BotDetect CAPTCHA: General Licensing Info

Please Note:

In parts in which the current license Agreement and the one in the upcoming BDC r4.5 release differ -- this article tends to skew toward explaining the latter. That bias is intentional, it makes no any sense for the readers to base any decision on the former -- so close to the BDC r4.5 release.

Licensing Principles

The BotDetect is not a standalone captcha application, but a captcha library -- which a developer embeds into its application -- that someone else will be using.

Therefore, which particular party can or cannot be the Licensee, and which particular license the Licensee needs, depends on:

  • what that particular application does,

  • how and by whom it is going to be used,

  • the way it is technically implemented,

  • who is the owner of its intellectual property,

  • and the Licensee's legal structure.

The purpose of this article is to shed some light on these basic concepts and principles guiding the BotDetect licensing -- in a form which hopefully resembles vernacular more than a legalese.

Quick Definitions:

In order to make make both writing and reading of this article much easier, the following terms have to be 'defined' first:

  • 'Protected Functionality,' refers to whatever is protected by the BotDetect.

  • 'Unobtrusive Protections,' refers to all protections built into the BotDetect, excluding its image and audio engines.

  • 'Corporation' refers to any private sector corporation regardless of if it consists of a single or multiple legal entities.

  • 'Conglomerate' refers to a conglomerate, or a still unintegrated roll-up, consisting of more than one Corporation.

  • 'Governmental Entity' refers to any government-owned corporation, as well as to any other governmental or quasi-governmental entity regardless of if it is incorporated or chartered or whatever else, or not.

General Corporate Purposes (GCP) Use

GCP Use

The GCP Use is any use in which:

  • the user of the Protected Functionality is the Licensee's workforce (employees, contractors, job applicants) e.g.:

    • workforce login/SSO form

    • job application form

    • sick-day registration form

  • the users of the Protected Functionality are the Licensee's customers -- but the service provided through it has a significant offline component -- with a human in the loop, e.g.:

    • customer contact form

The Licensee's GCP Use on its own websites, as well as its GCP Use on to the Licensee dedicated SaaS Product websites of its SaaS vendors, is covered with any of the following Licenses: Enterprise, Blueprint, Developer, OEM. The Licensee must have:

  • Enterprise License -- if the Derivative Works are not used,

  • Blueprint, Developer, or OEM License -- if the Derivative Works are used.

In-Product Use

The In-Product Use is any use in which the Protected Functionality is a part of the Licensee's product. Those products can be divided roughly into the following two distinct ways:

  • SaaS vs OnPrem Products,

  • White-labeled vs Branded Products.

SaaS Products:
  • SaaS Products are those products which the Licensee does not license to its customers -- but delivers them to its customers online -- as a by a software provided service instead.

  • Hence, the SaaS Use occurs -- and the SaaS Use Rights are needed.

The SaaS Use Rights are included in both the Developer and OEM Licenses (for the time being via Shared-Hosting License -- which will be replaced with the pure SaaS Use Right clauses in the BDC r4.5). However, note that those in the Developer License cover only the EV Executables. Hence, the Licensee must have:

  • Developer License -- if the Derivative Works are not used,

  • OEM License -- if the Derivative Works are used.

OnPrem Products:
  • OnPrem Products are those products whose software components the Licensee license to its customers -- which then typically run them from their own physical or virtual premises.

  • Hence, the Distribution occurs -- and the Distribution Rights are needed.

The Distribution Rights are included in both Developer and OEM Licenses. However, those in the Developer License cover only the EV Executables. Hence, the Licensee must have:

  • Developer License -- if the Derivative Works are not Distributed,

  • OEM License -- if the Derivative Works are Distributed.

White-labeled Product Use Is Expressly Forbidden

The BotDetect License expressly forbids any White-labeled Product use, since ages ago.

To allow for such an use each and every marketeer of a derived Branded Product using the BotDetect has to be licensed with its own License.

How About Conglomerates?

The Vendor does not sell any Conglomerate-level licenses.

If multiple Corporations within a Conglomerate use the BotDetect -- each Corporation has to procure its own separate license -- covering its own use case.

In that sense, a particular Conglomerate's holding company is considered to be yet another Corporation within that particular Conglomerate.

