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Q. My application is only used internally. I do not distribute the application commercially. Am I exempt from paying deployment licenses?
A. No, you are not exempt. Deployment licenses are required for each deployment of the End User Software whether the copies are used internally or are distributed commercially.
Q. How long do deployment licenses last?
A. It depends on if you are deploying End User Software internally, hosting services for public consumption, or commercially deploying end user software as an ISV/OEM.
If you are deploying End User Software internally or are hosting software internally for consumption/use by third parties, the deployment license is annual and must be renewed each year as long as you are using it.
If you are deploying End User Software commercially for installation at customer sites, the deployment licenses are perpetual and do not need to be renewed or maintained to remain in effect.
Q. How do upgrades work? Do I have to upgrade my deployment licenses?
A. For internal deployments and hosted services, the deployment license fee includes maintenance. Consequently, you are licensed to deploy major new versions of LEADTOOLS to your validly licensed deployments for as long as you continue renewing the licenses.
For commercial deployments, a customer deploying a new version of LEADTOOLS (e.g., 21, 22) to its install base requires upgrading the deployment licenses. Upgraded deployment licenses are priced at 40% of the published deployment price for the new version. Any unused prepaid deployment licenses can be carried forward to the new version.
LEAD offers an annual maintenance program for deployment licenses, allowing you to deploy major new versions during the maintenance period. If a customer does not wish to deploy new versions to a deployment, then the customer is not required to upgrade the deployment license. Minor version updates can be deployed free of charge to any seats that have already been licensed.
Q. I want to have a demo or evaluation version of my application. Do I have to pay deployment licenses for these?
A. Provided the demo software expires within 30 days and is offered free of charge to prospects of an application the customer is charging the customer for, then LEAD will provide permission for royalty free evaluation/demo software. If a customer simply has a free version of software that does not expire, deployment licenses are required.
Q. Do you require deployment licenses for internal testing, QA, beta testers, etc.?
A. Yes, a deployment license is required for any computer on which the End User Software is installed. LEAD does permit you to re-use deployment licenses that are used for internal testing, beta testing, etc. For example, if you purchase 50 deployment licenses, and have 25 testers to whom the application was deployed temporarily for QA purposes, the 25 deployment licenses issued to the testers can be reused along with the remaining prepaid unused licenses for commercial/production deployments. If you need to have permanent deployments for testing, build, or technical support, LEAD will offer these licenses at a substantial discount.
Q. Do you require deployment licenses for sales agents who use the application software for demonstration purposes?
A. No, as long as our customer has purchased at least an equal number of deployment licenses as licenses issued to sales agents. For example, if you have 10 sales agents to whom you have deployed the application software, you are not required to purchase a separate license for the sales agents (provided you have purchased at least 10 deployment licenses to be used for commercial deployments).
Q. How are licenses delivered? Does your software use dongles?
A. Dongles are not required. The licensing is contract-based.
Customers deploying software commercially are required to provide LEAD with a quarterly accounting of deployments. Customers will receive unique Release License Files upon completing the required license documentation and purchasing the required deployment license. The Release License File is distributed with each copy of the end user software that is deployed.
Customers deploying software internally or as hosted services are required to report usage on an annual basis. The license deliverables depend on the type of deployment, as follows:
Internal deployment licenses are evidenced by an invoice/statement which is delivered to you along with the Release License File.
Deployment to a server requires a special type of Release License File/unlock code and requires activation by each server machine.
Customers deploying LEAD’s HTML5/JavaScript components are required to obtain a unique domain-specific license file for each domain that hosts the webserver(s) to which the components are deployed. Domain-specific license files can be obtained from LEAD’s license department. If you are an ISV selling an HTML5 solution to customers, you will need to obtain a license file for each customer domain.
Q. I am only using a small subset of features. Do I have to pay the full deployment license?
A. Every customer is only using a small subset of features. Feature usage alone is not typically a basis for deployment license fee reduction. Nevertheless, contact LEAD if the licensing model is not working for you.
Q. How do I license software installed on a server?
A. If software is installed on a server, a server deployment license is required. The cost of the server license depends on a number of factors, including the number of machines connected, whether the server is for internal or commercial use, the number of server CPU(s) cores , the server architecture (single-tenant/multi-tenant) being used, whether the server is client-hosted or cloud-hosted, etc.
