…
your alternate options might narrow somewhat if/when autodesk purchase “the foundry” in the summer.
I feel that this rental model will be the death of the amazing free plugin/script community out there. One of the reasons that Max is such a powerful tool.
From what I think I remember I read in an early article about perpetual/rental licenses from Autodesk (cant remember where I read it), they said they wanted everyone to be on the same version of Max because it made it easier to upgrade and support. More like how Houdini keeps updating their software.
But doesnt this mean that everyone who makes plugins or scripts have to adjust their software continually?
That may depend on whats changed. I’ve read that Cinema 4D can run plugins made in the R12 version.
It does mean that developers (like my self) have to update the projects more often.
This can cause issues, especially when for example the SDK is out of sync with the version of visual studio it supports and the project you work on.
Like for example – I develop http://bullet4max.com with VS2012,
if let’s say the next SDK is VS2013 only, then I have a problem if Bullet c++ library is not compiled with the same compiler (2013).
I often see houdini devs complaining about this with Houdini, because they have to compile it for each exact version of the SDK that matches houdini, frequent releases = frequent compilation and updates and so on.
And I forgot to say:
Maxscripts are version independent, so for those it does not matter.
And .Net-Plugins would be version independant too, i guess?
You mean after you find a way to work around the things that are for some reason broken in each new release.