How About Governments?

In some aspects the Vendor sees Gov. Entities in a similar way as it sees private sector entities.

Per instance, a Governmental Entity has:

  • its workforce, e.g.:

    • employees, contractors, job applicants

  • and its customers, e.g.:

    • citizens, residents, tourists, visitors, other Gov. Entities, other governments

Thus:

  • the GCP vs In-Product Use division still applies -- and a proper License Subscription is needed. 'We are the government, we do not make products', kind of logic -- does not work,

  • the same goes for the Branded vs White-labeled Products division -- it applies as well.

However, there are some significant differences:

  • an average government has too many parts, which an administration simply must squeeze into a manageable number of departments -- until the next one reshuffles them all again,

  • those artificially piled-up parts might or not be established as separate legal entities,

  • most of those parts have their own geographical and functional units and sub-units -- which might or not be separate legal entities, too.

Which results in:

  • a distinct, particular country-specific, ever-changing mess -- very unlike equally ever-changing and equally messy situation in any other country, and

  • an average department of an average country having way more employees and customers, and way higher 'revenues' -- than an average multinational corporation.

To make everything much worse, way more often than not:

  • the domain ownerships are unclear, or clear but illogical,

  • those various parts, and their units and sub-units, share domains and websites.

Hence, when it is about Governmental Entities:

  • it doesn't matter if a part, unit, or sub-unit is established as a distinct legal entity or not -- licensing-wise, they are assumed to be -- and the Licenses are applied accordingly,

  • the default Licensee is the relevant, lowest-level sub-unit -- that represents the cross-section of the geographical and functional sub-divisions -- that can be found out,

  • in order to avoid having the earlier described mess result in a License non-compliance the following rights, which some of the Licenses grant to the private sector -- are not granted by default:

    • the domain/website-use rights,

    • the SaaS Use Rights,

    but later in steps, along the way, upon the Licensee's specific requests, on a case by case basis, for each particular website/use-case combination, after the Vendor checks the License compliance situation of that particular requested combination in question.

  • due to the fundamental incompatibility of the legal structures of the Gov. Entities and those of the corporate world, and the earlier described mess -- the following rights, which some of the Licenses grant to the private sector -- are not, and will not be, granted at all:

    • the Corporation-wide GCP Use Rights,

    • the Distribution Rights,

    except in a special case, in which the Licensee is in fact a government owned corporation, not anyhow different from a private sector corporation from the same jurisdiction, aside from the fact that Gov. Entities hold its controlling stake -- in which case the Vendor will grant those rights subsequently -- after the Licensee submits KYC docs proving its case,

  • in case of a dispute -- the only rule is -- that the Vendor rules.

A few typical problematic cases:

  1. In the best case scenario for a Licensee, in a private sector analogy, a typical Department of Galactic Defense, Unobtainium Ore Mining, and Time Wasting -- the Vendor will see as a yet another 'conglomerate.' But, in a more realistic scenario, it will be seen as a 'conglomerate of conglomerates' -- because each of its parts will easily qualify as a 'conglomerate' on its own.

    However, the Vendor has never had any Conglomerate-level Licenses.

    The fact that a typical administration has no other options -- but to create and run a pile-up of pile-ups of Gov. Entities -- cannot be used as a ground for the BotDetect licensing abuse.

    Thus, in order to spare both parties from having headaches later, when procuring a License, inform the Vendor from the get-go where and how the BotDetect is going to be used, and which particular relevant lowest-level sub-unit is the Licensee -- which would be, in a private sector analogy, a particular legal entity within, let's say, a multinational corporation.

  2. Neither can a Board of Ignorance procure a single license to protect the websites of a thousand schools spread over forty different counties, nor can a Dept. of Injustice do it for the websites of all those counties' courts -- regardless of if they share a domain or not.

    A higher-level Gov. Entity's License does not cover its sub-units and semi-dependent parts.

  3. The Absurdistan government cannot procure a license for its Prime Clown Office -- and then use the BotDetect on the sites of its Agency for Avian Pet Welfare, or Ministry of Silly Walks.

    No high-level Gov. Entity's License covers other unrelated Gov. Entities.

