Software Licensing

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Software Licensing

Hi, I need help to understand off-the-shelf software licensing. Suppose 4
years back you bought X software which happens to be an authoring tool.
You checked the licensing agreement and created X++ software using X
software.


Today, the software company has decided to change their licensing
agreement. All of a sudden you find that your investment of software,
hardware, time and aspirations all vanish overnight so to speak because
they have made your X++ software illegal.


Question: Can a software company selling a off-the-shelf development tool
change its licensing agreement so drastically? If Microsoft and Borland
were to announce that they have both decided to change their licensing
agreement so that the EXE and DLL you created with C/C++ will require you
to pay them a royalty fee if you want to distribute them; will you
accept? Is this kind of action legally enforceable.


Thank you for your reply. Please do not send your reply via private
e-mail. The software X in question is Asymetrix ToolBook. However, they
have an exception which is Express Author from IAT. Asymetrix claimed
that Express Author is legal because IAT is their business partner cum
authorized training centre. Can Asymetrix use this excuse to decide
whether a software is legal while another is illegal. Asymetrix's general
counsel is Steven Esau <stevene@asymetrix.com>.