School District licensing

[mmcwenie]

I am investigating the use of PrimoPDF for my school district to see if we might place the application on our teacher work stations. I sent information about your product to my administrators and they have said that according to the licensing requirements for PrimoPDF each pdf file that was created using PrimoPDF would have to include the entire licensing description as part of the pdf document itself. From my reading of the licensing agreement we would need to include a copy of the licensing agreement with every copy of the PrimoPDF application that we distributed but not with every document created by the PrimoPDF application. Not being an attorney myself, I was wondering if you could clarify this.

Matt McWenie
Central High School
Phoenix, AZ

[jlduckworth]

From my reading of the licensing agreement we would need to include a copy of the licensing agreement with every copy of the PrimoPDF application that we distributed but not with every document created by the PrimoPDF application.

Hi, Matt. I have no connection with activePDF but it seems no one else has answered you yet. I also am not a lawyer but this clause is pretty explicit:

2.b. Activities other than copying, distribution and modification of the Program are not subject to this License and they are outside its scope. Functional use (running) of the Program is not restricted, and any output produced through the use of the Program is subject to this license only if its contents constitute a work based on the Program (independent of having been made by running the Program). (emphasis mine)

So the only question left is whether or not the contents of the created PDF are "works based on the Program." Unless you're quoting the source code (and fair use still applies), I find it hard to believe that you could create a derivative work accidentally, and thus be required to carry the license with the contents.

In short, I believe you're right. Hopefully someone from activePDF will see this thread and give you a definitive answer.

Jon

[Tim Sullivan]

I am investigating the use of PrimoPDF for my school district to see if we might place the application on our teacher work stations. I sent information about your product to my administrators and they have said that according to the licensing requirements for PrimoPDF each pdf file that was created using PrimoPDF would have to include the entire licensing description as part of the pdf document itself. From my reading of the licensing agreement we would need to include a copy of the licensing agreement with every copy of the PrimoPDF application that we distributed but not with every document created by the PrimoPDF application. Not being an attorney myself, I was wondering if you could clarify this.

Matt McWenie
Central High School
Phoenix, AZ


Matt,

You are correct; you do NOT need to distribute the license agreement with every *document* you create. Your documents are not a "derivative work"...they are just the output...and besides...that would be just plain silly.

Tim