  4. Nor will fly the recently routine attempts of E-Gov Agencies of various Neverlands to procure a single Enterprise or Developer License to protect an E-Gov 'site' running tens of SaaS services logically belonging to various sub-units of twenty different agencies, boards, and departments -- come on folks, get real!

    The explanation is in the 'Observe Competing Prohibitions Clauses' section right below.

In general:

  • If a particular Governmental Entity has a problem with the Vendor's rules, or with the way the Vendor is inclined to apply them in its particular case, it should decorate its website with its favorite United States-, China-, or Russia-based 'captcha service' or a CDN.

    They cost peanuts or less, do not bother with questions, and come with absolutely no strings attached. Aren't they :)?

Observe Competing Prohibitions Clauses

The BotDetect License expressly forbids any use in directly or indirectly competing products, as well as any use in the products that otherwise shrink the BotDetect's total addressable market.

Among other things this expressly forbids the BotDetect's use in any product in which a captcha, or bot protection in general, is a significant part of the functionality.

A typical expressly forbidden use case would be some Neverland's E-Gov agency, or any other entity acting in such a capacity -- providing registration, SSO, login, and similar functionalities -- to various agencies, boards, and departments of that particular Neverland's government.

This kind of issue with the private sector is rare, and even when it happens it gets resolved in no time, typically in amicable ways. However, unfortunately, coz of whatever reason, Gov. Entities are apparently laggards regarding the ability to grasp the 'Competing Prohibitions' clauses.

Such Governmental Entities must note that their recent, covid-induced 'pivot to Internet', does not automagically give them the right to create services which are expressly forbidden ever since the first BotDetect release back in 2004 -- and that the Vendor will go nuclear to stop such an abuse.

To allow for such a use case, all relevant sub-units of all those departments, agencies, and boards in question -- must have their own License Subscriptions -- covering their own use cases. Thus, get properly licensed!

Licensing Eligibility

The BotDetect use can be licensed only by the owner of the IP of the content or codebase of a particular website or product in question. The IP ownership is usually determined by the copyright ownership, but as different industries function differently there are cases when it is determined by something else. Per instance, by the publishing rights for a particular territory/time-frame, etc.

Outsourcers

As an Outsourcer does not own the IP of a particular website or product it is contracted to work on -- it cannot license the BotDetect for use on/in that particular website or product in question.

However, such an Outsourcer can act as a Generic Reseller -- and resell that particular License Subscription in question to the Licensee instead.

After such a resale, or a direct purchase by the Licensee, a relevant employee of the Licensee will have to submit the Registration Form and accept the BotDetect License -- which will put into motion the EV Executables and/or Source Code delivery to the Licensee's technical contact.

It is then the Licensee's technical contact's responsibility to provide them to its employees and contractors -- the Outsourcer included -- on the need-to-know basis.

Derivative Works

Any modification of the BotDetect, regardless if it is implemented by modifying its Source Code or by making an API Wrapper around it, is deemed to be a Derivative Work. Thus, every single line of its source code is an exclusive property of the Vendor, which Licensee has the right to use only while its License Subscription is Active -- and the use is compliant with the BotDetect License.

If the Licensee's use case requires Derivative Works use, the Licensee must be licensed with a License which allows for their use. Depending on the Licensee's use case these are as follows:

  • Blueprint, Developer, or OEM License -- for the GCP Use,

  • OEM License -- for the In-Product Use.

Additionally, the Licensee must bear in mind the following:

  • a Derivative Work's source code must not be made available to anyone other than the Licensee's employees and contractors -- on the need-to-know basis,

  • prior its use on the Internet its executables should be obfuscated,

  • prior its Distribution its executables must be obfuscated,

  • the Unobtrusive Protections must not be disabled.

API Wrappers Are Derivative Works

Any and every BotDetect API Wrapper which, as a service, or a library, or otherwise, repackages the BotDetect in a way that bot protection in general, or captcha functionality, or getting captcha challenges or their internal parts, is a significant part of the resulting functionality, and exposes it to other apps -- is deemed to be a Derivative Work.

If the Licensee's use case requires it to turn the BotDetect into an appliance, it should keep in mind that such an appliance is an API Wrapper in its essence.

