Changing expired personal license to company seat license

Hi there,

I am currently have a personal license of NCrunch which I use professionally on my computer (BYOD). However, with my next renewal, I would like to have it paid for by my organisation. This will essentially switch the license to a commercial one as having a company pay (or reimburse me) for a personal license rightly breaks the terms of sale and use.

As such, I'd like to ask if it's possible that, when I renew my personal license, it can be switched to a commercial one and paid by my company instead?

NB: This is all currently hypothetical but would like to know if it's possible.

Kind regards, Dan

Hi Dan,

Thanks for posting. The change of a personal license to a company seat one is complicated because under the terms of the EULA the licenses are not transferable. With that said, we tend to try and consider the circumstances behind the need for the change. The idea behind the licensing tiers is to try and give a price advantage to those users that purchase their own licenses using their own funds so that they can use them in a workplace where they may not see any financial benefit.

Some corporate customers try to use the licensing tiers as a backdoor to reduce the overall cost of licensing, for example, by sponsoring their devs for personal licenses. The intention of the licensing system is to disallow this sort of thing as it unfairly disadvantages more honest customers and complicates procurement.

In your circumstances, I can't see a way to conduct the transfer of the license without setting a precedent that would undermine the structure of the licensing model. Sorry.

Hi there,

I totally understand. I just have no need for a personal license at the current time because all of my development work that uses NCrunch is being done professionally in my organisation and so it no longer makes financial sense for me to pay for it out of my own pocket.

If you're worried about it setting precedents, that's not a problem.

Thanks anyway, Dan

Remco wrote:
Some corporate customers try to use the licensing tiers as a backdoor to reduce the overall cost of licensing, for example, by sponsoring their devs for personal licenses. The intention of the licensing system is to disallow this sort of thing as it unfairly disadvantages more honest customers and complicates procurement.

I have a related question, with above you are saying that a personal license must not be reimbursed by the company, even though the license is tied to that particular developer, right?

The EULA states

If you purchase a Named User License: You may install and use the Software only for your individual internal business or non-business purposes. If you are purchasing a license under the name of a company, you may not purchase a named user license.

This IMHO is a bit vague, what does "under the name of a company" mean? And what does that mean to a personal license if I have to buy it myself in a company?
E.g. I purchased a named license 6 months ago to use in my spare time, but now I have a new employment where I can use NCrunch also professionally. Does that mean that I may not use my personal license remaining 6 months, or simply that I may use it as long as the company is not paying for it?

Maybe you can clarify that is not allowed to use named user license, if that is reimbursed by a company (if that is the intention)? Then it makes it a bit more clear when, and when not, one is allowed to use a named license, in the context of a company.
(FWIW wallabyJS has a similar agreement but they state

Personal (Named) User Licenses are not to be purchased, refunded or in any way financed by companies.

which I think clarifies that I can use a personal wallabyJS license professionally as long as company is not reimbursing me for it).

Thanks!

GreenMoose wrote:
I have a related question, with above you are saying that a personal license must not be reimbursed by the company, even though the license is tied to that particular developer, right?

Correct. If a license could be purchased by an individual, then reimbursed and expensed by a company, then there would be nothing to stop every company from indirectly buying named user licenses for each of their users and the licensing tier system would be ineffective. It would mean that personal and corporate customers would all be paying the same price.

This IMHO is a bit vague, what does "under the name of a company" mean? And what does that mean to a personal license if I have to buy it myself in a company?
E.g. I purchased a named license 6 months ago to use in my spare time, but now I have a new employment where I can use NCrunch also professionally. Does that mean that I may not use my personal license remaining 6 months, or simply that I may use it as long as the company is not paying for it?

The EULA places no restriction on where the license is used or for what purpose - it only restricts who is allowed to use it. If you purchase a Named User License, you can use this anywhere you work, including in your new employment.

Maybe you can clarify that is not allowed to use named user license, if that is reimbursed by a company (if that is the intention)? Then it makes it a bit more clear when, and when not, one is allowed to use a named license, in the context of a company.
(FWIW wallabyJS has a similar agreement but they state

Personal (Named) User Licenses are not to be purchased, refunded or in any way financed by companies.

which I think clarifies that I can use a personal wallabyJS license professionally as long as company is not reimbursing me for it).

I had thought that the agreement covered this, but will take another look. Thanks for pointing it out.