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   Here is what I am on about:
A few years ago I bought a licence in perpetuity 
(it says so in the contract document) of the then SDRC I-DEAS. I then used 
it for a few years, paying for the maintenance and updates, the maintenance 
being getting help with the numerous bugs the software had, really. Over the 
years I paid them a fair amount of money and then I reduced the use of the 
software considerably and decided not to renew the maintenance and updates 
payments. Since then, I have had to change the hardware a couple of times and, 
when I do that, I have to ask the present owner of I-DEAS for a new password to 
make the licence work. They will not issue a permanent password, to protect 
their interest.

The first time I had to change the hardware, the 
then owner of I-DEAS, EDS, charged me some Ł250 ($387) just for an operator to 
enter my new lmhost id in a programme and issue a new password. I thought it was 
excessive then but I decided to bite the bullet as I had already promised an old 
client to modify an old job.

A few weeks ago, someone asked me to do work with 
I-DEAS again and I had to change the hardware again. This time it is Siemens who 
owns the software and they are trying to charge me an extortionate Ł880 ($1364) 
just to do the little job of issuing the password again. I complained and they 
fobbed me off. I spoke to a software re-seller and he confessed that Siemens do 
not like people who don't continue to pay for the annual maintenance and they 
catch them when they need help with something like this. Siemens's argument is 
that I have not been paying the maintenance and update fees every year. My 
argument is that I have had no technical support, maintenance or updates during 
the time I have not paid the maintenance fee, so it's not like I have been 
getting a free ride.

I cannot see anywhere in the original contract that 
I commit myself to pay the yearly maintenance fee in perpetuity. This is not 
leased software, it is purchased outright and I believe they should not be able 
to prevent me from using it with a charge that amounts to extortion. I further 
think that they should give me a password that works on any machine if they do 
not want me to bother them with a new password when I change the 
hardware.

What I believe is that Siemens are trying to 
terminate the use of my licence outright by giving me an unreasonable charge to 
let me have a password because I will not pay for all the maintenance years I 
have not paid just to get the software working again. They keep putting me 
through to sales people to try and convince to pay for expensive software (NX, 
Solidedge).

What particularly annoys me is that Siemens must 
know that I-DEAS (and its successor) is being beaten out of the market by the 
likes of Solidworks and they are trying to make me pay a high price for a 
software package that is just about to become obsolete. One of the reasons I 
started to phase out I-DEAS is because I started having trouble finding work, 
using this package, when most people are using Solidworks, Inventor, still 
Proengineer, etc.

Have I got a (legal) argument here?

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fredmila Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 23.Nov.2010 Location: United Kingdom Using: I-deas Status: Offline Points: 4	Topic: trouble getting software company to renew licence Posted: 23.Nov.2010 at 13:34
	Here is what I am on about: A few years ago I bought a licence in perpetuity (it says so in the contract document) of the then SDRC I-DEAS. I then used it for a few years, paying for the maintenance and updates, the maintenance being getting help with the numerous bugs the software had, really. Over the years I paid them a fair amount of money and then I reduced the use of the software considerably and decided not to renew the maintenance and updates payments. Since then, I have had to change the hardware a couple of times and, when I do that, I have to ask the present owner of I-DEAS for a new password to make the licence work. They will not issue a permanent password, to protect their interest. The first time I had to change the hardware, the then owner of I-DEAS, EDS, charged me some Ł250 ($387) just for an operator to enter my new lmhost id in a programme and issue a new password. I thought it was excessive then but I decided to bite the bullet as I had already promised an old client to modify an old job. A few weeks ago, someone asked me to do work with I-DEAS again and I had to change the hardware again. This time it is Siemens who owns the software and they are trying to charge me an extortionate Ł880 ($1364) just to do the little job of issuing the password again. I complained and they fobbed me off. I spoke to a software re-seller and he confessed that Siemens do not like people who don't continue to pay for the annual maintenance and they catch them when they need help with something like this. Siemens's argument is that I have not been paying the maintenance and update fees every year. My argument is that I have had no technical support, maintenance or updates during the time I have not paid the maintenance fee, so it's not like I have been getting a free ride. I cannot see anywhere in the original contract that I commit myself to pay the yearly maintenance fee in perpetuity. This is not leased software, it is purchased outright and I believe they should not be able to prevent me from using it with a charge that amounts to extortion. I further think that they should give me a password that works on any machine if they do not want me to bother them with a new password when I change the hardware. What I believe is that Siemens are trying to terminate the use of my licence outright by giving me an unreasonable charge to let me have a password because I will not pay for all the maintenance years I have not paid just to get the software working again. They keep putting me through to sales people to try and convince to pay for expensive software (NX, Solidedge). What particularly annoys me is that Siemens must know that I-DEAS (and its successor) is being beaten out of the market by the likes of Solidworks and they are trying to make me pay a high price for a software package that is just about to become obsolete. One of the reasons I started to phase out I-DEAS is because I started having trouble finding work, using this package, when most people are using Solidworks, Inventor, still Proengineer, etc. Have I got a (legal) argument here?

Cad64 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Visit Members Homepage Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 17.Apr.2010 Location: United States Using: Autocad 2011, 3DS Max 2011, Photoshop CS5 Status: Offline Points: 491	Posted: 23.Nov.2010 at 17:56
	I am not a lawyer, so this is not legal advice. It's just my own personal opinion based on years of dealing with various software companies. Honestly, the software companies can do whatever they want. I'm sure they have a clause in the license agreement stating that they reserve the right to change the terms of the agreement at any time, or something along those lines. Also, just because you haven't used the maintenance, doesn't mean you don't have to pay for it. You have car insurance, right? Or any other type of insurance, be it homeowner, medical or whatever. You pay a yearly fee for that, whether you use it or not. You don't just pay for it when you need it. If you stop making payments, then you are no longer covered. You also stated that the software was taken over by Siemens? Whatever agreement you had with I-DEAS can either be acknowledged by Siemens or they can choose to change the terms to whatever they want. It's their software now. Bottom line, if you don't like it, switch to a different program. But just be aware that all software companies have their own set of hoops that they make you jump through. Some are just more restrictive than others.
	Online Portfolio: http://www.rdeweese.com/

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