Can software Companies sue for using their software to self-publish?

Some of it is. There are software packages out there (student copies of Adobe's software come to mind) that are sold with a EULA clause that forbids you from using them to create anything you intend to sell. Whether these clauses are enforceable or not is one of those difficult questions that would have to be determined in court, and most people aren't likely to want to go that kind of trouble and expense to find out.

Images can have licenses too, and they do need to be attributed unless the copyright holder has given permission to do otherwise (or the image has been released into the public domain). The term "royalty-free" doesn't mean that you can use an image without paying, it means that you don't have to pay a fee for every copy you make.

Very little on the Internet is actually free, without qualifiers. Always make sure there's an official license attached to anything you intend to use for commercial purposes (claiming it's "free" is Not Good Enough), and, like the person you're quoting says, read it. At least then you'll be able to make an informed decision. I do the odd bit of commercial design work, so I vet my fonts, software, etc. very carefully, just in case. Due diligence, and all that.

Note that you aren't necessarily likely to get caught even if you've copied everything in your ebook from somewhere else. But it can happen, and could theoretically land you in court.

I've noticed various software packages that have both personal or business versions, but I just assumed one would have some bells and whistles the other didn't. It never occurred to me that there would be restrictions on the 'personal use' version.

Using properly licensed software is just smart. Why take such a chance?

shadowwalker said:

I've noticed various software packages that have both personal or business versions, but I just assumed one would have some bells and whistles the other didn't. It never occurred to me that there would be restrictions on the 'personal use' version.

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I think you were right in your initial assumption...Or maybe I should say, God I hope so. I would imagine there are a goodly number of writers who have home/personal versions of Word or Works that they type their manuscripts in. In my case, I then send that word file to my publisher and what they do from there in terms of software I have no idea. But I am assuming using my Home/Personal version of Word to create something for which I will ultimately receive money is legal, as even Home/Personal versions, when properly purchased, are licensed. I think what the OP is addressing is unlicensed software (not purchased).

Here are the license terms for MS Office 2010.

Here are a few sample from the PDF:

12. HOME AND STUDENT SOFTWARE. For software marked “Home and Student” edition, you may install one copy of the software on up to three licensed devices in your household for use by people for whom that is their primary residence. The software may not be used for commercial, nonprofit, or revenue-generating activities.

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See the part I bolded? Hmm. I'm not a lawyer. I'm not even going to try to answer this. Just presenting the text.

You'll find similar text for the US and Canadian military editions, Items 13 and 14 right after the above.

my microsoft word says 2010 non-commercial use in the top of documents.

i don't really have the cash flow to buy the business versions :/ and you can only get the home use ones with student discount. so.. guess revert to a free word then?

As an IT professional, I subscribe to a Microsoft service called Technet Professional. I have to stay current on MS Products. And this service provides (among other things) for a couple of copies of every end-user-facing product they offer. All for about the same price as MS Office Professional (a yearly fee).

MS also offers a similar service for people who have the job of selling MS Software, but that one says it's for demonstration purpose, so it might have the non-commercial-use wording in some shape or fashion.

I'll have to see if that service has the same restriction.

But, yeah, maybe it's got to be LibreOffice or some such. Now there is a SLIGHTLY more affordable option:

MS Office 365

I'm not trying to sell you on that. But there's some interesting wording in their Terms for it.

Unless otherwise specified, the Services are for your personal and non-commercial use. You may not modify, copy, distribute, transmit, display, perform, reproduce, publish, license, create derivative works from, transfer, or sell any information, software, products or services obtained from the Services.

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That last part leaves me wondering if it's referring to *MS Word itself*, and not to the works you produce with it. You cannot sell it, rent use of it, make it shared like MS is doing with Office365.

But, again, I'm not a lawyer. I'm totally speculating.

FalconMage said:

That last part leaves me wondering if it's referring to *MS Word itself*, and not to the works you produce with it. You cannot sell it, rent use of it, make it shared like MS is doing with Office365.

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Yes.

It's referring to the code, derivative products made from portions of the code, the feature set and names, the UI—all the "look and feel" elements as well as the actual code.

Alexys said:

Some of it is. There are software packages out there (student copies of Adobe's software come to mind) that are sold with a EULA clause that forbids you from using them to create anything you intend to sell.

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It's typically very specific as well; you don't have to wonder if that's what they mean.

Apple's iBooks Author EULA and TOS stipulate if that if you use it to make an ebook you can only sell that ebook via Apple's iBooks bookstore. You can give away the ebook elsewhere, but you can't sell it elsewhere.

Mind, the books will only work with the iBooks app under iOS 5.x so . . . .

EmpoweredOKC said:

Probably 99% of the self published books out there are breaking copyright laws so it's not hard to shut people down and give them thousands of dollars in legal bills.

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I think a lot of it is bull shit. A lot of it is an attempt to rip writers off by offering "advice."

Yes; software licenses, EULA and TOS can restrict your use of the software.

You absolutely should buy, register and be upright in terms of software.

Yes, you should read and follow the restrictions.

But I can't find a single case against an individuals wrt to say using a student or home edition license that is paid for, and legally licensed by the user, to write a novel.

Note that by the time a novel becomes a printed book or an ebook, it may be several removes from the software the author used to write it initially.

Note as well that software companies will absolutely pursue unlicensed uses of their software--but it's usually in the context of corporations, or bootleg retailers.

Just the cost of filing a suit against John Doe for using ReadyRite 4.5 to write his self published novel, for sale as a Kindle ebook, requiring all sorts of warrants would be prohibitively time consuming, bad PR, and expensive for little or no recompense.

