RR now charging less for many users (was Re: RR now charging royalties)

[Ben Rubinstein]

on 4/4/02 8:19 PM, Kevin Miller at kevin at runrev.com wrote:

> This isn't a royalty.  We've just reworked that page with clearer wording
> and price table for common usage, please have another look at it.  If you or
> anyone else is still concerned then please come back to me off list.

Kevin,

Thanks for the clarification.  While it clears some things up, it leaves a
number of questions.  I think it's worth asking these on list, as they are
of general interest.

1) From what date does RunRev intend these new terms to apply?

2) The new wording has introduced at least one new question; as has already
been noted by Glen Yates, it is unclear whether you intend this license to
be paid by the developer (the holder of the relevant license from you) or
the customer (the 'large organisation' (where these are different).  Or, as
suggested by Jonathan/nedlud, did you only intend it to apply where they are
the same organisation?

I have many more questions, but an answer to (2) has to be the starting
point.  Do you (a) want to create a new business relationship between RunRev
and each of my clients, when part of my service includes giving them custom
tools developed with Rev?  Or do you (b) want to charge me an additional fee
for this?   A few of the dependent questions....

2a)  You want to charge the client.

To make this work, I need to put you in touch with my client.  Will your
terms require me to notify you of every client that I supply an app to, so
that you can check from time to time how many machines they've installed it
on?  Or will your terms require me to insert some additional clauses into my
contracts with my clients, imposing a requirement on them to contact you if
and when they install the s/w on more than ten machines?


2b) You want to charge me (the RunRev license holder) an additional fee if
my client uses software I've created in Rev on more than ten machines.

Do you intend to charge the fee for each (large) client?  Or for each piece
of distributed software? or both?  If I've created two tools using RunRev;
given one to two clients as part of my service to them, and the other to one
of these, and one other client (one client getting both), do you intend to
charge the fee:
    - once?
    - twice (once for each app)?
    - three times (once for each client)?
    - four times (once for each client/app)


3) Regardless of the answer to question 2, it appears from my reading of the
current wording that if I offer the software for sale (at any price? under
any terms?) nobody needs to pay an 'installation license' at all.  Is this
your intention?

Please note I have not at this point commented on this interesting new
arrangement; I'm just asking questions.

Finally, a general point, less directly on this particular issue.  I do
think you need to make some announcements of new terms.  I'm not sure when
this information appeared on the web site, but it is unsatisfactory to be
depending on other users to notice such things.   Looking at that page this
morning, I discover that you've also replaced the Standard license with a
new "Small Business Edition".  I didn't notice that yesterday - is it
possible that this substantial change was just added last night as part of
your "clearer wording"?  Assuming not, and that I just failed to notice it,
when was this change introduced, and how was it announced?

regards,
 
  Ben Rubinstein               |  Email: benr_mc at cogapp.com
  Cognitive Applications Ltd   |  Phone: +44 (0)1273-821600
  http://www.cogapp.com        |  Fax  : +44 (0)1273-728866