What to do with V-4?

ricklaut wrote on 4/19/2004, 9:32 PM

I have Vegas 4 and just bought Vegas 5 / DVDA 2. I've got a friend that would die to have Vegas 4, but can't afford to buy it at full pop. Once I'm sure that Vegas 5 is working smooth, can I transfer my Vegas 4 software / license to him? If so, do I need to notify Sony (like through the "Update User" option in Help)?

I've looked through the help docs, but either it's late (it is) or I'm missing it (could happen!).

Rick

Comments

MRe wrote on 4/19/2004, 10:01 PM

This is something Sony should answer but to my understanding if you upgraded your V4 to V5+DVDA, then your license has been already "used". I.e. you cannot legally sell it.

If you bought a brand new V5+DVDA w/o upgrading, then you can (at least here in Finland) sell your V4 copy.

busterkeaton wrote on 4/20/2004, 4:40 AM

Yes, if you upgraded from Vegas 4 to Vegas 5 then your Vegas 5 license is the same as your Vegas 4 license. That is, you only have one license and you do not have any licenses to transfer.

If you bought Vegas 5 at full retail price, then you have two Vegas licenses and you can transfer the Vegas 4 license to your friend and you would be downgraded to one license of Vegas.

ricklaut wrote on 4/20/2004, 5:52 AM

Bump.... (hoping somone from Sony will chime in and say it isn't so.... :( )! Can anyone point me to something in the EULA or support docs that spells this out?

Good points though - I hadn't thought of it that way. I was thinking that the special pricing afforded to V4 owners was more of a "loyalry reward" and that both pieces of software were still independent of each other.

Rick

SonySCS wrote on 4/20/2004, 8:25 AM

I'm not sure exactly what it is you want to do but selling/gifting V4 to another person is perfectly legal. I thnk this is basically the Assignment of license part of the EULA.

You need to get in touch with Sony (e-mail is fine) saying "J. Doh, bought Vegas 4 (give as much info as you can, your SN--vip--, e-mail, name anything that may help Sony) " Sony will cancel your serial number and issue J. (as much info as possible) a new one.
I'm not 100% sure of the steps, J. may need to get in touch with Sony--e-mail CS and find out. You definitely need to stop using the software, delete all copies, give him any originals that you may have, and have your SN cancelled and a new one created for him/her.

I hope this helps,

Suzan

jetdv wrote on 4/20/2004, 8:28 AM

I'm not sure exactly what it is you want to do but selling/gifting V4 to another person is perfectly legal. I thnk this is basically the Assignment of license part of the EULA.

Even if that SN was used to UPGRADE?????

That doesn't sound right.

JohnnyRoy wrote on 4/20/2004, 9:09 AM

Susan, I recently bought ACID Pro 4.0 on eBay. The seller sent me the original CD’s and original manual with the serial number in it. Are you saying that I should contact Sony, tell them who the owner was (I have his name, email, and the state he lives in (I might not have kept the full return address on the package he sent)) and have them issue me a new Serial Number? I already installed it with the old SN but I guess I could re-install.

~jr

TheHappyFriar wrote on 4/20/2004, 9:19 AM

Last year when I got V4 I remember specificaly reading that you CAN NOT sell off the software tha twas upgraded. It's all considered 1 piece of software. You can sell the origional software & the upgrade together, but can't sell off peices.

ricklaut wrote on 4/20/2004, 9:23 AM

Susan - It does help - thanks! I also have an e-mail in to customer support. As you see in this thread, there is still room to clarify the assignment of license of prior purchased versions. Perhaps spelling it out in the knowledge base would help.

I will notify Sony and will stop using V4 and delete / uninstall if I give that copy to my friend. In any event, I'm going to wait and see what the response is from customer service.