On the other hand, filing a frivolous or false lawsuit is very very dangerous indeed.

That said, if you're worried, use WordPad or Bean or some clearly free to use OpenSource software with a non-restrictive license and EULA.

OpenOffice Writer is available for free commercial use, for anybody suddenly scared of their Microsoft Word.

http://www.openoffice.org/why/

EmpoweredOKC said:

Yeah, I wasn't talking about unlicensed software, or pirated software. The warning I quoted was in reference to personal licenses versus some other variety of license. For example, if I have Indesign for personal use but not commercial use, is my Indesign-rendered book in violation? That sort of thing.

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That depends on the license and EULA.

Kriven said:

OpenOffice Writer is available for free commercial use, for anybody suddenly scared of their Microsoft Word.

http://www.openoffice.org/why/

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I'm usually scared of it in the 'what's this half baked piece of **** doing now!' sense. But that probably not what you meant.

Kriven said:

OpenOffice Writer is available for free commercial use, for anybody suddenly scared of their Microsoft Word.

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The problem is I use Word for contracts etc at my day job so I am so familiar with it. And both of my novel editors have used the track changes and comments features. On the other hand, I rarely use the multitude of other features when writing fiction...

Thankfully I am somewhat reassured by this:

Medievalist said:

...I can't find a single case against an individuals wrt to say using a student or home edition license that is paid for, and legally licensed by the user, to write a novel.

Note that by the time a novel becomes a printed book or an ebook, it may be several removes from the software the author used to write it initially.

Just the cost of filing a suit against John Doe for using ReadyRite 4.5 to write his self published novel, for sale as a Kindle ebook, requiring all sorts of warrants would be prohibitively time consuming, bad PR, and expensive for little or no recompense.

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Another thought. Can software companies even track if you used their software for production of the novel? The finished ebook doesn't say "written in MS Word" somewhere.

Same for InDesign. Is it possible to say that a book was rendered in InDesign? With Word or JPG's I know for sure it isn't possible, I don't know InDesign enough to say.

Depends on what the output file format is. I'm not sure whether EPUB, etc, embed the name of the software that creates the file, but they may. PDF embeds both the name of the software package and the engine used to create the file (if you have Acrobat Reader, check File > Properties). To be really sure, you need to either find a spec for the file type or go over a sample file with a hex editor. (And actually, image files can embed the name of the creating application—most of them include comment or metadata fields.)

EmpoweredOKC said:

"A word of caution - I've been seeing an attack on self publishers lately as it's becoming a dog eat dog arena and everyone's looking to make a buck. [..] It's sad how vindictive people are becoming, you really need to cover your butt these days."

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WOW... the original facebook poster is a complete idiot. I'm sure authors want paid for their books, but software engineers can be screwed for their efforts. I personally hope the original facebook author of this post rots on a pile of his/her own fetid crap.

Yes, you have to abide by software licenses. If you have a lower cost/free 'personal use only' product then the creators of the software have made it available to you as a courtesy. When you make money from their software, isn't it reasonable that they should get their full commercial price?

Yes, software embes information into files that let you know how the file was created and allow other softwares to select the correct import filters. And products like MS Office also embed information about the user of the product, so your employer can identify files created using their office computers.

Will you get caught? If you're a raging twit like the facebook author, I hope you do. I'd love to know who that person publishes as so I can personally turn them in myself. But, in general, no. A software company doesn't have the resources to track down all the various aspects to determine if they have a pirating claim (unless someone turns the person in). They're too busy providing tech support to all those free users who think that its okay to screw the software engineers while making a buck off their product.

Images are different - it is far easier to track them down if you've used a 'stolen' image and it is posted on the internet - like as the cover of your book. They can be found through automated theft protection services if the creator of the image signs up for such a service.

I'm using Microsoft Word 2003 from the Professional Edition of Office 2003 (which I purchased back in the mid-2000s). I assume that's all right.

Mark Moore said:

I'm using Microsoft Word 2003 from the Professional Edition of Office 2003 (which I purchased back in the mid-2000s). I assume that's all right.

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Yes.


And TO EVERYONE ELSE:
I want to sort of appologize for my earlier post. I know that the original statements were made by a person on Facebook and not someone on this forum. It just is so wrong for an author to complain about another creator of Intellectual Property seeking to earn a living from it.

No problem, mate. It happens.
It's a shame that the content has declined and turned to social media as a preferred medium.
_________________________
Dumitru
Nearshoring Partner

The other licensing issue that a lot of authors aren't aware of is font embedding in ebooks. Most fonts have a separate license for general use (to create static printed documents, PDFs, etc.) and for embedding in an ebook file, since this embedding actually includes the font software itself, not just the glyphs.

Sleeping Cat Books said:

The other licensing issue that a lot of authors aren't aware of is font embedding in ebooks. Most fonts have a separate license for general use (to create static printed documents, PDFs, etc.) and for embedding in an ebook file, since this embedding actually includes the font software itself, not just the glyphs.

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How about the case of where you use Adobe Pro to prepare a print version PDF of a book?

Al X. said:

How about the case of where you use Adobe Pro to prepare a print version PDF of a book?

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Every "Pro" EULA (End User Licensing Agreement) that I've read (though I'm only speaking half a dozen EULA documents) allows use of the application for commercial purposes. There might be some gotcha-statements about the applications themselves, but about the product created using the software? My experience is not comprehensive. But it's 6 for 6.

I'm kinda surprised this was not mentioned previously, but legal advise from an Internet forum is worth exactly what you paid for the advise. If you're looking for legal protection, you should consult a lawyer.