New Customer License Agreement - What's Changed?

[Mouth]

Are you referring to the recently introduced license agreement when accessing the customer account?
This is a new mechanism to make customers aware of changes to the license terms.

What has changed? It's much easier to Confirm Agreement when having a change(s) list, instead of having to compare the full agreement against the prior.

 

[marquisite]

The old agreement is currently cached by Google as at 22 October 2018, but this could change at any time. I've compared the old and new agreement and my interpretation of the changes is as follows. I make no guarantees that this interpretation is without errors. In lieu of an official response, I would advise that you do the same and compare the Google cache version while it is still available.

XenForo License Agreement

(no additions/subtractions to this section)

1. Grant and Scope of License

Subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement and the payment by You of the applicable fee for the Software, XenForo Limited grants You a limited, non-exclusive, worldwide license to install, download and use a single instance of the Software ("License") through a single installation. Each License may run one instance of the Software, accessible via one URL. Automated checks may be used to verify your License, including but not limited to installations reporting their usage to Us. Any attempt to circumvent this limitation is prohibited and will result in the License being revoked.

Before deploying the Software, you must register in the XenForo.com customer area the address (URL) at which You will use the License. This URL must be kept up-to-date. You may create a single additional test installations for the purpose of testing the Software. Any test installation of this kind must be password protected, installed at a URL that makes the testing purpose clear, not used for production purposes and access to it must be limited to You and Your website staff.

For the avoidance of doubt, nothing in this agreement shall guarantee the availability of or access to the XenForo community, content or files contained within, associated documentation, or the ability to communicate with any community members.

2. Rights

(no additions/subtractions to this section)

3. Restrictions

This license is granted to You alone. You may not redistribute the Software in whole or in part. You may not rent, lease, sub-license, sell, assign, pledge, transfer or otherwise dispose of the Software in any form, on a temporary or permanent basis, without the prior written consent of XenForo Limited. You may use only the XenForo customer area downloads associated with the License to run instances of the Software.

For the avoidance of doubt, You are solely responsible for managing content posted using your installation of the Software (“Your Content”). XenForo Limited shall have no liability in respect of Your Content including but not limited to its accuracy or lawfulness.

You are solely responsible for ensuring that Your Content and Your use of the Software complies with all applicable legislation and regulations, including but not limited to all applicable Data Protection and Privacy legislation. You undertake to ensure that the Software is not used by You or others to engage in illegal activity. You may not use the Software to engage in any activity that would violate the rights of third parties. You may not use the Software in conjunction with any other software you do not have a valid license to use. You hereby agree to indemnify Us from any loss or damage arising from Your breach of this provision.

4. Termination

The License for the Software is effective until terminated. You may terminate the License at any time by uninstalling the Software and destroying all copies of the Software.

XenForo Limited reserves the right to revoke Your License to use the Software should any of the terms of this Agreement be violated. In the event that We revoke Your License for a violation of this Agreement, no refund will be granted.

5. Customer Data

(no additions/subtractions to this section)

6. Support

(no additions/subtractions to this section)

7. Add-ons and Services

Add-ons and services associated with a License (“Add-ons”) may have additional requirements which You must ensure are met before purchasing.

You may only use an Add-on with its associated License. You may use only the XenForo customer area Add-on downloads associated with the License when using the Add-on. If the Add-on purchase becomes invalid (such as through refund or cancellation, etc), you must immediately uninstall the Add-on and delete all associated files.

Add-ons may not be separately transferred between Your Licenses or to a third party. When a License is transferred to a Subsequent Purchaser, all Add-ons associated with that License will be transferred as well.

Access to Support and Updates for the Add-on is dependent on the associated License having current access to Support and Updates. The License's Extension Payment may be changed by the purchase of Add-ons. Once an Add-on is purchased, the Extension Payment will always take the Add-on into account. To not extend an Add-on with an Extension Payment, You must contact us to cancel the Add-on before making the Extension Payment. No refund will be given in this case and should You wish to re-gain access to the Add-on, You will need to re-purchase it.

8. Disclaimer of Warranties

(no additions/subtractions to this section)

9. Limitation of Liability

(no additions/subtractions to this section)

10. Indemnification
(no additions/subtractions to this section)

11. Refund Policy

We will maintain a reasonable policy regarding requests for refunds. Once the software has been downloaded or installed, refunds will be offered only at our discretion. We reserve the right to refuse a refund or to apply a partial refund. An administration charge may be applied where a refund is offered.

