I thought I was buying your software - what is this "license" I am paying for?

Our software intellectual property, like almost all commercial software, is not sold (unless the assets of a company are being purchased), but instead, the right to use the software is "sold" to a customer, and indeed, multiple customers. This right to use the software is the "license" that you are purchasing and typically a set of terms that are laid out in a license agreement govern the use of the license. For example, license terms may limit the period of use of the software, or the rights to modify it. TeamF1's license is fairly simple - it allows the unlimited use of and modification rights to the software by the customer within the context of a specific project or organization. Further, integrated versions of the modified or unmodified software in binary form may be distributed through multiple levels of distribution based with very few terms and conditions applicable to end-users.

Does any third-party software that is included within TeamF1's products have to be separately licensed?

No, TeamF1 ensures that it has the license to use and sub-license any third-party components within the TeamF1 product. In rare cases, some modules may require that patent rights or patent licenses (separate from the software license) be obtained from the party owning these rights. These components are identified explicitly in the licensing agreement or are packaged separately to avoid inadvertent use without noting the terms. In no case is such software a mandatory component and the software is always fully functional without these components being used.

Does the TeamF1 software license include a warranty and support period?

Yes and No. TeamF1's software always includes a warranty period as specified by the license agreement, but support is available only upon payment of an annual support and maintenance subscription. During the warranty period (unless covered by a support and maintenance arrangement) updates related to defects that impair the operation of the software (read: "bug-fixes") are made available at no additional charge. If you purchased a support and maintenance arrangement subscription, which we strongly encourage, you are additionally entitled to full tech-support benefits as well as patches, updates and upgrades to the software during the subscription period - whether these are related to defects or are enhancements to the base product.

I already signed a software license agreement with you for one product. I am very happy with it and would like to license some of your other products or want to purchase licenses for other projects in my company. Do I need to sign a new license agreement?

Typically (and in some cases, this may be a function of your own company's legal department) we try to simplify the process as much as possible. If you already have a license agreement in place with us, there is a good chance that we may be able to license other products to you by just adding attachments to the original agreement.

My company just got acquired and the acquiring company wants to continue development on our project. Do I need to purchase a new license or do I need to re-license the software?

First of all, congratulations on being acquired and also on the status of the project! There is more good news for you - you DO NOT need to purchase a new license or relicense the software (assuming that the acquiring company is taking over the obligations of the original contract, as is usually the case, and assuming that no payments were due for the original license). Let us know your new coordinates, contact info, new marketing name of your end-product etc. if they have changed, so we can update our records. Your license number and other information stays the same. If for some reason, you don't like your license number (we hear you, license #13), we will be happy to provide you with a new license number in the name of the new company. Sorry, you cannot change your project or organization scope that the license is tied to, because of this. Our lawyers remind us that an acquisition of only specific assets in certain cases may not be considered an "acquisition" of the company.

Do I need an export license to ship your software products internationally?

OK, this really isn't the same type of license as described in the above sections, since export licensing of TeamF1's products is not something TeamF1 determines - it is determined by the US Department of Commerce (Bureau of Industry and Security). The U.S. export control laws regulate the export and reexport of technology originating in the United States. However, since you are reading thus far, it is useful to note that most TeamF1 products, including most cryptographic ones, do not need an export license except for a very small handful of countries (under License exception ENC). Your end-product may still need to be separately classified but if the only (or one of the few) cryptographic components is a TeamF1 product, the export classification information we provide (including ECCN number and License exception) will be helpful in expediting your export classification which will determine whether you need an export license or not. Please contact our technical support team for details (only if you are licensed TeamF1 customer) and we'll share the goodies.

Does your license agreement allow me to use some of your product documentation in my end-product's documentation?

Yes, indeed, all TeamF1 copyrighted documentation supplied with our products can be used freely in your product documentation under the license agreement. At times, we may also provide some third party documentation if we feel it is useful to our customers. These documents are released with their own copyright notice and are not licensed by TeamF1, though more likely than not, the terms are not any more restrictive, and you may be able to use these documents too, as long as you fulfill the copyright requirements (such as acknowledgements, crediting the source etc).