Company will Not Honor Lifetime License

[calvis]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? WA

In 1998 I purchased a piece of software from a small company in California for 3000 dollars. The reason why I made the purchase was because they offered lifetime upgrades. At the time the software was the best in its market niche and still is. The company eventually went public and now sell their software for 30,000 dollars. I called one time about 5 years ago inquiring about my lifetime license and my request was rebuked and I didn't have any written evidence of their licensing so I didn't push the issue.

Recently I found out about the Internet Archive http://www.archive.org and was able to look back in the archives and discovered the wording that caused me to purchase the product. It is stated as follows:

"The (Name of software) price is a one-time expense, and entitles you to a permanent, lifetime license including free version upgrades. There are no annual fees."

At the time I really believed in the product and looked at it as an investment. At that time we didn't have the need for such a product but I figured I could always utilize it at a later date.

With my discovery of the archived information I am now pursuing the matter once again with the company. I am sad to say they still continue not to honor the spirit of the original licensing even with my documentation.

What are my options? Do you think this has a class action possibilities? I really prefer for them to honor my licensing rights but they have no pressure to do so.

I deeply appreciate your opinions.


Regards,


-Charles

 

[calvis]

I was trying to post in Consumer Contracts, Guarantees and Warranties. Please move if that would be a better category.

 

[justalayman]

have they given you a reason they are not following the promise, at least as you understand the intent of the promise?

 

[calvis]

They have hinted at a few reasons but nothing substantial. Here is what they have told me thus far:

1) The company has changed ownership. (I assume they mean that the company went public) I counter by telling them that change of ownership does not discharge prior licensing commitments.

2) The next thing I have heard is that the product that I purchased is discontinued. I counter by saying that in the 10+ years the product has evolved tremendously but the name of the product remains the same and the core functionality is the same.

3) The newest reason I heard, which was the other day, was that I abandoned them. I told them that they abandoned me.

They keep dillying dallying around trying to find a good reason but the point in the matter there is NONE.

 

[You Are Guilty]

This is a plain vanilla breach of contract claim. You need to get your ducks in a row though. I do not know how accurate the WayBack Machine actually is, but at a minimum you'll need printouts of all their licensing information in effect as of your date of purchase. You'll also want to be very careful for any Terms or Conditions the vendor placed on the lifetime license. Oftentimes, they will require registration or other actions to keep the license valid. In any event, a "lifetime" license (or a lifetime anything) only refers to the lifetime of the company - not of the product. So if the company is not the same, you will need to show that the "new" company assumed responsibility for the "old" company's liabilities.

Once that's done, you can try negotiating with them with evidence in hand, or you can just sue them outright. Your only problem will be damages - what is the value of the software in your possession compared to the value of the software had you been able to upgrade it after all this time? If it's $27k as you seem to claim, then you are far afield of the small claims limit and in the realm where you might want to enlist an attorney's aid.

Good luck.