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Selling really old (1994-95) Autodesk stuff on ebay - suicide?

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roberttx

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We've got our hands on a bunch of old (1994-95) Autodesk stuff. There's documentation packs (a box of books, no disks), AutoCAD 13, accessory programs (boxed with manuals), that kind of thing. All definitely vintage.

The question is, would it be suicide to try to sell them on ebay? I remember Verno v. Autodesk and how that turned out, but don't want to get bogged down in that.

My question is more - does anybody know whether Autodesk cares about stuff that old? I figure selling books should be safe enough, but what about the rest?
 
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I am not a lawyer but the principle of first sale generally protects you. You are allowed to sell the physical artifacts you have in your hand; they can't prevent resale of those. They might not consider the new owner to be a legitimate license holder of the software, but they can't stop them from owning the physical artifacts.
 
mbbrutman said:
I am not a lawyer but the principle of first sale generally protects you. You are allowed to sell the physical artifacts you have in your hand; they can't prevent resale of those. They might not consider the new owner to be a legitimate license holder of the software, but they can't stop them from owning the physical artifacts.
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I had hoped to avoid this but, briefly, no. The 9th Circus held that the initial transfer from Autodesk was a license and not a sale, to title did not pass and First Sale Doctrine does not attach. The Supreme court refused to grant Cert, so that's settled law unless and until another case makes it to them.

Of course, that was Release 14, which is later than what I have, but eBay isn't going to consider legal minutiae if they get a VERO notice, they're just going to spank me.

The only question that matters, it seems, is which versions Autodesk (or whichever brand protection outfit they've outsourced this to) cares about? If they only bother with the newer stuff, I should be OK, but I don't know whether that's the case. I had hoped that somebody here might.
 
Chuck(G) said:
Is this (1994) early enough to require a dongle?
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I don't think so. There are no dongles included, but the paperwork talks about calling on the phone for an authorization code.

Syclops said:
I wouldn't mess with anything related to Autodesk, they have a pack of Lawyers that will hunt you down and beat the hell out of you for a dollar.
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That's what I'm worried about! Except, I can't see why they'd care about mid '90s software that only runs on DOS or Win 3.1...
 
Version 13 for USA used a floppy disk to authorize the install from the CD. It wasn't very stable on NT 3.51 before update c3 but it did have much-improved solid modeling over r12. I don't think it's worth much, perhaps best to sell it locally and avoid eBay and the related risk, or sell the docs only and mail the disks separately.
 
paul said:
Version 13 for USA used a floppy disk to authorize the install from the CD. It wasn't very stable on NT 3.51 before update c3 but it did have much-improved solid modeling over r12.
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That matches what the paperwork says. I have c4a (full version, Educational) and, separately, the c3 maintenance release in the plain brown box. I also have some nifty add ons, like Autovision Release 2, Autocad Designer Release 1.2 and Mechanical Desktop Release 1.1.

paul said:
I don't think it's worth much, perhaps best to sell it locally and avoid eBay and the related risk, or sell the docs only and mail the disks separately.
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Ordinarily, I'd agree, but these are all NOS, with the floppies and CDs still sealed. So I think that they must have some collectible value. I'm thinking of something along the lines of selling the docs and including the disks free of charge, maybe, but I wouldn't use my main account.

I just wish I knew whether Autodesk cares about old stuff. Mechanical Desktop has been dead for years and I'm pretty sure that some of the others have too.
 
1894-1895 doesn't quite match "really old" in my book, just old...

I've been using Autodesk software on and off since their beginning. I never had any problem with them, but I can't imagine wanting any software that requires permission that didn't come in the box to use.
 
roberttx said:
the paperwork talks about calling on the phone for an authorization code
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In which case you are now the proud owner of a pile of useless random bits. And neither you nor the buyer will be able to actually *do* anything with it. (PS, good luck to anyone trying to install Windows Vista/7/8/10 30 years or so from now)

paul said:
perhaps best to sell it locally and avoid eBay and the related risk, or sell the docs only and mail the disks separately.
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That seems like an overkill. People buy and sell vintage/old/obsolete software all the time. As stated earlier, this may not transfer a license or support, but we are talking about software that is out of support anyway. I'd think the bigger risk would simply be a buyer incorrectly assuming they will be able to use the software.

Unless somebody wants to come forward about being harassed for selling something they rightfully own, then speculating otherwise is just FUD.
 
In any case, it's easy to install and only requires the CD, serial number and authorisation floppy. No phone call required, at least for c3.

Mechanical Desktop brings back some memories as I purchased the first version to try out but did not stick with it. Meanwhile, I used v13 for fairly complex 3D assemblies, this X-Y table for example, a mix of solids and thick polylines.

Xy-3ds1.jpg
 

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Caluser2000 said:
Hmmmm
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If 1894 is "really old," what's 1494? Or 894?

My most reliable clock is kind of old. It was made in the middle of the 19th century.

At least we don't claim to have antique computers. Some antique radios are finally becoming antiques. A good number of my antique records are finally antiques. I have some wax cylinders that certainly would be if I could find the things.
 
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When it comes to "antique" for electronics I generally stick with the same idea the automotive world uses - 25 years. If it's older than 25, it's an antique. I apply this logic to electronics, as they tend to be just as easily perishable, if not more so, than automobiles.

It makes sense to me. Others may disagree.
 
SomeGuy said:
That seems like an overkill. People buy and sell vintage/old/obsolete software all the time. As stated earlier, this may not transfer a license or support, but we are talking about software that is out of support anyway. I'd think the bigger risk would simply be a buyer incorrectly assuming they will be able to use the software.

Unless somebody wants to come forward about being harassed for selling something they rightfully own, then speculating otherwise is just FUD.
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If it were any other company, you'd be right. But Autodesk are different and are very militant when it comes to resale. Worse, even if they don't care about the versions that I have, there's a chance that their subcontractor might go after them anyway, just to pad their billable hours.
 
This is of course all hearsay but I see ACAD stuff for sale all the time on eBay (3-4 a year) and they do get sold. I have not seen or heard anything about ACAD going after any of those sales. Of course how functional any of it is a whole different question....
 
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