challenge key questions

gonzo · Post by **gonzo** » Fri Sep 20, 2002 10:05 am

These questions don't apply just to Live but to any software with "challenge-response" copy protection.

1) If I sold Live could the person I sold it to get a response code from Ableton? Or to put it another way, if I bought a 2nd hand copy can I "re-register" it in my name?

2) What would happen if a software company which sold products with challenge-response keys went bust. The next time you upgraded your PC you would need a new response code, who would you get it from? Has any-one ever had a problem like this?

joshcarter · Post by **joshcarter** » Fri Sep 20, 2002 5:46 pm

Software companies can license their software either per-copy or per-user. I don't have my Ableton license here at work, but my guess is that it's per user. So when the software is registered, it's registered to that user and that user only.

As for what happens if Ableton goes under (and everyone better pay for legit copies of Live to make sure that never happens)... we're basically screwed. As an end user, I really wish software didn't have copy protection like this because it's a hassle. Especially games which require the CD - quite a hassle for us laptop users who want to play on the road. But for the software vendors it's also a hassle to implement these copy protection schemes. That's why software pirates should be strung up by their toes - they're burdening *everyone* else with these copy protection schemes.

So that's my rant. Buy a legit, boxed copy of Live from a real vendor.

-Josh

dirtystudios · Post by **dirtystudios** » Sat Sep 21, 2002 9:51 pm

who'd wanna sell live?

k

gonzo · Post by **gonzo** » Sun Sep 22, 2002 3:23 pm

Ok firstly I did buy my copy new from a shop & it's a great programme & I don't want to sell it. As I said I wasn't talking specifically about Live but about any software with challenge-response copy protection.

I fully support software companies in protecting their software from piracy & any method they use is inevitably going to cause some unavoidable hassle to legitimate users but I think challenge-response is alot more hassle than any other sytem.

If I buy a CD album I can legally sell it on if I don't like it, if I do like it & want to keep it I can make a copy on tape to listen to in the car & a copy on Mini-Disc to listen to on my walkman, all without having to ask the record company for permission. If my CD player breaks I don't have to ask for permission to play it on my new CD player. I've got 5 apps on my PC with this kind of copy-protection & so I will have to contact 5 different companies when I upgrade my PC. Like I said...HASSLE!

Personally I've never had a problem with dongle keys (yes there are cracks but there are cracks for any type of copy protection) as you're not depending on a software company's co-operation (or existence for that matter) to continue using your software.