Why would you need to buy it for every eLicenser? I would only buy it for the eLicenser that you take with you if you work outside the office.

i just bought it, i'm happy with this new solution. 

@Ludwig N. said:

What if I had 3 slaves with vsl instruments - should I pay 210.- Euro every 2 years?

Note to perspective VSL customers:

If at all possible, try to keep everything on one machine.  I do and it works fine.

In Ludwig's situation, I guess it would depend on how much VSL you own.  If I had everything they ever released which would easily be around 20 grand worth of stuff, 210 Euro every two years seems pretty reasonable for a studio setup that you would otherwise have to insure anyway but, like I said, it would depend on how much VSL you own. 

@daviddln said:

Oh, I have another question : can we transfer the new Protection Plan on another ViennaKey as we can do vith other licenses ? Thanks. Best, David

Hi,

I have just added those 2 questions to our VPP FAQs, the answer is the same for both:

K) Can I move the Vienna Protection Plan license to another key?

– Yes. All VSL licenses on a key which contains a Vienna Protection Plan license are protected.

L) Can I also use an old key?

– Yes. All VSL licenses on a key which contains a Vienna Protection Plan license are protected.

Best,

Paul

Hi,

thank You Paul for clarifying these questions.

I have almost all the VSL orchestral libraries (this is a lot!) on one Master and two Slaves. As soon as possible I´ll buy another one. I also have a Studio in Cyprus, where I work during summer - so I cannot leave my keys "at home".

If I am right I should put all my libraries to one key where the protection licence is stored, take all three keys to Cyprus and there I should put the licences back to the "unprotected" keys. If I do it that way my licences are secure for the flight. 

I still have to say that the price is too high compared to Zero Downtime. And managing the licences with the eLicencer Software is a nightmare. Think about how much time it takes to put all the licences from two or three keys to one key and the same procedure three times! 

It would be so much better if it was possible to "store" all my licences in a VSL-Cloud/Steinberg Cloud so I could travel with empty keys - no insurance would be neccessary...This is the way I do it with my Waves licences.

Hi Ludwig N., 

I understand your situation. 

This solution is the best option we could find within the possibilities of the eLicenser system, and we are indeed very happy that we can now offer this additional protection. 

I know it takes a while to transfer all licenses to one key with the system you describe, but I believe it's worth it (always depending on your hourly rate, of course).

Transfering one license takes around 5-7 seconds here. 

Best, 
Paul 

While I am very happy that a new solution to protect the Vienna Key exists and the situation has undoubtedly improved dramatically for users with many licenses (especially given the new availability of Vienna Emergency Licenses) I still hope you will continue to monitor and tweak the pricing scheme.

Let's not forget that all forms of copy protection - while undoubtedly necessary - are usually an inconvience to the paying customer. Until now, the main argument for not replacing lost/stolen licenses was that it was technically impossible to invalidate licenses on stolen/lost keys. If I understand your post correctly, fortunately that seems to have changed.

However, the following things are a little hard to understand:

1) Why did you decide to introduce the new Vienna Protection Plan as a subscription based service instead of just charging users with a one time fee for the needed services when the key is actually lost/stolen?

2) If this is supposed to be something close to an insurance, why is the Vienna Plan used up in case of key failure? It sounds like the worst of two worlds: Users have to pay a recurring fee to be protected for a limited amount of time like in an insurance, but the plan is used up after you have to use it once - like in a fee based model.
On top of that it sounds like the plan only protects the licenses itself, not the physical key, so the user will have to buy a replacement key even if protected by the new plan.


Now, I understand that these technical solutions involve some work and people need to get paid. However, your customers are now in a situation, where they basically have to pay an additional recurring fee to protect themselves against the risk of loss of their licenses - a risk, which only exists in the first place because of the copy protection.
Sure, I will agree that this is much better than having no protection against loss/theft at all. But I must admit it leaves an uneasy feeling that being a VSL user basically comes with a new mandatory annual fee to limit the potential risks caused by the USB key copy protection.

Exactly. Very well written Gustar!

+1

@Ludwig N. said:

If I am right I should put all my libraries to one key where the protection licence is stored, take all three keys to Cyprus and there I should put the licences back to the "unprotected" keys. I

I doubt that all your licences will fit on one key. I have many (but not even all) of the VSL libraries and I have to use 2 keys at the moment. 

This is something that makes me even more unhappy with VSL's new Protection Plan as I would have to pay for 2 protection licences every year - one per key.

The good people at VSL are very clever and creative - hopefully they can come up with a better copy protection system than this inelegant comprimise.