In order to avoid having headaches later:

  • such an API Wrapper should be made as narrow as possible,

  • its code must not be commingled with the code handling any other functionality,

  • the Licensee must pay attention to all other rules regulating the Derivative Works use.

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Licenses by Status and Type

Contemporary Licenses
Retired Licenses
  • GCP Use only licenses -- retired ever since 2018/10:

    BDC r4 will continue being licensed under those Licenses -- so it can be used by their existing Licensees. Not sold anymore.

Discontinued Licenses
  • Discontinued as a standalone license:

    It is still included in the Developer and OEM Licenses. However, the Vendor will replace it with the pure SaaS Use Rights clauses -- and discontinue altogether in the BDC r4.5

  • Discontinued altogether:

    • All Old Perpetual Licenses

    BotDetect is not licensed under them ever since the very first BDC r4 release.

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Contemporary Licenses

Enterprise License

Enterprise License DOES Cover:
  • The GCP Use on an unlimited number of websites (sub-domains) on an unlimited number of domains assuming that the Licensee, as a single legal entity, directly owns both all the domains and all the websites (sub-domains) on which the BotDetect is being used.

  • The GCP Use on an unlimited number of to the Licensee dedicated SaaS-product websites of its SaaS vendors.

  • Example: using the BotDetect on the forms on: yourdomain.com, fr.yourdomain.com, www.yourbrand1.com, blogs.yourbrand2.com, licensee.saasvendor1.com, and saasvendor2.licensee.com requires a single Enterprise License.

Enterprise License Does NOT Include:
  • Any rights for any kind of the In-Product Use.

  • Any rights for any kind of use by the rest of a Conglomerate the Licensee might belong to.

  • Any rights for any kind of use on the domains owned by the Licensee's franchisees.

  • Any rights for any kind of use on websites (sub-domains) which are given/sold/rented to third parties, or are used by third parties.

  • Any rights for any kind of use on the domains indirectly owned through other connected legal entities which are a part of the same organization e.g.: mother, or daughter, or sister entities.

Note For Government Sector Licensees:
  • From the upcoming BDC r4.5 onward, all government sector Licensees acquire a License with no rights whatsoever granted by default. The details are in 'How About Governments?' section of the 'Licensing Principles' above. Please take a look before making the purchase.

Blueprint License

Blueprint License DOES Include:
  • The Enterprise License.

  • Access to the BotDetect's Source Code.

  • The Derivative Works Use Rights -- for the GCP Use only.

    The right to use the Derivative Works instead of the Enterprise Version under the terms and conditions set forth in the Enterprise License.

Blueprint License Does NOT Include:
  • Any rights for any kind of the In-Product Use.

  • Any rights for any kind of use by the rest of a Conglomerate the Licensee might belong to.

  • Any rights for any kind of use on the domains owned by the Licensee's franchisees.

  • Any rights for any kind of use on websites (sub-domains) which are given/sold/rented to third parties, or are used by third parties.

  • Any rights for any kind of use on the domains indirectly owned through other connected legal entities which are a part of the same organization e.g.: mother, or daughter, or sister entities.

Note For Government Sector Licensees:
  • From the upcoming BDC r4.5 onward, all government sector Licensees acquire a License with no rights whatsoever granted by default. The details are in 'How About Governments?' section of the 'Licensing Principles' above. Please take a look before making the purchase.

Developer License

GCP Use-wise Developer License DOES Include:
  • Via the Blueprint License:

    • The Enterprise License.

    • Access to the BotDetect's Source Code.

    • The Derivative Works Use Rights.

      The right to use the Derivative Works instead of the Enterprise Version -- for the GCP Use only -- under the terms and conditions set forth in the Enterprise License.

  • The Corporation-wide GCP Use Rights

    This extends the GCP Use Rights, and the Derivative Works Use Rights for the GCP Use, from the single legal entity which have licensed the BotDetect -- to all legal entities on the same corporate balance sheet -- as if they have licensed the BotDetect themselves.

    It does not extend the access to the Source Code of the BotDetect and Derivative Works -- which must remain accessible only to the employees and contractors of the particular legal entity which have licensed the BotDetect -- and only on the need-to-know basis.

