License and Maintenance FAQs

What is an Annual license?

An annual license is a legally binding agreement between a user and the software manufacturer, entitling the user to run the program on one machine per license for the period of the current contract. This contract period varies by manufacturer but is usually for one year. Installing software on more machines than you have licenses is a violation of the copyright law.

An annual license requires payment of an annual fee and also requires that the user notify Software Licensing that the software will no longer be used. This is required for budgetary reasons as Software Licensing pays for the licenses in advance and bills the end users annually. Software Licensing will invoice each individual during the first quarter of the calendar year for their annual license fee.

Although a license is required for each system on which the software package is installed, it does not include a CD-ROM. Licenses and CD-ROMs are sold separately and in order to install the program on your machine, a CD-ROM is required.

A Guide to the Ethical and Legal Use of Software for Members of the Academic Community, available at www.inform.umd.edu/software-guide.