Distribution kit licenses

[Wolfgang]

Today I created my first CVI2013 distribution and was surprised with the large number of License Agreement files found in the folder Volume\license.

First, I feel that there are too many files... Why do I need to redistribute all these license files to a user of my software? The user is not going to use the C compiler, so why is there a strod license, or a LibPNG license, etc. etc.?

Second, I am confused by the content of the file NI Released License Agreement which says: In consideration of, and conditioned upon, your payment of the applicable fees to NI, NI hereby grants you a limited, non-exclusive right to use ...

Note that this file is in the distribution folder of my software... I could understand that this license is meant for me, as a user of CVI, but why should a user of my little program care about payments of fees to NI?

Asking for a explanations... thanks!

[royam]

Hello!

Depending on what drivers etc. you are using in your project, there are some things to consider.

For example, when you are using vision software with non-NI hardware, there is a fee involved. 

So, right now I can only tell you it all depends on what you are using with your solution.

But if you can attach all the licensing files and tell me exactly what software/drivers/modules you are using, I might be able to find out more

about what it's all about and why you get these files.

Best regards, Roman

AE NI Germany

[Wolfgang]

Hello Roman,

many thanks for your reply.

I am attaching the screenshot of all the files in the license folder of the generated distribution (in my opinion, NOT ONE license file should be there), and the screenshot of the edit build dialog: besides the Advanced Analysis Library I am simply using CVIRTE...

[royam]

Hello Wolfgang!

When deploying software, the applicable provisions of the EULA can be found found in the NI Software License Agreement:
http://www.ni.com/pdf/legal/us/software_license_agreement.pdf
in section 12, regarding your questions especially 12/A6 and 12B.

The automated output of these files is there to help you fulfill the license requirements of potentially used components.
CVI copies all the files that you potentially might need, so the files you find are pretty general. CVI includes third party components, also the distribution / runtime.

So, in other words, it helps you to comply to license requirements. If you are sure that certain licenses do not apply or you want to distribute under your own license you may change the licensing structure under your own responsibility and in compliance with the NI EULA.

If you follow the link provided in the document above, you find a list of software that requires a fee to be paid to distribute.
Additionally, you can go to your ProgramFiles Directory and look for the \National Instruments\_Legal Information Directory.
There you can see which of our Products use third party content and the corresponding licenses.

Also, you can find the license files in \National Instruments\Shared\MDF\Legal\license

I hope I could clear some things for you,
kind regards, Roman
AE NI Germany  

[Wolfgang]

---

@RomBe wrote:

The automated output of these files is there to help you fulfill the license requirements of potentially used components.
CVI copies all the files that you potentially might need, so the files you find are pretty general.

So, in other words, it helps you to comply to license requirements. If you are sure that certain licenses do not apply or you want to distribute under your own license you may change the licensing structure under your own responsibility and in compliance with the NI EULA. 

---

Hello Roman,

yes, it was my impression that CVI copies all files....

So let me rephrase the issue:

1. How can I setup my distribution kit to distribute only the files I need to distribute with my 'Authorized Application'? My idea of an automated generation of a distribution kit is not having to go through the distribution and manually delete some 15 files on an educated guess... Most users including me are not lawyers...
2. What license files am I required to distribute with my software for the above displayed components, i.e. CVIRTE and AAL? According to this list no license is needed... so why should I distribute e.g the file NI Released License Agreement in eight languages that will only confuse users of my software because they have no idea about NI-VLM, scripting, academic / enterprise licenses etc.?

Thanks!

[royam]

Hey,

I just want to let you know that I will forward your questions internally and get back to you as soon as I can dig something up.

Please understand that this might take a couple of days.

Kind regards, Roman

AE NI Germany

[Wolfgang]

Hey Roman,

Thanks for digging This is not an urgent issue so I'll wait patiently.

[royam]

Hello Wolfgang,

I have a (small) update for you, concerning your first question on how to set up CVI.

There seems to be no inherent way to tell CVI only to copy some files. 

So, the way to do this is with post-build actions. This way, you can programatically delete files in the build.

To get to the post-build actions text box, click on the Build Steps button in the Manage Distributions dialog. 

Take a look at the following help document on more information about the commands that are supported. 

http://zone.ni.com/reference/en-XX/help/370051Y-01/cvi/usermanual/editinstallerbuildsteps/

Basically, any command supported by a Windows batch file can be used.

So you could use the DEL or ERASE commands to delete specific files.

As for which files to delete, further digging is taking place while I am writing this 😉 

I will get back to you when I find out more.

Kind regards,

Roman

AE NI Germany

[WesW]

Hi Wolfgang,

Just to ensure that something is clear, as the word "licenses" is overused 🙂

The link you provided above is referring to if you need to purchase additional copies (i.e. licenses) to use certain NI components. It sounds like the answer is "none" for your particular application.

Completely unrelated to this is the directory of files you are asking about named "licenses", but which contains EULAs (end user license agreements). The Distribution Kit does not copy all EULAs, but only the ones for the components that you selected to include in your Distribution. If you install this Distribution on a clean system, you can go to the directory that Roman mentioned and see the EULAs and required notices for each component that you selected -- all of them are actually referenced at least once.

Regards,

- Wes / NI

[Wolfgang]

Hi Wes,

Thanks for your explanation, you're correct in that I should have used EULA instead of license...

OK, let us work on this issue step by step:

My first issue is: I am distributing a software, say the famous HelloWorld-printout, and thus I am not incuding any hardware specific drivers etc., simply CVIRTE and it's components.

Now, when the user runs the setup created with CVI, after confirming the directories, the user has to agree to a license agreement with - no, not with me, but with NI... In particular, the setup requires the user to accept the  following:

In consideration of, and conditioned upon, your payment of the applicable fees to NI, NI hereby grants you a limited, non-exclusive right to use (in accordance with one of the license types listed below) the specific SOFTWARE, ...

As a user of my software I would be confused what fees I should pay to NI... Of course, applicable can be interpreted that in this case the fee is zero, but still: why then is it necessary that a user needs to agree to this overly confusing EULA?

Thanks!