12. Jurisdiction
(no additions/subtractions to this section)

 

[Chris D]

Automated checks may be used to verify your License, including but not limited to installations reporting their usage to Us.

To clarify slightly, this is really the only “new” policy. Everything else is kind of common sense / stuff that applied already.

 

[Mouth]

To clarify slightly, this is really the only “new” policy. Everything else is kind of common sense / stuff that applied already.

Can you give more details on what usage is automatically being reported? I thought details were already being reported to XF, such as XF and PHP versions etc. What changed here specifically for XF2.1?

 

[Masetrix]

To clarify slightly, this is really the only “new” policy. Everything else is kind of common sense / stuff that applied already.

Hmmm.

... installed at a URL that makes the testing purpose clear, ...

???
How exactly should that look like? Our test installation is stored in the subfolder "xenforo2" of the main domain and provided with password protection until it can go online.
Is this sufficient or does the subfolder "folder xenforo2testinstallation" have to be named?

Is password protection not enough testing purpose clear?

 

[Chris D]

Can you give more details on what usage is automatically being reported? I thought details were already being reported to XF, such as XF and PHP versions etc. What changed here specifically for XF2.1?

It relates to the license status checking we do to make the one click upgrades work.

 

[Mike]

How exactly should that look like? Our test installation is stored in the subfolder "xenforo2" of the main domain and provided with password protection until it can go online.
Is this sufficient or does the subfolder "folder xenforo2testinstallation" have to be named?

Is password protection not enough testing purpose clear?

There isn't a definitive one size fits all answer, though if it's clearly attached to the license site, then that would help make it clear. Adding "test", "staging", "dev" or something like that to the URL would also be a good signal.

As always though, if you have questions about the license agreement and your particular case, please submit a ticket and we can try to be definitive on it. This isn't trying to catch people out so we can say "aha!".

 

[AccioAce]

So just to clarify If someone without a licence can still use the xenforo software right just a null version or something I heard about.

 

[DragonByte Tech]

Adding "test", "staging", "dev" or something like that to the URL would also be a good signal.

Or "localhost"


Fillip

 

[Mike]

So just to clarify If someone without a licence can still use the xenforo software right just a null version or something I heard about.

You're basically asking if someone is allowed to use pirated software. I think that answer should be plainly obvious...

 

[SchmitzIT]

So just to clarify If someone without a licence can still use the xenforo software right just a null version or something I heard about.

 

[Mouth]

"The XenForo license agreement was last updated on May 4, 2021"

Acceptance is required to download the 2.2.5 update, https://xenforo.com/community/threads/xenforo-2-2-5-and-importers-1-5-0-released.194071/

What has changed between this new/current version and the prior version? Is it only the insertion of clause 7.2 and the renumbering of clause 12 (Jurisdiction) to clause 13 to allow the insertion of a new clause 12 (Exceptions)? Anything else?

 

[Mike]

The primary changes are to the transfer limits in section 2 (they have been slightly relaxed and there isn't a single transfer limit) and the introduction of 7.2 clarifying some usage restrictions with the branding removal. Section 12 (Exceptions) is new though that should be pretty obvious; that then led to Jurisdiction becoming 13.

 

[marquisite]

Glancing over the current agreement and Google's cached copy (as at 26 April 2021), these seem to be the additions/subtractions: (according to my eyes only, see @Mike's post above for an official response)

2. Rights​

The Software is licensed to You for use only under the terms and conditions of the License. You acknowledge that all intellectual property rights, copyrights and trademarks in the Software belong to XenForo Limited, that rights in the Software are licensed (not sold) to You, and that You have no rights in, or to, the Software other than the right to use them in accordance with the terms of this Agreement.

All copies of the Software must contain the same proprietary notices that appear on and in the Software, including all copyright notices embedded in the Software, which must remain unaltered from the original and visible at all times, unless by specific prior arrangement with XenForo Limited.

The Software may be permanently transferred by the original purchaser to a third party ("Subsequent Licensee") not before 120 days following purchase, provided that the expiry date of the License falls after the date of the transfer. The original licensee may not retain a copy or installation of the Software. The Subsequent Licensee must agree to the terms of this Agreement and waive the right to transfer.

