[Info-vax] VMS VAX License for personal Microvax 3100 Model 40

[Arne Vajhøj]

On 7/27/2022 6:09 PM, gah4 wrote:
> On Wednesday, July 27, 2022 at 5:29:47 AM UTC-7, Arne Vajhøj wrote:
> (snip, I wrote)
>>> A machine can run a legally licensed copy, but just not to me?
> 
>> Anybody that has a valid VMS license can run VMS.
> 
>> That a previous owner of some hardware had a valid VMS license
>> does not give the current owner of the hardware a valid license.
>   
>> It requires the license to have been transferred every time
>> the hardware changed owner.
> 
> OK, so say someone lets me use a machine but doesn't actually
> transfer ownership.  More specifically, say that I don't pay anything,
> but am allowed to use it.  In that case, no transfer fee should
> be needed. But exactly how do I know which one it is?

If someone like your employer bought a system with a valid license
and when it was no longer needed let you use it for personal usage
but legally retained ownership, then I think it is perfectly fine
from a license law perspective. The legal owner has a valid license
and it is none of DEC/CPQ/HP/HPE's business how the company
use it.

Arne