@Another User said:

I can't justify to put more money into something that can be gone the moment I lose a dongle, or I'd have to pay a lot per license for in case it breaks. All in the name of anti-piracy, at the cost of the legitimate customer.

You know I tried telling that to my wife about her wedding ring before I married her but it just bought me a one-way ticket to the doghouse😔

"Ya know honey I'd buy you that ring but what if you accidently wash it down the drain or it breaks or gets stolen.  Man alive! I'd be out thousands😢  Now maybe if there was a two year warranty..."   

Hi Paul,

Thank you very much for answering. I'll be sure to "refresh" the Vienna Key each two years, to protect myself from malfunctioning.

@Paul said:

It makes sense to be careful with all license keys. I carry mine in a padded box, always close to me when I travel.

When I had to go around with Emagic's Logic, I used to carry the dongle into a pocket camera bag. But some years earlier, one of my friends managed to break his Atari ST cartridge port by moving the computer with Cubase's protection still inserted. Still, even if you are careful, these things can break because of heat, cold, humidity, or a momentary distraction. I hate dongles!

While I understand the need for copy protection, I have to note that the current system is not protecting the customers. As far as I know, when purchasing software we purchase the right to use it. If the protection system breaks, or is stolen, the customer still has the right to use the software, while paying for the broken thing. I admit this is a grey area in law, and we are still debating between national laws (or lack of), European directives (never too specific), high-court sentences (sometimes having to interpret foggy laws).

I'm very curious to know how the other users have prepared to the evenience of a catastrophic event. How do people actually protect their investment?

I hope that you can adopt the same system used by Steinberg (the supplier of the eLicenser system you use), fully protecting the customer, while (I guess) still protecting Steinberg from software theft.

Paolo

@PaoloT said:

I'm very curious to know how the other users have prepared to the evenience of a catastrophic event. How do people actually protect their investment?

It really depends on your situation.  Are you a professional musician who needs your libraries in order to stay in business and/or survive?  In this case, get insurance.  It would behoove professionals who own and operate studios to include some sort of software coverage just as they would their studio gear.

I run my studio out of my home so as part of my home owner's insurance I'm covered.  And yes I have it in writing.  And yes the licenses are covered not just the little piece of plastic but be sure to get it in writing. Now the stipulation in my case is that I cannot travel with it but I have no reason to travel with it so it cannot leave the curtilage of my home.

Many will say that no company will insure the little piece of plastic or the licenses on it.  Again, it depends on your situation.  If you're a professional studio there really isn't any reason why you can't be insured as part of your studio set up (equipment, gear, etc.)  Now it might get fuzzy if you travel with your key.  So if you don't have to travel with it then don't travel with it.  Most people who cannot get insurance for their software are probably deamed to be" hobbyists" by the insurance companies instead of professionals in which case the risk to them is too great.

If you are a hobbyist then get insurance if you can and if you can afford it.  Otherwise you are just going to have to treat it like any other luxury item and take all the necessary precautions to protect it.

jasen, here's a summary of the problem: - If you lose the dongle VSL acts like it's physical property (like studio equipment) you should've insured. - But physical property is something you can *always* resell, without anyone's permission. - But they don't want you to do that, only by their grace you can sell your dongle *if* you pay them substantially. They say it's a license. - But if it's a personal license, you should still have the license if you lose or break a dongle. But you don't. You have to pay either 50% or 20 euros per license. VSL picks and chooses whether it's property or a license when it's convenient for them, which is the worst case scenario for costumers. By the way, another discussion about this is held at http://vi-control.net/community/threads/whatever-happened-to-vsl.60820/page-3

@jasensmith said:

Are you a professional musician who needs your libraries in order to stay in business and/or survive?  In this case, get insurance.

I've my home-studio already insured against fire. I called the agency today, and they tried to understand what I was talking about. In the end they surrendered, and told me that I need a "certificate estimate" from a "certificate expert". No address given for this expert, but they will ask the main office.

I suspect the insurance area is not as developed in Italy as it it in the USA.

Paolo