    The Corporation-wide GCP Use Rights are not applicable to non-corporate entities, which, among others, includes the entire government sector including the municipal corporations -- with the ordinary, but by a government owned, corporations being the only exceptions.

GCP Use-wise Developer License Does NOT Include:
  • Any rights for any kind of the In-Product Use.

  • Any rights for any kind of use by the rest of a Conglomerate the Licensee might belong to.

  • Any rights for any kind of use on the domains owned by the Licensee's franchisees.

  • Any rights for any kind of use on websites (sub-domains) which are given/sold/rented to third parties, or are used by third parties.

  • Any rights for any kind of use on the domains indirectly owned through other connected legal entities which are a part of the same organization e.g.: mother, or daughter, or sister entities -- except those expressly granted via the Corporation-wide GCP Use Rights.

SaaS Product Use-wise Developer License DOES Include:
  • The SaaS Use Rights (Enterprise Version).

    The right to provide as a service the Licensee's Branded SaaS Product, containing the Enterprise Version, to the Licensee's customers -- from an unlimited number of Shared SaaS Product Websites hosted on an unlimited number of domains -- assuming that:

    • The Licensee, as a single legal entity, directly owns the intellectual property of the said SaaS Product.

    • The Licensee, as a single legal entity, directly owns both all the domains and all the websites (sub-domains) from which the said service is provided.

    • The Licensee can ensure, and ensures, that the said service is consumed for the GCP Use by the Licensee's customers.

Saas Product Use-wise Developer License Does NOT Allow:
  • Any kind of the use on to a particular Licensee's customer Dedicated SaaS Product website, regardless who owns the domain -- except if such a use is expressly allowed by, if applicable, the granted Corporation-wide GCP Use Rights -- because:

    That particular website belongs to that particular Licensee's customer.

    Hence, it is that particular Licensee's customer who actually has to have a License.

  • Any kind of use in the Licensee's SaaS Products, which services are then marketed further as their own, free or paid, SaaS Products by the Licensee's customers, the Marketeers -- including by the Marketeers which are a part of the same organization -- because:

    It is a White-labeled SaaS Product then -- and such a use case is expressly forbidden.

    To allow for such a use case each and every Marketeer of a derived Branded SaaS Product has to have its own License.

  • Any kind of use on the SaaS Product websites on the domains owned by:

    • the Licensee's franchisees,

    • the other connected legal entities which are a part of the same organization e.g.: mother, or daughter, or sister entities -- except if such a use is expressly allowed by, if applicable, the granted Corporation-wide GCP Use Rights,

    • the rest of a Conglomerate the Licensee might belong to,

    because in each of those use cases, one way or another, the situation boils down to one or both of the scenarios already described in the first two bullets of this section.

OnPrem Product Use-wise Developer License DOES Include:
  • The Distribution Rights (Enterprise Version).

    The right to Distribute the Licensee's Branded OnPrem Product, containing the unmodified Enterprise Version, royalty-free, to the Licensee's licensees -- assuming that:

    • The Licensee, as a single legal entity, directly owns the intellectual property of the said OnPrem Product.

    • The Licensee can ensure, and ensures, that the said OnPrem Product is consumed for the GCP Use by the Licensee's licensees.

    The Distribution Rights are not applicable to non-corporate entities, which, among others, includes the entire government sector including the municipal corporations -- with the ordinary, but by a government owned, corporations being the only exceptions.

OnPrem Product Use-wise Developer License Does NOT Allow:
  • Any kind of use in, or Distribution with, the Licensee's OnPrem Products, which are then marketed further as their own OnPrem Products by the Licensee's licensees, the Marketeers -- including by the Marketeers which are a part of the same organization -- because:

    It is a White-labeled OnPrem Product then -- and such a use case is expressly forbidden.

    To allow for such a use case each and every Marketeer of a derived Branded OnPrem Product has to have its own License.

  • Any kind of use in, or Distribution with, the Licensee's OnPrem Products, by which provided services are then marketed further as their own, free or paid, SaaS Products by the Licensee's licensees, the Marketeers -- including by the Marketeers which are a part of the same organization -- because:

    It is a White-labeled OnPrem Product then -- and such a use case is expressly forbidden.

