Adobe Warns Users of Unsupported Software of Legal Complications
Last updated May 26, 2021
- Adobe is having problems licensing the use of their older products, and this is passed onto the users.
- People are getting warning emails claiming that they are at risk of getting sued by a third-party.
- Apparently, it’s Dolby who is behind this, who are also victims of Adobe’s insincerity.
Adobe posted an announcement in their blog last week which declared the company’s intention to focus all of their efforts to the latest two major releases of Creative Cloud applications. While most people already use the versions that belong to these two branches, there are several others who have lagged and stayed behind due to a set of potential reasons. However, accepting the fact that security updates will no longer support your obsolete professional tool is one thing, but receiving warning of legal action just for using it is another.
Customers who continue to use or deploy, unauthorized versions of Creative Cloud may face potential claims of infringement by third parties. We can not comment on claims of third party infringement, as it concerns ongoing litigation. ^CS https://t.co/wx2K8MXov9
— Adobe Care (@AdobeCare) May 13, 2019
According to multiple user reports, Adobe has initiated the circulation of an email message that warns users of older versions of Photoshop, Lightroom, InDesign, Animate, and other products, that their versions are no longer licensed. This practically means that they are not covered by the “user license agreement”, and Adobe is no longer in a position to “allow them to use the product”. As the messages characteristically point out: “Please be aware that should you continue to use the discontinued version(s), you may be at risk of potential claims of infringement by third parties.”
I just got an email from @Adobe that I'm no longer allowed to use the software that I'm paying for. Time to cancel my subscription I guess.
Share plz. pic.twitter.com/ZIIdqK5AkM
— Matt Roszak🍉Wishlist Matt's Hidden Cats on Steam (@KupoGames) May 10, 2019
So, if the users of antiquated versions are in risk of getting sued, who is going to submit the lawsuit? Adobe says it’s not them or one of their collaborators, but due to the fact that the matter concerns ongoing litigation, they can’t officially reveal who’s behind this troubling development. One major ongoing legal battle for Adobe is a “copyright infringement and breach of contract” case that Dolby initiated back in March 2019. Apparently, the two companies are between a disagreement over the terms of continuing an agreement that they had signed back before the creation of the Creative Cloud service. Dolby accuses Adobe of reporting false numbers of how many people are using their products, in an attempt to pay less licensing royalties to the former.
Could this be related to Adobe’s recent price-doubling “testing” stunt? Possibly, but this can’t be confirmed. What can be said with certainty is that even die-hard fans of Adobe’s products are very angry with how the company is treating them, “testing” the doubling of the prices, forcing subscription models down their throats, not giving specific details on who is about to sue them, not addressing the ongoing stagnation and bloating of their creative platform, and not paying attention to the massive migration to competitor products like Affinity.
Are you still using Adobe’s Creative Cloud for an old product version? Are you forced to take your creative activity elsewhere? Let us know in the comments down below, and also on our socials, on Facebook and Twitter.
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