News

Software licensing

February 12, 2003 12 Feb'03
US plans for standard software licences receive setback

Plans to standardise software licensing agreements across the US have received a setback after a leading legal association failed...
January 16, 2003 16 Jan'03
Lindows offers educators flat-rate deal

Open-source software provider Lindows.com is offering educators a flat-fee licensing program, which will allow educators to...
October 18, 2002 18 Oct'02
Microsoft profits boosted by new licensing programme

Rapid adoption of Microsoft's controversial new Software Assurance licensing programme helped double the software maker's net...
September 05, 2002 05 Sep'02
Red Hat licensing gives no protection from Sun

Users considering investing in new Linux servers from Sun Microsystems have been warned that they may lose control of future...

September 04, 2002 04 Sep'02
Novell offers cheaper licence for Web services

Novell has announced discount licence pricing for businesses and government agencies that use Novell's software to provide Web...
August 28, 2002 28 Aug'02
Users and analysts welcome Oracle pricing guide

Oracle aims to address criticism from users over the complex nature of its licensing pricing with publication of a new guide next...
August 22, 2002 22 Aug'02
Microsoft warns of File Transfer Manager vulnerability

Microsoft has warned members of its developer network and beta and volume licensing programs about a vulnerability in some older...
August 19, 2002 19 Aug'02
Oracle answers critics with pricing guide

Oracle is to publish its definitive guide to software licensing at the end of this month to answer user concerns and criticism...
August 13, 2002 13 Aug'02
Debate over Enta price cut

A debate has erupted in the reseller channel over Enta Technologies' decision to cut its OEM licence prices.
August 05, 2002 05 Aug'02
UCITA backers offer changes to licensing law

Drafters of the controversial software licensing law, UCITA, approved a series of changes this week, including the removal of a...

July 22, 2002 22 Jul'02
Microsoft reports SharePoint sales hike

Microsoft said it sold more than two million end-user licences for its SharePoint Portal Server in June, marking a dramatic...
July 18, 2002 18 Jul'02
User group gets Oracle to explain its licensing system

Software giant Oracle is to produce a customer guide to explain the complexities of its licensing system.
July 17, 2002 17 Jul'02
MPEG-4 licence issues resolved

The dispute concerning the licensing for the MPEG-4 digital compression standard seems to be over with new licensing terms...
July 15, 2002 15 Jul'02
Norwegian government drops Microsoft software licence

The Norwegian government will not renew its two-year software licensing deal with Microsoft, in a bid to encourage other software...
June 25, 2002 25 Jun'02
OracleWorld: Users promised new clarity on pricing

Oracle will release a pricing guide later this summer to clear up confusion among users about its licensing policies.
June 20, 2002 20 Jun'02
UK businesses are not moving to Windows XP

Despite pressure from Microsoft to move users to the latest version of its operating system before its new licensing terms are...
June 05, 2002 05 Jun'02
Microsoft warning on deadline

Microsoft's new UK licensing manager Sue Page has warned that organisations risk "missing the boat" for the software giant's new...
May 28, 2002 28 May'02
Firms take Microsoft negotiations to the wire

Many organisations yet to commit to Microsoft's new software licensing contracts will take negotiations right up to the 31 July...
May 22, 2002 22 May'02
Gartner warns Microsoft customers: Plan now

Analysts' organisation Gartner Group has once again warned Microsoft enterprise customers to review their software licensing...
May 13, 2002 13 May'02
Oracle's California deal underthreat

Database giant Oracle is facing the embarrassing collapse of an £86m licensing deal with its home state of California.
May 08, 2002 08 May'02
New HP looks to Microsoft for licence boost

The new Hewlett-Packard will try to capitalise on the generous software licensing arrangements that Compaq traditionally had with...
May 01, 2002 01 May'02
Gartner ITXPO: CA predicts subscription licensing for all

Computer Associates' chief executive officer Sanjay Kumar said that every major enterprise software vendor would have to adopt a...
April 18, 2002 18 Apr'02
SAP's profit drops by 40%

Business software maker SAP reported a 40% drop in net profit for its first quarter as licence revenue fell and losses at US...
March 20, 2002 20 Mar'02
Novell deal to save £18.5m

The Government hopes to save the NHS £18.5m over the next three years after signing a software licensing deal worth over £9m with...
March 06, 2002 06 Mar'02
Government strikes sharp software deal

The success of the Government's software licensing negotiations with three of the world's major suppliers will become apparent...
February 21, 2002 21 Feb'02
Government close to Microsoft deal

As Computer Weekly went to press, the Government was putting the final touches to its long-awaited software licensing deal with...
February 06, 2002 06 Feb'02
Microsoft licensing boss quits

The man responsible for launching Microsoft's controversial new software licensing strategy in the UK has left the company to...
February 06, 2002 06 Feb'02
ABA criticises software licensing law

A working group of the American Bar Association has issued a report critical of the controversial Uniform Computer Information...
December 18, 2001 18 Dec'01
France sets deadline for 3G licence applications

The French telecoms regulator has set out the timetable for the award of two more licences to operate third-generation (3G)...
December 12, 2001 12 Dec'01
Whitehall rejects MS £60m 'tax'

The Government aims to reject Microsoft licensing changes that could cost it an extra £60m a year.
December 03, 2001 03 Dec'01
Giga: be ready to call Microsoft's bluff

IT organisations should call Microsoft's bluff when negotiating on new licences, according to Giga Information Group analysts...
November 26, 2001 26 Nov'01
Unilever saves on licensing cost with Internet supply chain system

