LicenseControl and our licensing service is differentiated by our business strategy in combination with a collection of technical features. Currently, there is no competing service product that offers the same combination of solutions to the various issues.
The following table outlines the primary issues and how LicenseControl addresses these issues.
Issue:
and
Strategy |
Solution Details |
Don't alienate Users:
give Users control over their licensed software
|
- enable licensed software to be installed upon, backed up from, and restored to, any applicable system
- enable licensed software to be moved to any applicable system — whenever the User wants and as often as the User wants, all without requiring Vendor support
- enable licensed software to be backed up and restored to the licensed system without having to locate the licensing code
- no actions take place without direction from the User
|
Don't alienate Users:
protect a User's information and situation privacy
|
- User can password-protect access to licensing operations
- no User-identifying or business-related information is transferred to the licensing server — only numeric (not named) system identification and licensing information
- we tell the User how to verify the content of all information that originated on their system and was sent to the licensing server (see the LicenseControl FAQs)
- only licensing operations, not application startups, require communication with the licensing server
so there's no way to monitor a User's usage patterns, location, etc.
|
Don't expect that "one size fits all":
provide the kinds of licensing capabilities required by Vendors to support both end Users and corporate customers |
- "try before you buy" Trial mode of operation
- secure Licensed mode of operation
- upgrade licenses (including upgrades from legacy, non-LicenseControl licenses)
- add-on licenses (especially important for corporate Users)
- licenses for delivery via e-store sales
- licenses for delivery via pre-boxed "brick 'n mortar"/walk-in store sales
- support for time-limited Licensed Trials for no-risk, full-capability evaluations
- support for end-User and corporate/multi-system licensing administration
- support corporate/multi-system deployment scenarios, including cloned/replicated systems delivery
- licenses that require a one-time "refresh" (e.g., to support payment verification and thwart fraud)
- multi-language localization support
- existing support for virtually all kinds of e-stores
- existing e-store and PayPal IPN integrations
- formalized support for custom e-store integrations
- support for varied business models
- an underlying willingness and ability to address other requirements when they arise
|
Don't complicate:
respect the User's existing infrastructure
|
- LicenseControl doesn't use or rely upon non-standard "hacks" that pose a risk to the stability of a customer's system(s)
- there is no requirement for a User to install and manage a licensing server, either locally or centralized
|
Don't allow piracy through trivial or casual efforts:
provide "pretty good piracy protection"
|
- while we don't believe it's possible to have completely "unhackable" protection with current systems, we do use multiple, nontrivial mechanisms based upon various technologies, including strong encryption
- multiple protection mechanisms are designed to be quickly adaptable in the face of a compromise
- there's a carefully chosen balance between ease of use, usage restrictions and anti-piracy mechanisms
- access to certain software components and different areas of software design are restricted, even within our own organization
- even when licensing IDs are pre-defined, they are not available for use until posted to the system as the result of a sale
- once activated, a license is only applicable to that system (until de-activated, by that system, for reuse)
- a license can only be de-activated from the system upon which it was activated (without our or the Vendor's intervention)
- all licensing transactions, whether successful or not, are retained by the licensing server
- anomaly monitoring can raise alerts for suspicious patterns of licensing transactions
- licensing IDs can easily be disabled to prevent future use
- the business process is an important part of the overall strategy
- a real-time generated or pre-defined licensing ID is delivered at sales time
- when a licensed product is sold, the licensing ID is automatically posted to the licensing server to make the (pre-existing or real-time generated) licensing ID available for use
- activation of the license precludes use on a different system until it's de-activated by that system
- Users cannot "pass around" License IDs for use on multiple systems without giving away their own/purchased licenses
|
Don't infringe upon a Vendor's domain:
give Vendor's control over their customers and business processes
|
- it is not necessary to provide us with detailed customer information, only a way to identify a customer for support purposes
- Vendors can generate and post licensing IDs via a web-based interface (valuable for 1-off volume sales as well as Not For Resale and evaluation licenses)
- posting a licensing ID/sale is limited to a Vendor and/or the Vendor's agents as defined by the Vendor
- Vendors cannot generate a licensing ID for another Vendor's product
|
Don't make it difficult:
provide easy-to-use Vendor and developer tools
|
- once familiar with the process, it takes only minutes to secure an application using LicenseControl
- both Developer/Vendor and end-User support is available and included in the affordable licensing fees
- web-based, real-time Vendor access is provided for setup, maintenance and reporting — see our demo Vendor account (login as user demo, password demo)
|
Don't make it too expensive:
provide a solution that's affordable by even a low-volume Vendor |
- the per-license fees are very low
- if you're a Kagi Supplier, the fee is automatically deducted from your Kagi Supplier revenue — simple!
- there are no monthly fees
- there are no minimum volumes
- there are reduced rates for higher-volume Vendors
- developer code and tools are free
- testing licenses and support are free
- no charge for limited-functionality, non-licensed, Trial-mode operation
- Not For Resale(NFR)/evaluation licenses and time-expiring full-featured Licensed Trials are both at minimal cost
- startup cost is zero or effectively zero!
|
You might notice that some elements of our strategy are founded in technical merits, alone. These we consider adaptable and will undoubtedly continue to evolve over time.
Other elements of our strategy are based upon our philosophy and the vision for the service. These will not fundamentally change but will continue to mature and be refined, over time.
— § —
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» Watch the 10 minute movie about setting up a licensed product.
» Browse the Vendor Services Setup Guide/Roadmap.
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