Autodesk Licensing Compliance

Common Compliance Issues:

Licenses with Invalid Serial Numbers – aka Counterfeit or Pirated licenses

Licenses with invalid serial numbers are products that Autodesk has never created for sale. These serial numbers were never issued by Autodesk and are not considered legitimate, genuine instances of the software. Some of the common ways these licenses enter organizations are through improper download from the internet, inadvertent purchases from counterfeiters, or use of “cracks” of “key generators” on legitimate Autodesk media. In most cases, because these installations are not valid licenses, a replacement purchase of legitimate software is required.

Over Installed Licenses – i.e. single seat SA installed on 5 machines.

Autodesk software licenses, whether stand-alone or network, are created and sold for a specific number of concurrent users. Over installation exists when the specific license is installed on different computers beyond the number of instances allowed by the applicable Autodesk Software License Agreement. Over installed conditions can occur simply by installing a license multiple times on different computers or, in the case of network licenses, by having the network license file served out concurrently on multiple servers thus increasing the allowed license count. Since the number of software licenses available is improperly increased by over installation, an acceptable compliance resolution is the purchase of additional licenses to compensate for the over installation.

Use of Previously Upgraded or Cross Graded Licenses

Autodesk allows customers to upgrade certain software licenses to current versions as well as cross grade their software to more highly functional versions. In these cases, the old license is “traded in” for a newer or more functional version. Usage of the old license must cease and the old license must be uninstalled per the guidelines in the applicable Autodesk Software License Agreement. Installation beyond the timelines set forth in the applicable Software License Agreement is not permitted. License compliance problems can arise after an upgrade and cross-grade transactions if software assets are not managed to the terms of the Software License Agreement. In this scenario, computers with previously upgraded or cross-graded licenses continue to exist in customer environments and allow for more than the permitted amount of licenses to be available for use. Since more than the entitled amounts of software licenses are available for use, compliance resolution for this condition is a purchase of like licenses to alleviate the over installation.

Use of Licenses Registered to Another Company or Organization

Autodesk’s software licenses are not transferable without the consent of Autodesk. That means that Autodesk software licenses may not be used in a company or organization that were purchased by and registered to another company. However, there are certain exceptions in the event of corporate activities, such as a merger, acquisition or divestiture, among others. Autodesk’s consent to a transfer of the license under these circumstances is required, and other conditions may apply. In the event that licenses are found in the audit that was purchased by and registered to another entity, further information must be provided to Autodesk to determine if a transfer of the license is applicable. If a transfer of license does not apply, the license must be replaced with the purchase of a similar license.

Use of Licenses Outside of Territory of Purchase

Autodesk licenses are granted for use in the country in which they were acquired. Licenses used outside of the country of purchase are noncompliant. This compliance condition exists when licenses are transferred to different out–of-country sites or served via network to other countries. The compliance condition can potentially be cured through the purchase of additional licenses in the required country, following the proper country-to-country transfer policy as set forth by Autodesk or entering into a Global Network Usage License agreement with Autodesk

Improper Deployment of Network or Stand Alone Licenses

Autodesk licenses its software in either network or stand-alone forms. Standalone licenses that are served over networks are noncompliant. Conversely, network licenses can be incorrectly installed and noncompliant. For example, network licenses installed as a standalone license in addition to the network license file on a server will effectively grow the pool of licenses available beyond the authorization of the network license file. Acceptable resolution is the purchase of additional licenses to match the noncompliant deployment.

Use of Evaluation Software Beyond Software License Agreement Terms

Under certain circumstances, Autodesk provides evaluation copies of its software for customers in the form of “not for sale” (NFS) or “not for resale” (NFR). The terms of these licenses prohibit commercial, for profit, or professional use and the software may not be installed beyond 30 days unless otherwise specified by Autodesk in writing. Installation or use of these licenses as previously described is considered noncompliant. Purchase of like licenses to replace the NFR / NFS licenses is the acceptable resolution to the issue.

On a 2010 or earlier version of Autodesk software?

On August 31^st, 2019, Autodesk will end support for versions 2010 and earlier so we recommend you upgrade to a supported version. You can continue to use your product if you already have it installed.

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