Unilever has deployed an online solution that will enable suppliers and partners to access its supply chain system without buying...
November 15, 2001 15 Nov'01
Microsoft awarded three-year MoD deal

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has announced a major three-year software licensing deal with Microsoft, nearly a month after the...
November 12, 2001 12 Nov'01
US firms hit out over software licensing law

Companies in the US have slammed a software licensing law that would allow vendors to electronically disable a user's system for...
October 18, 2001 18 Oct'01
French government cuts UMTS licence fees

The French government has cut the licence fee it will charge French mobile network operators to operate Universal Mobile...
October 18, 2001 18 Oct'01
Stingray to catch road tax cheats

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency is to spend £1m on computerised cameras capable of identifying road tax dodgers.
October 15, 2001 15 Oct'01
Users face Windows 2000 licence shock

Organisations currently migrating to Windows 2000 could face a nasty shock under Microsoft's new licensing regime.
October 11, 2001 11 Oct'01
Microsoft extends deadline

Microsoft has bowed to customer pressure and extended the deadline for its controversial licensing changes to July 2002.
October 08, 2001 08 Oct'01
Fast track to jail for IT directors

The Federation Against Software Theft (Fast) offers a stark choice for IT directors whose companies use unlicenced software -...
October 03, 2001 03 Oct'01
'Seething' US IT directors will not act on licensing

The US National Retail Federation is to meet representatives from Microsoft later this month to discuss the company's new...
October 03, 2001 03 Oct'01
TIF erupts over Microsoft licensing price increases

Microsoft was locked in meetings with customers and partners late last week in an attempt to ease the transition to its new...
October 03, 2001 03 Oct'01
Microsoft licences sold direct to build subscription model

Max Hotopf talks to Microsoft European channel supremo, Ian Kent, about the vendor's decision to sell all Enterprise licences...
October 01, 2001 01 Oct'01
User group fury at Microsoft licence changes

Leaders of key UK IT user bodies have hit out at Microsoft for its failure to address key issues about the new software licensing...
September 28, 2001 28 Sep'01
Protests continue over Microsoft licensing

As Microsoft gears up to the launch of its controversial new corporate licensing plan on 1 October, US users continue to register...
September 27, 2001 27 Sep'01
Users call on OFT to halt Microsoft

Microsoft users must take complaints over its new licensing regime to the Government if they want force a climb-down on the...
September 24, 2001 24 Sep'01
Microsoft spurns users over licence changes

Microsoft has refused to move the deadline for its licensing changes despite mounting pressure from user groups.
September 20, 2001 20 Sep'01
Microsoft: IT chiefs are not ready

Almost half of IT managers are not ready for the changes in Microsoft's licensing regime that come into force next month,...
September 19, 2001 19 Sep'01
HP server offers usage-based licensing

Hewlett Packard's rp8400 midrange Unix server, launched this week, is paving the way to usage-based software licensing.
September 17, 2001 17 Sep'01
Linux company accused of violating licence

The US-based Free Software Foundation (FSF) claims that a Linux company has violated the GNU General Public Licence (GPL) by...
September 04, 2001 04 Sep'01
Microsoft moves to allay licence fears

Microsoft has admitted fumbling the controversial licensing conversion to a fee-based model and is facing a battle to eradicate...
August 29, 2001 29 Aug'01
End of the Linux free lunch?

Recent moves in the Linux market indicate that the free lunch may soon be over, with companies forced to pay licence fees for the...
August 15, 2001 15 Aug'01
Lotus stings users with bundled support

Lotus users have just two weeks to renew their current licence agreements if they are to avoid massive price increases on 1...
May 18, 2001 18 May'01
UCITA opponents slow software licensing law

Opponents of the controversial UCITA software licensing law in the US appear to have succeeded in stalling the bill in states...
May 18, 2001 18 May'01
Microsoft changes the way you pay for software

As PC sales decline in the US Microsoft is betting its long-term cash flow stability on software licensing changes - but will...
May 15, 2001 15 May'01
Microsoft licence model will permanently change industry, say experts

Microsoft will fundamentally change the global software licensing market with its shift to subscription-based licensing and...
May 11, 2001 11 May'01
New Microsoft licences -- short-term gain, long-term pain

Microsoft has launched a subscription-based licensing model that will offer users short-term benefits but longer lifetime costs.
January 31, 2001 31 Jan'01
Microsoft gives a Jump start to Java developers

Following its settlement with Sun over Java licensing earlier this week, Microsoft has given its first indication that it will...
November 22, 2000 22 Nov'00
Mainframe users save on software

James Rogers
IBM S/390 users moving to the new z900 mainframe and z/OS stand to make massive savings in software licensing charges,...
November 01, 2000 01 Nov'00
CA adopts subscription

Mike Simons
Computer Associates is to drop its existing licensing model in favour of a subscription-based approach.

The company,...
September 20, 2000 20 Sep'00
EU equal to US onslaught

IDC European IT forum: Good news on e-commerce but warnings on skills gap and true cost of 3G licences Mike Simons
April 26, 2000 26 Apr'00
UKCMG tackles Ucita

New US legislation that puts suppliers in a commanding position during software licence disputes will be a hot topic at the UKCMG user group meeting in...
April 12, 2000 12 Apr'00
CA launches profit-based licensing in dotcom push

Toby Poston
Computer Associates has decided to tear up its existing licensing strategy in a bid to win more e-business work.

The...
March 22, 2000 22 Mar'00
W2K licensing under scrutiny

Cliff Saran and Antony Savvas
Eurim, the parliamentary IT lobbying organisation, will discuss changes to Microsoft's client...