    To allow for such a use case each and every Marketeer of a derived Branded SaaS Product has to have its own License.

  • Any kind of use in, or Distribution with, the free, demo, shareware, or any other non-paid version of the Licensee's OnPrem Products.

  • Making the Licensee's OnPrem Product containing the BotDetect available as a free, or otherwise unauthenticated or unauthorized download.

  • Making the Licensee's OnPrem Product containing the BotDetect available from any public package repository.

  • Any kind of use in the OnPrem Products owned by:

    • the other connected legal entities which are a part of the same organization e.g.: mother, or daughter, or sister entities,

    • the rest of a Conglomerate the Licensee might belong to,

    except if such a use is expressly allowed by, if applicable, the granted Corporation-wide GCP Use Rights.

  • Any kind of Distribution with the OnPrem Products owned by:

    • the other connected legal entities which are a part of the same organization e.g.: mother, or daughter, or sister entities,

    • the rest of a Conglomerate the Licensee might belong to.

Note For Government Sector Licensees:
  • From the upcoming BDC r4.5 onward, all government sector Licensees acquire a License with no rights whatsoever granted by default. The details are in 'How About Governments?' section of the 'Licensing Principles' above. Please take a look before making the purchase.

OEM License

GCP Use-wise OEM License DOES Include:
  • Via the Blueprint License:

    • The Enterprise License.

    • Access to the BotDetect's Source Code.

    • The Derivative Works Use Rights.

      The right to use the Derivative Works instead of the Enterprise Version -- for the GCP Use only -- under the terms and conditions set forth in the Enterprise License.

  • The Corporation-wide GCP Use Rights

    This extends the GCP Use Rights, and the Derivative Works Use Rights for the GCP Use, from the single legal entity which have licensed the BotDetect -- to all legal entities on the same corporate balance sheet -- as if they have licensed the BotDetect themselves.

    It does not extend the access to the Source Code of the BotDetect and Derivative Works -- which must remain accessible only to the employees and contractors of the particular legal entity which have licensed the BotDetect -- and only on the need-to-know basis.

    The Corporation-wide GCP Use Rights are not applicable to non-corporate entities, which, among others, includes the entire government sector including the municipal corporations -- with the ordinary, but by a government owned, corporations being the only exceptions.

GCP Use-wise OEM License Does NOT Include:
  • Any rights for any kind of the In-Product Use.

  • Any rights for any kind of use by the rest of a Conglomerate the Licensee might belong to.

  • Any rights for any kind of use on the domains owned by the Licensee's franchisees.

  • Any rights for any kind of use on websites (sub-domains) which are given/sold/rented to third parties, or are used by third parties.

  • Any rights for any kind of use on the domains indirectly owned through other connected legal entities which are a part of the same organization e.g.: mother, or daughter, or sister entities -- except those expressly granted via the Corporation-wide GCP Use Rights.

SaaS Product Use-wise OEM License DOES Include:
  • The SaaS Use Rights (Enterprise Version and Derivative Works).

    The right to provide as a service the Licensee's Branded SaaS Product, containing the Enterprise Version or the Derivative Works, to the Licensee's customers -- from an unlimited number of Shared SaaS Product Websites hosted on an unlimited number of domains -- assuming that:

    • The Licensee, as a single legal entity, directly owns the intellectual property of the said SaaS Product.

    • The Licensee, as a single legal entity, directly owns both all the domains and all the websites (sub-domains) from which the said service is provided.

    • The Licensee can ensure, and ensures, that the said service is consumed for the GCP Use by the Licensee's customers.

Saas Product Use-wise OEM License Does NOT Allow:
  • Any kind of the use on to a particular Licensee's customer Dedicated SaaS Product website, regardless who owns the domain -- except if such a use is expressly allowed by, if applicable, the granted Corporation-wide GCP Use Rights -- because:

    That particular website belongs to that particular Licensee's customer.

    Hence, it is that particular Licensee's customer who actually has to have a License.

  • Any kind of use in the Licensee's SaaS Products, which services are then marketed further as their own, free or paid, SaaS Products by the Licensee's customers, the Marketeers -- including by the Marketeers which are a part of the same organization -- because:

    It is a White-labeled SaaS Product then -- and such a use case is expressly forbidden.