@Another User said:

2) If this is supposed to be something close to an insurance, why is the Vienna Plan used up in case of key failure? It sounds like the worst of two worlds: Users have to pay a recurring fee to be protected for a limited amount of time like in an insurance, but the plan is used up after you have to use it once - like in a fee based model.
On top of that it sounds like the plan only protects the licenses itself, not the physical key, so the user will have to buy a replacement key even if protected by the new plan.

The way I understand it, if your key fails and it is less than two years old then the warranty should cover the cost of replacing the licenses.  The warranty is seperate from the protection plan and comes automatically (free of charge) after you purchase a Vienna key (register).  However, if your key is older than two years then the protection plan would kick in assuming you purchased it.  Note that the warranty doesn't cover lost or stolen keys.  Or if it is determined that the key failed due to negligence on your part.

As a general rule of practice, you should have a spare key(s) because, with or without the protection plan or warranty, you can't run the libaries without a Vienna key.

I think one of the purposes of this protection plan is to get you up and running as soon as possible in the event something happens to your key so you don't have projects in limbo with deadlines looming. 

One thing I'm not sure about is if the key fails and it is still on warranty then VSL will send you a new key free of charge?  I think that's right.

@Gustar said:

1) Why did you decide to introduce the new Vienna Protection Plan as a subscription based service instead of just charging users with a one time fee for the needed services when the key is actually lost/stolen?

Wouldn't that be like buying auto insurance AFTER you get into a car accident? 

If you had just a quarter of the possible licenses that VSL offers it will still cost them much more to replace those lost licenses than it would cost you for the protection plan.

As i mentioned in another forum, i suppose this "Protection Plan" is acceptable for those who invested a vast amount of money on VSL libraries. Ofcourse they are relieved that they won't have to pay again for their big investement ! They are forced to pay an annual fee instead.

But it's BAD service because now we know that a dongle that's stolen can be disabled. VSL could follow Steinberg's or i-lok method but choose to punish us customers. As much as i like these fine libraries, this whole licensing scheme is almost offensive .

@Paul said:

Hi,

I have just added those 2 questions to our VPP FAQs, the answer is the same for both: 

K) Can I move the Vienna Protection Plan license to another key?

– Yes. All VSL licenses on a key which contains a Vienna Protection Plan license are protected. 

L) Can I also use an old key?

– Yes. All VSL licenses on a key which contains a Vienna Protection Plan license are protected.

Best, 

Paul

Just purchased the Vienna Protection Plan yesterday! Thank you Paul for the clarification! I have a permanent setup and my Steinberg Key doesn't move at all out of my studio, but I feel safer that way. I wasn't even aware of the alternative and how costly it could be if something happens to your dongle and you have no plan! Been paying yearly ZDT plan on my iLok for years at very similar price. After communicating with a VSL representative a couple of times, I realized how great it is to finally have this Protection Plan!

Hello, as my time is indeed limited, please clarify me.

Just bought the vienna protection plan. I put it on the key where I have most valuable things like Synchron Strings and one of ViennaEnsemblePro licenes

1. What if this key gets broken and does not work anymore?

2. What if this key gets stolen?

I read " you should have a spare key(s) because, with or without the protection plan or warranty, you can't run the libaries without a Vienna key" but it is not clear to me. Where should I keep this protection plan. I want to secure the licenses mentioned above.

How to behave to secure it?

Hello Adia,

1+2) Simply report it to us.

Please keep the VPP license on the key with your licenses.

The spare ViennaKey is there so you can keep on working RIGHT AWAY in case anything happens (you will receive a time-limited license right after reporting a key).

Best,
Paul

Hi, when VPP was first released I remember reading that it was a one-time use thing. If you report your key as lost / stolen / damaged, then you get a 50-hour emergency license, the original key is deactivated, and your protection plan is used up.

I was under the impression that those licenses would never be eligible for protection again. That is, you'd get new licenses, but you wouldn't be able to buy VPP for them again. If you lost a second key, those licenses would be gone forever (and you could replace them for 50% off, per VSL's original policy).

However today I see on the Protection Plan page a bullet point (#6) that I think wasn't there originally:

5. Your lost/broken/stolen ViennaKey will be disabled and cannot be used anymore. Your Vienna Protection Plan is now used up.

6. Buy a new Vienna Protection Plan for new coverage.

My reading of that is that if I lose a protected key and receive replacement licenses, I can buy a new protection plan for the new key / licenses. If I were to lose this new key, it would be protected and I could use the protection plan to receive replacement licenses (and buy a new protection plan).

Is that correct?

Also, will VSL notify me when the 2-year protection period is about to end, so I can renew it?

(Obviously my goal is to never lose my key in the first place. When I thought VPP was a once-in-a-lifetime use thing, I still needed a fallback insurance in case I ever had to use VPP. But if it's a one-claim-per-purchase thing, it becomes a lot more comfortable to buy in to)