Buying AutoCAD second hand.

What is Autodesk policy on purchasing AutoCAD privately. I mean second hand
legitimate copies with original CD's and packaging. Will they acknowledge
transfer of registration details to a new user or are there complications
that may arise.
It's not easy for the average freelancer to afford such a hefty price tag
and buying second hand is the obvious preferred method but will Autodesk
refuse to acknowledge transfer of ownership. If they did refuse, would that
make a legitimate original become illegal in the eyes of Autodesk law. I'll
ask them directly if nobody here can help. Just wondered if anyone else has
learned the hard way what not to do when purchasing AutoCAD.

TIA
Andy

 

I have not learned the "hard way". I prefer the easy way - Reading is a great
way to transfer and acquire knowledge without suffering damaging blows. From
what I've read over many years of use, Autodesk announced, starting with
Release 14, that they would no longer authorize license transfers. This means
that if you purchase "second hand versions" you will not be issuied an
authorization code. You will be able to install the software and run it for
the thirty day trial period, and that's it. So the amount you pay for the
software should be based on thirty days' total use!

Others will write here loudly claiming that "Autodesk does not make the law .
.. ." and that "I have the right to do whatever I please with the software I
buy, including selling it . . ." and all sorts of other mish mash, but the
truth is you will not get an authorization code, so the platitudes are all
moot. Moreover, if you do manage to devise a license sharing scheme, Autodesk
will consider this illegal use, and they have successfully prosecuted pirate
users in the past, sometimes levying heavy fines.

Personally I think this is fair, because they have high development costs, and
if the product were uncontrolled on the market they would not be able to
maintain it. But it doesn't matter what I think, or the next guy - purchasing
an illegal copy of AutCad is probably an ill-advised scheme for saving money.

G Faris

 

Normally, they don't allow license transfers, unless it's a case of one
*company* going out of business, and transferring its assets to another
*company*; and even then, the transfer is not without cost, and Autodesk
retains the right to approve or refuse the transfer as they wish. AFAIK,
they no longer permit license transfers between individuals.
___

 

So the thousands of $'s you spend on software cannot be regarded as a
company asset!

 

chances are , that who ever you bought it from will have an authorization
code.

you very well might receive heavy fines.. I worked for a company that bought
one license & put it on like 15 PCS. a disgruntled employee turned them in &
they had to pay like $35 k for all the extra licenses. it could have been
much worse if they had pursued court action.

 

It's illegal, since, either willingly or not, the original owner agreed to
the terms of Autodesk's EULA. And, believe me, I'd have to be crazy to
agree to let someone use anything like AutoCAD "in my name."

This question is moot, anyway, since the OP wanted to acquire a legal,
registerable secondhand copy.
___

 

Not in the U.S. The courts have ruled quite differently in other parts of
the world.
___

 

BTW, I was one of those people was actually able to purchase my copy from
my former employer who was going into bankruptcy in 1995 (5 of the
employees did the same thing). We had to send a copy of the "bill of sale"
and letter from the former company to our Acad dealer who then forwarded it
to Autodesk. It wasn't long after that the rules seemed to change and
other people in the city couldn't transfer titles.

In Canada, because it was not systems software (ie. the operating system)
the entire cost of the software is classified as an expense not as an
asset. The entire cost and each upgrade fee I paid thereafter actually
offset my assets. Accounting wise, it was great. I kinda got the benefits
on both ends. But as far as Revenue Canada was concerned I just paid for
the license to use the software and it was not a bankable asset. By this
reasoning, how could one re-sell an expense?

I, dunno - maybe the Tax guys talked to Autodesk and gave them the scoop
and thus Autodesk decided to make it a lot more difficult if not impossible
to transfer title of the software.

What are the tax/accounting laws in the States? Is your software
classified as an asset or as an expense?

 

Try Intellicad.