Q. My application is installed on a server, but only a few users are connected to the server who can log on and use the application. Can I simply purchase user desktop licenses or concurrent licenses?
A. No. A server license is required if the application is installed on a server. The number of potential users will be a factor in determining the cost of the server license.
Q. I charge my customers an annual subscription. If one of my customers does not renew their license can I assign the client license I had assigned to them to a new customer?
A. No. Typically, after a client license has been deployed it cannot be re-assigned to a new subscription customer. However, if you purchase concurrent licenses, these licenses can be re-assigned since the customers who unsubscribed are no longer using the software.
Q. We/I have a standard machine that processes batches of images that are routed to a monitored folder on the machine. The machine does not have an assigned user. Is a desktop license or a server license required?
A. A server license is required for this type of deployment. A single user license is for named users on stand-alone computers or mobile devices. Factors in the cost of the server license will include the volume of images, the number of users who can route images to the machine, whether the server is internal or commercial, and the processing power of the machine.
Q. My application is installed on a server, but will also be distributed down to client machines (such as a Click Once type of deployment). Can I simply purchase user desktop licenses?
A. If all the LEADTOOLS functionality in the application is being used on the client machines, a server license would not be required since you would be purchasing single user deployment licenses for each user. However, if some functionality is only residing on the server (OCR for example), then a server license would be required for the modules that are hosted on the server only and not distributed to the client machines.
Q. I am using the HTML5/JavaScript functionality within a LEADTOOLS SDK. What type of deployment license is needed for this?
A. Use of the LEADTOOLS HTML5/JavaScript functionality requires that a server license for the underlying LEADTOOLS SDK be purchased. For example, if you are using the HTML5/JavaScript functionality within the LEADTOOLS Document Suite, a Document Imaging Suite server license would be required for each webserver installation that uses the HTML5/JavaScript functionality. No individual client licensing is required in connection with the LEADTOOLS HTML5/JavaScript functionality. LEAD can price the server license based on the number of users connected to the webserver, however. Note that for deployments of HTML5/JavaScript functionality, a unique domain-specific license file will be required for each domain on which a webserver is hosting the HTML5/JavaScript functionality.
Q. How does a server license apply to virtual server deployments?
A. Server licensing is typically based on the number of server CPU cores that are available for use on the machines running the end user software. It does not matter whether there are multiple "virtual" instances of the application running on the same machine.
Q. My application will be hosted in the cloud on a platform like Azure. How does a server license apply to a cloud deployment?
A. The default pricing is based on the premise that a server license will be required for each physical machine running in the cloud and pricing will be based on the maximum number of cores available. If the number of processors that are available is unknown or unlimited, LEAD can base the license fee on other factors, including the number of transactions (e.g., the number of pages OCR'd), the average number of processors used during a period of time, the number of subscribers to your service, and the server architecture (single tenant/multi-tenant) being used.
Q. My application will be hosted in the cloud and we will leverage dynamic servers to handle demand. What type of deployment license do I need?
A. A special license can be negotiated by LEAD and customer, based on the factors described above. Because LEAD's licensing is contractual, LEAD will be able to provide you with a negotiated flat fee, or a variable fee based on set criteria (number of transactions, server CPU cores, etc.)
Q. How are redundancy or disaster recovery servers handled? Do I need a server license for these?
A. Yes, server licenses are required for contingency server installations. However, LEAD may provide a discount for these types of licenses depending on the number of production server licenses that have been commissioned. Please contact oemsales@leadtools.com for pricing.
Q. How are QA, build, staging and other non-production servers handled? Do I need a server license for these?
A. Yes, server licenses are required for all server installations. However, LEAD will provide a significant discount for these types of licenses, and may even waive the requirement depending on the number of production server licenses that have been commissioned. Please contact oemsales@leadtools.com for pricing.
Q. I host the software on servers and provide a service to customers. How is this handled from a licensing stand-point? Is this internal or commercial?
A. This type of deployment is Hosted Services, frequently referred to as Software As A Service (SaaS). The pricing of the annual server license can be based on the revenue that is generated on the service, the number of subscribers, the number of server CPU cores , the architecture of the server software and other factors. LEAD will come up with a model that fits how you are monetizing the service.
For more information, refer to:
Deployment License Application