Is buying Moho 13 second hand a good idea?

[ThomastheDankEngine]

Hi guys!

I'm about to buy Moho 13 (13.0) second hand off a friend and was hoping any of you could help me figure out if it's a good idea:

I get that a Moho license can be registered on up to 3 machines at a time but only operating on one of them at a time.

But what about if it was initially installed on a Windows PC, can I de-register the Windows PC(s) from the licenses and install Moho on Macs instead?

Are there any limitations to this de-registering and moving the license around between different computers?

Thanks

[Greenlaw]

You can reset the activations from the Lost Marble website. This immediately deactivates all current activations, and you may then activate the licenses on computers you control. I don't recall for certain but you might need to access your friend's account to do this. I can check on that. (Update: you only need the serial number to reset activations. See post below for more info.)

I don't think the licenses are platform specific but it might be best to contact LM to be sure.

Re: license transfer, I'm not sure what Lost Marble's policy is but I would check with them about officially transferring the license to your name and email so you can be eligible for upgrading to future releases (i.e., Moho 14 or whatever it will be called.)

BTW, in case you didn't know, if you own a Moho 13.0 license you qualify for a free upgrade to Moho 13.5.x, and you'll definitely want to upgrade.

Hope this helps.

[Greenlaw]

Here's info about resetting activations:

https://lostmarble.com/support/

You will need the serial number to do this.

I would still check about officially transferring the license.

[lucasfranca]

I'm about to buy Moho 13 (13.0) second hand off a friend and was hoping any of you could help me figure out if it's a good idea.

I would also like to know if it is possible.

[Greenlaw]

I took a quick look at the EULA and here's what I see...

3. Software License
A) Subject to the terms and conditions of this EULA and your payment of the
applicable license fee, LOST MARBLE grants you a limited, personal, nontransferable
and non-exclusive license (without right to sublicense...

The term 'non-transferable' comes up multiple times throughout the document and I take this to mean the license cannot be transferred to another party. But I'm not a legal expert, so grain of salt.

As for using the license to activate Moho on a different computer platform from it's original activation, I didn't see anything that said you couldn't do that but I admit I only skimmed the document. If you'd like to look yourself, see Chapter 2 License in the User Manual.

To be sure about any of this, I would still check with Lost Marble. They can give you a definitive answer.

[Arthritic]

Most software EULA's read this way. Most people believe that when they pay for software they own it. Almost all software is 'leased' from the intellectual property owner, (usually the software developer). Short answer . . . you cannot lease software and then turn around and lease that software to someone else. If you 'owned' the software sure. Makes sense that you should be able to sell goods that you have purchased. This case . . . you didn't purchase goods, you purchased a lease on software. You own nothing, consequently you have nothing to transfer.

[ThomastheDankEngine]

I took a quick look at the EULA and here's what I see...

3. Software License
A) Subject to the terms and conditions of this EULA and your payment of the
applicable license fee, LOST MARBLE grants you a limited, personal, nontransferable
and non-exclusive license (without right to sublicense...

The term 'non-transferable' comes up multiple times throughout the document and I take this to mean the license cannot be transferred to another party. But I'm not a legal expert, so grain of salt.

As for using the license to activate Moho on a different computer platform from it's original activation, I didn't see anything that said you couldn't do that but I admit I only skimmed the document. If you'd like to look yourself, see Chapter 2 License in the User Manual.

To be sure about any of this, I would still check with Lost Marble. They can give you a definitive answer.

@Greenlaw big thanks for taking the time to answer these questions for me. Much appreciated!

But I'm still left with the question of whether or not the installation is platform specific. I'm guessing it's not since there's no mention of it anywhere. Not that an omission ever proved anything. But that kind of thing would either be a part of the EULA or a technical limitation. Who knows though.

I've emailed them and also submitted a "support ticket" a few days ago but haven't gotten a reply yet.

Question to you Moho 13 owners: What kind of limitations/setbacks will I run into if my friend still owns the license but I'm using it. Obviously, his name and info is tied to the Moho account/user who bought it? And my friend would still own the license legally. What would happen when it comes time for a paid update? I'd be the one making the payment for the upgrade but the license is still in my friends name but not an issue? I'm guessing I'd "just" never be able to prove I own the license if my friend wanted to take it back?

Which begs the question -Does Moho ever go on sale?

[ThomastheDankEngine]

The Moho team replied to my support ticket.

1. Moho is not platform specific, neither before nor after having put it on a Mac or Windows PC.

2. A digital only license cannot be transferred once used. The physical boxed version can be resold and wouldn’t be considered “used” if it hasn’t be installed and activated on a computer.

[slowtiger]

Well, it's not that simple. Under German law, software licences can be re-sold basically if 1) a physical copy of the installer/software changes hands and 2) the previous owner states in a signed document for the buyer that they deleted all installed copies of it.

[ThomastheDankEngine]

Well, it's not that simple. Under German law, software licences can be re-sold basically if 1) a physical copy of the installer/software changes hands and 2) the previous owner states in a signed document for the buyer that they deleted all installed copies of it.

To me, that’s the only scenario that is fair, and I assume it’s the same in all of Europe(I’m also in the EU, by the way).

But what laws apply if the software is bought from the U.S. and used in the EU where laws are different?

[slowtiger]

Think what's really enforceable in practice.