Mainframe Systems and
Programmer Productivity Software 

Licensing And Maintenance Terms

As you may be aware, in the past, The DBT Group ("DBT") has implemented licensing agreement term changes that have resulted in our Licensees enjoying more livable license agreements. To summarize, these changes include non-tiered product licensing (i.e., no "upgrades"), "capped" 1993 maintenance growth rates at ten (10) percent, and non-copy-protected products.

Since our inception, DBT has found that some firms, both Licensees and Outsourcers, have illegally copied or used our products. Outsourcers, whom DBT has never licensed, have attempted to terminate our license agreements with Licensees. Some Licensees have made illegal copies of our software, which continue to be in use today. One went so far as to distribute unlicensed copies to a spin-off company. The way that they were able to do this was, of course, that the product was not copy-protected. Thus, I am sad to say that some of the license agreement terms have now changed as a result of this licensing, maintenance and product usage abuse. We will, of course, honor all existing license agreement terms - our policy here at DBT is, "A Deal Is A Deal". However, new license agreements and any changes requested to or required for existing license agreements will utilize our new licensing terms.  A brief recap of these terms and changes follows.

• 1)  Access Fee
  When Outsourcers or Facility Management firms require access to our software that continue to run on our Licensee's CPUs, or require access to our software on their own CPUs, there is a one-time Five Thousand dollar ($5,000.00) per-corporate-entity Access Fee (i.e., per Outsourcer or Facility Management firm), and a new License Agreement must be signed. The Access Fee is not based on the number of CPUs; it is based on the number of entities (i.e., corporations other than our Licensee) that require access to our software. If the Licensee is desirous of changing Outsourcer or Facility Management firms, the new firm is also subject to the same Access Fee. The Access Fee is not transferable between Outsourcers nor Facility Management firms. The Access Fee, along with DBT's permission for the Outsourcer or Facility Management firm to access DBT software, must be resolved in advance of any such access by the Outsourcer or Facility Management firm.



• 2)  Transfer Fee
  When Outsourcers or Facility Management firms require the use of our software on CPU(s) other than those licensed by the Licensee, there is a one-time Twenty Thousand dollar ($20,000.00) per-CPU per-product Transfer Fee payable by the Licensee, and a new License Agreement must be signed. If the Licensee is desirous of changing Outsourcer or Facility Management firms, the new firm is also subject to the same Transfer Fee. The Transfer Fee is not transferable between Outsourcers nor Facility Management firms.
  
  There is no Transfer Fee for the return transfer of our Licensed products to the Licensee's CPUs, but DBT's permission to return the Licensed Products to the original Licensees' CPUs must be obtained before making any transfer. Only properly licensed CPUs are subject to the Transfer Fee; unlicensed CPUs must first be licensed, as detailed below. The Transfer Fee is in addition to the Access Fee.



• 3)  License / Maintenance Fees for Unlicensed Copies
  For those Licensees that are currently running illegal copies of DBT software on unlicensed CPU(s), and for companies that are running illegal copies of DBT software, in order to make these copies legal and bring them into conformance with our new License Agreement, DBT has introduced special licensing terms for these "Made-Legal" copies.
  
  • 3.1)  The license charge for each Made-Legal copy is Sixty-Five Thousand Dollars ($65,000.00) per CPU per copy for COMPRESS for IMS and COMPRESS for DB2, Two Hundred Thousand Dollars ($200,000.00) per CPU per copy for DBT/Nevada, and is quoted for all other DBT products. Site and Corporate agreements for Made-Legal copies are not available. Maintenance is not included with Made-Legal copies, but is required (see (3.2), below).
  
  
  • 3.2)  There is a mandatory three (3) year non-cancelable maintenance fee of Twenty-Nine Thousand Two Hundred Fifty Dollars ($29,250.00) for each Made-Legal copy for COMPRESS for IMS or COMPRESS for DB2, Ninety Thousand Dollars ($90,000.00) for each Made-Legal copy of DBT/Nevada, and is quoted for other products.
  
  
  • 3.3)  Ongoing maintenance after the mandatory three-year maintenance term will be at the then-current maintenance price for made-legal copies. Currently, this is Nine Thousand, Seven Hundred Fifty Dollars ($9,750.00) per copy per product per year for COMPRESS for IMS and COMPRESS for DB2, Thirty Thousand Dollars ($30,000.00) per copy per product per year for DBT/Nevada, and is quoted for all other DBT products.
  
  
  • 3.4)  The maximum maintenance increase per year (i.e., the "maintenance cap") for Made-Legal copies is Twenty Percent (20%).
  
  
  
  
• 4)  Copy Protection
  All DBT products are either copy-protected now, or will be copy-protected in the future. Licensees will be contacted to determine upon what model group CPU and what CPU serial numbers the legally-licensed copies run. Licensees will be provided with new copies of DBT copy-protected software at no charge. After a reasonable migration period, maintenance will no longer be provided for non-copy-protected releases.



• 5)  CPU Model and Serial Number Changes
  When changing CPU model groups or CPU serial numbers, DBT will provide new copy-protected releases or "unlock keys" for legally licensed copies at no charge provided that the Licensee is current on their maintenance for the products in question. DBT will not provide new copy-protected releases nor "unlock keys" for non-maintained products. If the products currently running on licensed CPUs are to be transferred to a new CPU, DBT will agree to the transfer provided that: (a) the products remain licensed to the original Licensee; (b) the products are not going to be run at an outsourcer for whom Access and/or Transfer fees have not been paid; and (c) the Licensee is current on their maintenance for the relevant product copies.



• 6)  Licensing Terms that are Not Changing
  
  • 6.1)  Model Groups (i.e., "License Tiers") are not being implemented at this time. DBT remains committed to the "Non-Tiered" licensing approach.
  
  
  • 6.2)  Maintenance fees for legally-licensed copies of DBT software remain at near-1993 levels. The "maintenance cap" for legally-licensed copies of DBT software remains at Ten Percent (10%) per year. DBT does not believe in egregious maintenance increases, as demonstrated by our rather conservative pricing changes since 1993.
  
  
  • 6.3)  DBT does not issue License Agreements to Outsourcers nor to Facility Management firms. Instead, in an outsourcing / facility management situation, the underlying customer is the entity that will be licensed.
  
  
  • 6.4)  If a Licensee has cancelled their DBT product maintenance and wishes to reinstate that maintenance, DBT will agree to the reinstatement for the sum of: (a) a $5,000.00 reinstatement fee; (b) all back maintenance fees paid in full at the time of reinstatement; and (c) twelve percent (12%) interest per year paid on the total of maintenance payments that were skipped. Maintenance rates for the CPUs being reinstated will be calculated as the current maintenance rate plus ten percent (10%) reinstatement penalty per CPU per product per year.
  
  

The DBT Group is a diversity-oriented employer.
We respect all, we serve all, we treat all equal.
This page was last updated on 2006/01/30

Copyright 2008, The DBT Group, Inc.
All rights reserved under the Berne and Paris copyright conventions - Reproduction prohibited