    To allow for such a use case each and every Marketeer of a derived Branded SaaS Product has to have its own License.

  • Any kind of use on the SaaS Product websites on the domains owned by:

    • the Licensee's franchisees,

    • the other connected legal entities which are a part of the same organization e.g.: mother, or daughter, or sister entities -- except if such a use is expressly allowed by, if applicable, the granted Corporation-wide GCP Use Rights,

    • the rest of a Conglomerate the Licensee might belong to,

    because in each of those use cases, one way or another, the situation boils down to one or both of the scenarios already described in the first two bullets of this section.

OnPrem Product Use-wise OEM License DOES Include:
  • The Distribution Rights (Enterprise Version and Derivative Works)

    The right to Distribute the Licensee's Branded OnPrem Product, containing the Enterprise Version or the Derivative Works, royalty-free, to the Licensee's licensees -- assuming that:

    • The Licensee, as a single legal entity, directly owns the intellectual property of the said OnPrem Product.

    • The Licensee can ensure, and ensures, that the said OnPrem Product is consumed for the GCP Use by the Licensee's licensees.

    The Distribution Rights are not applicable to non-corporate entities, which, among others, includes the entire government sector including the municipal corporations -- with the ordinary, but by a government owned, corporations being the only exceptions.

OnPrem Product Use-wise OEM License Does NOT Allow:
  • Any kind of use in, or Distribution with, the Licensee's OnPrem Products, which are then marketed further as their own OnPrem Products by the Licensee's licensees, the Marketeers -- including by the Marketeers which are a part of the same organization -- because:

    It is a White-labeled OnPrem Product then -- and such a use case is expressly forbidden.

    To allow for such a use case each and every Marketeer of a derived Branded OnPrem Product has to have its own License.

  • Any kind of use in, or Distribution with, the Licensee's OnPrem Products, by which provided services are then marketed further as their own, free or paid, SaaS Products by the Licensee's licensees, the Marketeers -- including by the Marketeers which are a part of the same organization -- because:

    It is a White-labeled OnPrem Product then -- and such a use case is expressly forbidden.

    To allow for such a use case each and every Marketeer of a derived Branded SaaS Product has to have its own License.

  • Any kind of use in, or Distribution with, the free, demo, shareware, or any other non-paid version of the Licensee's OnPrem Products.

  • Making the Licensee's OnPrem Product containing the BotDetect available as a free, or otherwise unauthenticated or unauthorized download.

  • Making the Licensee's OnPrem Product containing the BotDetect available from any public package repository.

  • Any kind of use in the OnPrem Products owned by:

    • the other connected legal entities which are a part of the same organization e.g.: mother, or daughter, or sister entities,

    • the rest of a Conglomerate the Licensee might belong to,

    except if such a use is expressly allowed by, if applicable, the granted Corporation-wide GCP Use Rights.

  • Any kind of Distribution with the OnPrem Products owned by:

    • the other connected legal entities which are a part of the same organization e.g.: mother, or daughter, or sister entities,

    • the rest of a Conglomerate the Licensee might belong to.

Note For Government Sector Licensees:
  • From the upcoming BDC r4.5 onward, all government sector Licensees acquire a License with no rights whatsoever granted by default. The details are in 'How About Governments?' section of the 'Licensing Principles' above. Please take a look before making the purchase.

Free License

You can use the Free Version for free forever as long as you respect the Free Version limitations, and not try to disable, reverse-engineer, bypass or work around them in any way.

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Retired Licenses

Website License

Please Note:
  • The sale of the Website License Subscriptions has been discontinued ever since 2018/10.

    However, as the BDC r4 will continue being licensed under the Website License -- it is still available to the existing Licensees with Active Website License Subscriptions.

Website License DOES Cover:
  • The GCP Use on a single website (sub-domain) on a single domain assuming that the Licensee, as a single legal entity, directly owns both the domain and the website (sub-domain) on which the BotDetect is being used, or on a single to the Licensee dedicated SaaS-product website of its SaaS vendor residing on that said single domain.

