Expert: Scott Wilcox - 8/19/2011

Question
Several new copies of ACAD 11 for the Mac are for sale on eBay.  They are listed as educational, with 3 year license.  Sellers claim they can be legally transferred and that the product can be activated and registered.  Prices are quite low, so I'm skeptical.  Is it legit to sell educational copies like this?  (I'm not a student.)  If legit, does the software crash after 3 years, or continue to function but without AutoCAD's blessing?  Thanks.

Answer
Dick:

I'm not entirely sure that is true.

Autodesk educational licenses are sold only to students or faculty:

Autodesk routinely examines the purchases of customers purchasing products subject to Student and Faculty Pricing on the Autodesk Store to ensure that only qualified purchasers have ordered and that all purchase conditions required for such products and pricing have been fully satisfied. Should Autodesk discover that you were not an eligible purchaser at the time you ordered or that you do not satisfy all of the conditions applicable to your purchase, you agree that (i) you are obligated to pay to Autodesk the difference between the Student and Faculty Pricing you paid for the product and the price that Autodesk charged the general public for the same product on the Autodesk Store on the date that you ordered and (ii) you will pay such amount within fifteen days after demand or invoice from Autodesk. You agree further that if you fail to make such payment when due, your right and license to use of the product shall immediately terminate without further notice from Autodesk, and any subsequent use of such product shall constitute infringement of Autodesk’s copyrights and other intellectual property rights, as applicable, in the product. Nothing in this Section shall be deemed to limit any legal or equitable remedies available to Autodesk in connection with your unauthorized use of Autodesk products.

Also, see here regarding AutoCAD for Mac:
http://drh.img.digitalriver.com/DRHM/Storefront/Site/adsk/cm/multimedia/PDFs/aut

Regards,
Scott Wilcox