You probably heard the big stink about the product activation system Quark instituted when it released QuarkXPress 6.0. Accepting the license terms ensured that you could install XPress on only one computer, even if that meant you had to buy separate copies for your desktop and laptop machines. (Quark later relaxed the license terms.) Lately, there have been rumblings that Adobe is heading in a Quark-like direction with its activation requirement.

I tossed this hot potato of an issue at Drew McManus, Adobe's director of worldwide anti-piracy programs, and at Mihir Nanavati, senior product manager of license management technologies. They say that as long as you own the software and follow license terms, there's no cause for concern.

Drew McManus

"It's not a change in the way we do business," McManus says. "We have not changed the terms of the license agreement, and there's no philosophical shift in what customers can or can't do. We're just authenticating that license terms are adhered to with a simple, one-step process."

License terms for an individual buying InDesign or the Creative Suite generally cover installation on a primary computer and a secondary portable or home machine.

You can also transfer activation from one machine to another. "Say I have Photoshop on my laptop, and I replace that machine," explains McManus. "I just choose a menu item to deactivate my old laptop and activate the new one instead."

"We designed the whole thing with honest customers in mind first," MacManus says. "There's a flexibility in the scheme so that we never get in the way of paying customers. The centerpiece of that is the 30-day grace period. You can defer activating the software for a full 30 days after installation. That takes care of times when you can't activate because you're away from an Internet connection or a phone."

Nothing Personal
People often confuse activation with registration, during which you enter personal information. McManus clarifies the difference: "Activation is a completely anonymous process. People might be afraid that we're getting personal information, but we're not. We don't collect anything on the person or the computer. Activation is separate and distinct from the registration process, which remains optional."

Adobe first tried activation as an anti-piracy measure in 2003, with a Photoshop release in Australia. Since then, the company has slowly tested the waters in other applications and other countries. "We took a very cautious approach," says MacManus. "Our directive was to think about the honest customer-that's why've we've spent a couple years doing extensive testing and gathering customer feedback. It's one thing to combat the piracy of casual copying, but it's another to shoot yourself in the foot doing it."

"There are probably a couple loopholes the bad guys can jump through," he concludes, "but that's a small price to pay."

For more about Adobe's activation and licensing, see www.adobe.com/activation/main.html and www.adobe.com/products/eulas/main.html.