Rick

randy-stewart wrote on 4/20/2004, 9:43 AM

All,
I've done what Susan has indicated. Last year I gave (could of sold it) my copy of Video Factory to a cousin. To transfer the software to him, I contacted customer service and gave them all of the info (my SN, his name, address, e-mail, phone, etc.). The same day they sent him a new serial number and canceled my old one. He registered it the following day and I think has now upgraded to Vegas using that license. No problem.
Randy

jetdv wrote on 4/20/2004, 10:21 AM

Randy, out of curiosity: Did YOU upgrade from that Video Factory serial number?

Chienworks wrote on 4/20/2004, 11:24 AM

Edward, as far as i know, and i'm not a lawyer, there are no laws specifically governing the transfer of software licenses regarding upgrades. Perhaps there should be, but there aren't. This means that the software publisher may set their own rules for the licenses as long as they don't violate any laws. After all, the licenses really do belong to the software publisher and we just rent their (usually indefinate) use.

I agree that a software publisher would probably be within their rights to declare a license invalid after using it for an upgrade. They are not required to by law, nor are they required to keep the license active and valid. It's up to them to decide.

In this case, Suzan certainly seems to indicate that SONY is willing to grant full active status to both the old license and the upgrade license. Presumably she has the right to speak on SONY's behalf. It's their call.

ricklaut wrote on 4/21/2004, 6:05 PM

Bump... I haven't heard back from customer service yet.. Any other guidance (Sony?). Seems that the forum members are divided and I want to ensure that Susan understood that I have used the V4 SN to upgrade to V5.

Rick

BrianStanding wrote on 4/22/2004, 11:14 AM

I'm curious about the answer, too. I know I cannot use V5 simultaneously on more than 2 machines at once (i.e., render in one copy on 1 machine, edit on another copy on another machine).

Can I use my old copy of V4 (used to qualify for V5 upgrade) on one machine simultaneously with my new V5 on another machine?

Could I sell and reassign my old V4 serial number, if I used that to upgrade to V5?

SonySCS wrote on 4/22/2004, 1:40 PM

Ricklaut, You're right: I didn't realize that you'd used the SN for upgrading 4 to 5. I have absolutely no idea what to do in that case. Give CS a call: 1-800-577-6642.

JohnnyRoy: my main concern here is that one day you'll need help (need more activations, lost SN, &c) and you'll have a hard time convincing CS that you own the software. Again, I'd check with CS to find the exact steps needed.

That's about all I know--sorry it's not more,

Suzan

dvdfool wrote on 4/22/2004, 2:10 PM

Looks like there's an oversight in the EULA. Typically, most software companies disbar simultaneous use of older copies after you upgrade them. There's no mention of that in the Vegas EULA, though.

Although, the old WordPerfect company allowed donating old licenses to schools and non-profits after you upgraded. It was a great way of promoting their product. Big Hint :)

Chienworks wrote on 4/22/2004, 2:19 PM

dvdfool: that is a most excellent idea! Of course, it's still up to SONY to pass down their official ruling, but if i could vote for an idea i'd go for that one.

BrianStanding wrote on 4/22/2004, 2:22 PM

I just called Sony Customer Support. The tech there told me, without hesitation, " there is no problem whatsoever" with using Vegas 4 on one machine and using Vegas 5 on another machine simultaneously, even if I used my V4 license to qualify for the upgrade price.

Furthermore, he told me that I could sell my V4 license to someone else. However, the new owner would NOT qualify for the upgrade to V5, since the upgrade had already been "used up."

Wow. Pretty generous, I must say, on Sony's part. Thanks.

dvdfool wrote on 4/22/2004, 3:03 PM

Well -- the best of both worlds. You can keep it yourself to use on a second machine for a simultaneous render, or you can give it to your favorite non-profit, friend or relative.

Yet another reason to love Vegas.

ricklaut wrote on 4/22/2004, 7:13 PM

That is great news and I concur that Sony is quite generous with the license! Wow!

Rick

Summersond wrote on 4/23/2004, 10:19 AM

I donated my old Vegas 3 to the school and will probably do the same thing with V4 when I get comfortable with V5. Good local PR and since they are a school, there is no budget to purchase software.

dave