I sincerely apologize for negative impressions that I might have cast towards anyone, and I shall be mindful to avoid discussions about previous experiences like this in the future, though I honestly don't recall exactly what I had said.
For the record, however, and especially considering the fact that you published your sentiments (and they might be read by the persons involved), I can also honestly say that I harbor no hard feelings for the folks from Digital Tool. It would cheer me to meet them today, and to know that they are doing well, as I am sure it would of them for me. I am sure that the closing days of Digital Tool had its unique set of pressures, and (as I had expressed to the president's wife in a telephone conversation at one time), I had worried about the levels of stress that I had detected, and its possible effects on their health.
Nevertheless, we had a written agreement with Digital Tool tool to execute a non-transferable program license agreement between Ability Systems and the end user. The non-transferable nature was compensated for adequately by the exceptionally deep OEM discount. Consequently, any copy of our software that is transferred as a result of second hand purchase of a Digital Tool machine is unauthorized.
From time to time we get calls for support for unauthorized software, and are faced with propositional sales on the basis of our success. Yet to even acknowledge that the software can be used temporarily legally dismisses our Copyright, and exposes us to the type of liability that our license agreement was designed to protect us from - especially on a potentially dangerous machine like a wood router. You had mentioned that our name was on the product. Next to our name (on all of our software) it says "use only in accordance with the Program License Agreement".
Unfortunately, when software is sold outside of the license agreement, as it was in your case, the buyer is victimized as well.
As I said, I don't recall the conversation, but since I obviously offended you, I sincerely ask you to accept my apology.
with best regards,
Arthur Volta
Ability Systems Corporation  |