Pricing for Filepro

[Fairlight]

Simon--er, no...it was Nancy Palmquist--said:
> 
> 1 - 5 user development license
> 2 - 5 user runtime add-on licenses for and additional 10 users .
> 
> Now in my mind that means I have now purchased 15 runtime users, since 
> the development license includes 5 dev and 5 runtime licenses.

I'm assuming the 2 is "qty (2)" and not just "item 2" on the runtimes?

> Am I crazy or can someone provide a good explanation that I can give a 
> customer as to why they did not just buy 15 runtime users.

Looks like 15 to me.

> I was told the 5 runtime users that come with the development system are 
> complimentary and will not add to the other runtime licenses. 

Where are the five runtime users that come with development?  I just
checked at https://www.fptech.com/Products/pricing.shtml and don't see a
mention of 5 runtime users with the devkit.  I can't find documentation of
five runtime users with the dev system, complimentary or otherwise.

I -think- (and tell me if I'm wrong) that you're going by "total seats",
period.  In which case, five users on dev plus ten users on runtime should
be fifteen seats total.

Sounds to me like, in their Infinite Wisdom[tm] (*coughsputter*), they made
the license manager differentiate between use of d[clerk|report] and
r[clerk|report], rather than just have the programs count users.

> So If I have a 5 user development system and add a 5 user runtime 
> license - I am exactly in the same place.  The 5 user runtime just 
> replaces the 5 user complimentary runtime that comes with the 
> development system.

Users are not "complimentary", IMNSHO.  They're either licensed to use the
product, or they are not.  I'm not even sure it's legal to say something
grants 'x' users, and then disregard that and require the purchase of more
to get to the same place.  Sounds like it'd fall under something like a
bait & switch law to me, but IANAL.

But it seems like the only way 5 + 10 == 10 is if you disregard the
original license.  Which means that the license agreement should either
really clearly present this as a possibility, or the company selling the
license would be in breach of contract for not honouring the license they
sold.  That's my take on it.  Basically, if you did nothing to invalidate
your license agreement, you should have those seats.  If you purchase the
license and don't violate the terms, being stripped of those seats without
prior notice seems to amount to...well, it sounds like fraud.  You're
paying for something you're not actually getting, or that is being revoked
illegitimately.  Again, just my take on it...IANAL...

...But I'd damned well consult one to find out if what they're doing is
even legal.

> HELP - my brain can not figure this out in any reasonable way.

You're expecting them to be logical.  You've been around the product and
company longer than I have--I'd think you'd have learned by now that
expecting sane logic from them is an exercise in futility.

Take some Advil, put down the scary license logic, and slowly back away.
The headache will subside.

mark->
-- 
Audio panton, cogito singularis,