The Software may be permanently transferred by You to a third party ("Subsequent Licensee") not before 90 days following purchase or the date the Software was transferred to You (whichever is later), provided that the expiry date of the License falls after the date of the transfer. By transferring the license, You relinquish Your license to retain any copy or installation of the Software. Any such copy or installation of the Software must be irrevocably deleted. The Subsequent Licensee must agree to the terms of the License Agreement.

7. Add-ons and Services​

Add-ons and services associated with a License (“Add-ons”) may have additional requirements which You must ensure are met before purchasing.

You may only use an Add-on with its associated License. You may use only the XenForo customer area Add-on downloads associated with the License when using the Add-on. If the Add-on purchase becomes invalid (such as through refund or cancellation, etc), you must immediately uninstall the Add-on and delete all associated files.

Add-ons may not be separately transferred between Your Licenses or to a third party. When a License is transferred to a Subsequent Purchaser, all Add-ons associated with that License will be transferred as well.

7.1 Support and Updates for Add-ons​

Access to Support and Updates for the Add-on is dependent on the associated License having current access to Support and Updates. The License's Extension Payment may be changed by the purchase of Add-ons. Once an Add-on is purchased, the Extension Payment will always take the Add-on into account. To not extend an Add-on with an Extension Payment, You must contact us to cancel the Add-on before making the Extension Payment. No refund will be given in this case and should You wish to re-gain access to the Add-on, You will need to re-purchase it.

7.2 Branding Removal Product​

Purchase of the optional Branding Removal add-on product provides a copy of the Software in which XenForo copyright notices are removed from the public-facing interface of the Software. You may not use Branding Removal to represent the Software as a third-party application, or offer for sale a product or service of which the unbranded Software is a constituent part, without prior written consent of XenForo Limited.

12. Exceptions​

Any deviations or exceptions to the terms of this License Agreement must be agreed in writing with XenForo Limited.

12. 13. Jurisdiction​

This License, its subject matter or its formation (including non-contractual disputes or claims) shall be governed by and construed in accordance with English law and submitted to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts. If an English Court judges any provision of this Agreement to be invalid, void, or unenforceable, the parties agree that the remaining provisions of this Agreement shall remain valid and enforceable.

 

[whynot]

The primary changes are to the transfer limits in section 2 (they have been slightly relaxed and there isn't a single transfer limit)

Currently there isn't a transfer fee for a single transfer.
Do you plan to introduce a fee if a license is transferred more than once?

 

[Lawrence]

Well my set-up probably breaks the agreement. I have two active licenses. For one, I have a development site, password protected under a directory named eaedev. With that same license, I have two installations on localhost: one for 2.1 testing and the other for 2.2 developing. So to be absolutely compliant, I would need to replace one of my localhost installs with the files from the other licensed XF I have,

Why wasn't there a license transfer fee introduced a while ago? It is long over due.

 

[Chris D]

Well my set-up probably breaks the agreement. I have two active licenses. For one, I have a development site, password protected under a directory named eaedev. With that same license, I have two installations on localhost: one for 2.1 testing and the other for 2.2 developing. So to be absolutely compliant, I would need to replace one of my localhost installs with the files from the other licensed XF I have,

We have made no changes to the license agreement surrounding your ability to use files locally or for development. Installations that are not accessible to the outside world in any capacity and are only used for development purposes on a locally accessible installation are not targets for the restrictions mentioned in the agreement.

Do you plan to introduce a fee if a license is transferred more than once?

Why wasn't there a license transfer fee introduced a while ago? It is long over due.

To be clear, the agreement has no mention whatsoever of any fee pertaining to the transfer of licenses. We are not planning to impose a fee to transfer licenses. The changes now allow a license to be transferred as many times as is required after 90 days following each purchase or transfer.

The only fee that may be involved is we will still only transfer a license if it has active support/upgrades so that the new owner has a license that is actually usable, a current version, and is entitled to support.

 

[Lawrence]

We have made no changes to the license agreement surrounding your ability to use files locally or for development. Installations that are not accessible to the outside world in any capacity and are only used for development purposes on a locally accessible installation are not targets for the restrictions mentioned in the agreement.

I know,

 

[Mouth]

And again, with another license change on July 7th.
What has changed this time?

 

[Chris D]

You can see a discussion on the changes here:

2021-07-07 License agreement update issue

It appears that the following: You undertake to ensure that the Software is not used by You or others to engage in illegal activity. You may not use the Software to engage in any activity that would violate the rights of third parties. has been changed to: You undertake to ensure that the...

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