Interesting: Mac App Store makes licenses for many programs more generous

[hyphz]

I didn't find a great deal of stuff on the App Store that I was interested in, but I _was_ interested to see that Apple are advertising that any App on the App Store can be redownloaded as often as you like and installed on as many Macs as you like.

That means that the licenses for some programs, such as Omnifocus and Delicious Library 2, have effectively become much more permissive as a result of being posted to the App Store. Both these programs have activation DRM in their non-app-store versions which allows them to run on only one machine at a time. Presumably the App Store versions do not have this restriction. (This doesn't seem to be related to whether App Store recognises the non-app-store version as an installation or not, by the way; it recognises the DRMed Delicious Library 2 but not the DRMed OmniFocus.)

I've contacted the companies that make these programs to ask if the more permissive license terms will be available to buyers who purchased by means other than the App Store. I think other people from this forum should, too, if you have Apps in that class. If this can finally bring an end to Family Packs, which are a Mac-only thing that I've actually seen put people off using Macs, then it can only be good.

 

[Consultant]

Do you think companies didn't read all the legal info, including the licensing information, and figured that the Mac App Store works for them?

Of course they checked out the licensing info.

 

[hyphz]

Do you think companies didn't read all the legal info, including the licensing information, and figured that the Mac App Store works for them?

Of course they checked out the licensing info.

I'm sure they did. But existing customers should get a bite of the cherry too. Why should I have to buy a new copy of OmniFocus if I get a new Mac, when someone who buys through the App Store and pays the same price I paid (but pays LESS of it to Omni) could use it on as many machines as they wanted?

 

[HBOC]

I understand what you are saying, and that is quite surprising. I only have one Mac, so I cannot test that this is "an unlimited download" type of deal.

Perhaps Apples' take is less than what they charge devs on the regular App store?