Software Licensing

Provides software for Cub Scout Pinewood Derby, Awana Grand Prix, Space Derby, Raingutter Regatta or other similar races. Providing high quality software solutions that will help with planning and conducting your races.

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gpraceman
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Software Licensing

Post by gpraceman »

We've had questions come up with a few customers recently regarding our software licensing, particularly for GrandPrix Race Manager, but it does pertain to the other software that we have created. One customer was a bit upset about it, so I felt the need to explain the licensing and answer any questions that people may have.

Here's some Q&A, that will hopefully be of help.
  • Can two or more groups (Cub Scout packs, Awana clubs, etc.) share the software media (or the software on any other form of file storage) to install to their own computers? Our answer is No. If licensed to one group, it can only be used in races run by that group's representatives and only installed to computers belonging to the licensed group or its representatives.
  • Can two or more groups share the same computer, with the software installed, for running their own individual races? Our answer is No, since it is not the representatives of the licensed organization running these other races.
  • Can one group run races for other groups, using the software? Our answer is Yes, as long as the software is licensed to that group running the races.
  • Can one person run races for other groups, using the software? Our answer is Yes, as long as the software is licensed to that person.
  • Can the software be loaned/rented to another group or individual? Our answer is No. The software cannot be lent/rented out in any form. This includes loaning/renting out of the computer that the software is installed to or giving out the software license key (serial number). Only the licensed individual or organization is allowed use of the software.
  • Can the software be installed to multiple computers? Our answer is that it can be installed to no more than two computers at a time, for the person or group that it is licensed to.
  • Does the software need to be bought all over again after it has been installed to two computers? That is a common misconception. It is not the total times that the software has been installed that is restricted by the licensing agreement. It is the number of computers that the software is installed to at any given time. We realize that many organizations running these races have turnover in race coordinators and that different computers can be used each year, so we do not restrict the number of lifetime installs. If the software is no longer to be used on a computer, just uninstall it, so it can be installed to a different computer when needed. Note, we consider a hard drive crash to be the same as an uninstall.
  • Can a group run the software with multiple tracks? As long as the software is not installed to more than two computers, then yes. If more than two computers are needed, then an extra license(s) will need to be purchased.
  • After we upgrade, can we give our old version to someone else? Our answer is No. When upgrading, you are still on the original software license. All that has changed is the version that you are currently using. To give away an older version would be essentially sharing the software license, which is prohibited.
Most of the issues have been when a customer wants to treat the software as a piece of shared property between groups trying to pool their resources (a couple of recent examples are three LDS wards sharing one laptop and four Cub Scout packs chartered by the same church). With tangible property, sharing is a reasonable way to reduce the cost to all. However, "intellectual property", like software is different. It's use is governed by the software license (the agreement that most people don't read when installing software).

When organizations are involved, the licensing allows for use of the software by representatives of that organization only. In the case of the four packs, they may have one chartering organization, but it was representatives of the pack that were using the software, not representatives of the chartering organization, so it is not allowed by the licensing agreement.

If you want to read the license yourself, you can do so during installation, or look in the program's main directory for the License.txt file.

We have tried to be flexible in how the software can be used, like with installing on up to two computers at a time. However, we have literally put thousands of hours into our software and do feel that the licensing terms are reasonable and will provide us with the appropriate compensation for our intellectual property. We do also feel that our software is very inexpensive, especially compared to the investment needed for a track and timer, and provides a bigger bang for the buck when compared to competing software.
Randy Lisano
Romans 5:8

Awana Grand Prix and Pinewood Derby racing - Where a child, an adult and a small block of wood combine for a lot of fun and memories.
Glengary
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Re: Software Licensing

Post by Glengary »

Mr. Lisano,

My apologies if you covered this question in the above as perhaps I didn't fully understand if you did:

I have GPRM loaded on my laptop as I volunteered to be in charge of that aspect of the race in my pack. And the cubmaster of our pack has it loaded on his laptop as backup. What happens when we have to hand this software over to 2 new people in charge of this when we move on in a couple of years? Does your software licensing recognize that it's already loaded on users "A & B" (2 user limit), thus not allowing the serial numbers to work on users "C & D" even though A&B are not using the software anymore, or can uninstall if required? Or is your licensing similiar to Adobe's, looking out for serial numbers when connected to the internet?

I'll post my compliments to your software in a more appropriate thread :). I may also have some questions as I have to run through some mock races to get the hang of it before 3/7.

Thanks in advance!
Ken
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Re: Software Licensing

Post by gpraceman »

If no longer using it on a computer, just uninstall it, so at any given time you don't go over the two allowed installations.
Randy Lisano
Romans 5:8

Awana Grand Prix and Pinewood Derby racing - Where a child, an adult and a small block of wood combine for a lot of fun and memories.
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