  • Example 1: using the BotDetect on the forms belonging to: www.yourdomain.com, es.yourdomain.com, investors.yourdomain.com, support.yourdomain.com, saasvendor1.yourdomain.com, and saasvendor2.yourdomain.com requires six Website Licenses because these are six different websites.

Website License Does NOT Include:
  • Any rights for any kind of the In-Product Use.

  • Any rights for any kind of use by the rest of a Conglomerate the Licensee might belong to.

  • Any rights for any kind of use on the domains owned by the Licensee's franchisees.

  • Any rights for any kind of use on websites (sub-domains) which are given/sold/rented to third parties, or are used by third parties.

  • Any rights for any kind of use on the domains indirectly owned through other connected legal entities which are a part of the same organization e.g.: mother, or daughter, or sister entities.

Note For Government Sector Licensees:
  • From the upcoming BDC r4.5 onward, all government sector Licensees acquire a License with no rights whatsoever granted by default. The details are in 'How About Governments?' section of the 'Licensing Principles' above. Please take a look before making the upgrade.

Domain License

Please Note:
  • The sale of the Domain License Subscriptions has been discontinued ever since 2018/10.

    However, as the BDC r4 will continue being licensed under the Domain License -- it is still available to the existing Licensees with Active Domain License Subscriptions.

Domain License DOES Cover:
  • The GCP Use on an unlimited number of websites (sub-domains) on a single domain assuming that the Licensee, as a single legal entity, directly owns both the domain and all the websites (sub-domains) on which the BotDetect is being used.

  • The GCP Use on an unlimited number of to the Licensee dedicated SaaS-product websites of its SaaS vendors residing on that said single domain.

  • Example 1: using the BotDetect on the forms belonging to: www.yourdomain.com, es.yourdomain.com, investors.yourdomain.com, support.yourdomain.com, saasvendor1.yourdomain.com, and saasvendor2.yourdomain.com requires a single Domain License because these are just different websites on the same domain.

    Example 2: using the BotDetect on the forms belonging to: yourdomain.com, yourdomain.net, yourdomain.co.uk, yourdomain.us, licensee.saasvendor.com requires five Domain Licenses because these are five different domains.

Domain License Does NOT Include:
  • Any rights for any kind of the In-Product Use.

  • Any rights for any kind of use by the rest of a Conglomerate the Licensee might belong to.

  • Any rights for any kind of use on the domains owned by the Licensee's franchisees.

  • Any rights for any kind of use on websites (sub-domains) which are given/sold/rented to third parties, or are used by third parties.

  • Any rights for any kind of use on the domains indirectly owned through other connected legal entities which are a part of the same organization e.g.: mother, or daughter, or sister entities.

Note For Government Sector Licensees:
  • From the upcoming BDC r4.5 onward, all government sector Licensees acquire a License with no rights whatsoever granted by default. The details are in 'How About Governments?' section of the 'Licensing Principles' above. Please take a look before making the upgrade.

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Discontinued Licenses

Shared-Hosting License

Please Note:
  • Due to the Vendor's decision to exit the shared-hosting market, the sale of the standalone Shared-Hosting License Subscriptions has been discontinued ever since 2015/08.

    However, as the Shared-Hosting License was covering the SaaS Product use cases, too -- it continued to be a part of both the Developer and OEM Licenses -- which was constantly causing confusions to both the Vendor's own employees and the Licensees.

    Therefore, in the upcoming BDC r4.5, the Shared-Hosting License will be discontinued altogether -- and replaced with the pure SaaS Use Rights clauses.

If Licensee Is In SaaS Product Business:
  • Unless the Licensee provides dedicated SaaS Product websites to its users, the Vendor does not expect the Licensee to be affected anyhow by this particular change.

If Licensee Is In Shared-Hosting Business:
  • The Licensee should note that it is the time to start looking for some alternative solution.

  • Starting with the BDC r4.5 -- no License will cover the shared-hosting use case.

Note For Government Sector Licensees:
  • From the upcoming BDC r4.5 onward, all government sector Licensees acquire a License with no rights whatsoever granted by default. The details are in 'How About Governments?' section of the 'Licensing Principles' above. Please take a look before making the upgrade.


Current BotDetect Versions