Lifetime license removal: Difference between revisions

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Lifetime licenses are granted for software that many consumers and businesses rely upon daily for the simple fact that it is more affordable in the long-term for these products and services. As subscription-based products have become more favorable for investors among various companies,<ref>{{Cite web |last=The ProValet Team |date=Oct 16, 2024 |title=Subscription vs. One-Time Purchase: Which Saves You More Money? |url=https://www.provalet.io/guides-posts/subscription-vs-one-time-purchase |access-date=May 28, 2025 |website=ProValet}}</ref> many are forced outside of the licenses that they expected were theirs to own as-is following the terminology of "lifetime." The removal of these licenses combat the consumers' [[right to own]] the products that they paid for.

Lifetime licenses (also known as perpetual licenses, or one-time purchases) are granted for software that many consumers and businesses rely upon daily for the simple fact that it is more affordable in the long-term for these products and services. As subscription-based products have become more favorable for investors among various companies,<ref>{{Cite web |last=The ProValet Team |date=Oct 16, 2024 |title=Subscription vs. One-Time Purchase: Which Saves You More Money? |url=https://www.provalet.io/guides-posts/subscription-vs-one-time-purchase |access-date=May 28, 2025 |website=ProValet}}</ref> many are forced outside of the licenses that they expected were theirs to own as-is following the terminology of "lifetime." The removal of these licenses combat the consumers' [[right to own]] the products that they paid for.

==Why it is a problem==

~~{{Placeholder box|If the theme or common term is positive for the consumer this section can be omitted.~~

===~~Point 1~~===

===Right to Own===

The sale of these licenses are made with the expectation that the purchaser will forever retain access to this license. When these are revoked among a litany of reasons, via a multitude of methods, such as discontinuing the software or [[Retroactively amended purchase|retroactively amending the agreement]], it defies the [[Right to own|right to ownership]].

===~~Point 2~~===

===Viability===

}}

The viability of a lifetime license is dependent on the product's operational costs and its monetization plan.

==Examples==

Products that require recurring operational costs for their necessary advertised functions (backend service upkeep, staff involvement, etc.) can't function on their own without income. Lifetime license users may be serviced at a loss compared to subscription-based users who meet the recurring revenue operational cost demand. The price difference between a lifetime license and a subscription-based license only offsets the threshold of when a lifetime subscription customer becomes unprofitable to service.

==Examples==

{| class="wikitable sortable"

|+

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|[[Filmora]]

|2022

|In 2022, Wondershare updated their licensing terms inside their EULA to mark all lifetime licenses as invalid;<ref>{{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Ernie |date=3 Jan 2023 |title=Filmora lifetime license controversy |url=https://midrange.tedium.co/issues/filmora-lifetime-license-controversy/ |access-date=May 28, 2025 |website=MidRange}}</ref> in 2024, consumers sued over this revocation.<ref>{{Cite web |last=McCroskey |first=Kelsey |date=26 February 2024 |title=Wondershare Hit with Lawsuit Over Alleged Subscription Auto-Renewal Practices |url=https://www.classaction.org/news/wondershare-hit-with-lawsuit-over-alleged-subscription-auto-renewal-practices |access-date=May 28, 2025 |website=ClassAction.org}}</ref>

|In 2022, Wondershare updated their licensing terms inside their EULA to mark all lifetime licenses as invalid;<ref>{{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Ernie |date=3 Jan 2023 |title=Filmora lifetime license controversy |url=https://midrange.tedium.co/issues/filmora-lifetime-license-controversy/ |access-date=May 28, 2025 |website=MidRange}}</ref> in 2024, consumers sued over this revocation.<ref>{{Cite web |last=McCroskey |first=Kelsey |date=26 February 2024 |title=Wondershare Hit with Lawsuit Over Alleged Subscription Auto-Renewal Practices |url=https://www.classaction.org/news/wondershare-hit-with-lawsuit-over-alleged-subscription-auto-renewal-practices |access-date=May 28, 2025 |website=ClassAction.org}}</ref>

|[[Filmora lifetime licenses terminated]]

|-

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|[[Fongo changes purchased Lifetime Ad Removal to Monthly Subscription]]

[[FreePhoneLine revokes Lifetime VoIP service for monthly subscription model.]]

|-

|[[Autodesk]]

|[[AutoCAD]], [[Autodesk Inventor|Inventor]], etc.

|2023

|In 2016, Autodesk concluded the sale of lifetime licenses,<ref>{{Cite web |last=AutoCAD life time license |date=Jan 5, 2024 |title=AutoCAD life time license |url=https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/installation-licensing-forum/autocad-life-time-license/td-p/12480109 |access-date=May 28, 2025 |website=[[Autodesk]] Community}}</ref> focusing exclusively on a subscription based model; In 2023, they [[Retroactively amended purchase|retroactively amended the agreement]] with the purpose of revoking lifetime licenses from all Autodesk users.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ace_Dragon |date=Jul 1, 2023 |title=Autodesk changes the deal, retroactively cancels all remaining lifetime licenses |url=https://blenderartists.org/t/autodesk-changes-the-deal-retroactively-cancels-all-remaining-lifetime-licenses/1471477 |access-date=May 28, 2025 |website=Blender Artists Community}}</ref>

|[[Autodesk retroactively revokes all lifetime licenses]]

|-

|[[MediaMall]]

|[[PlayOn]]

|2021

|In 2021, PlayOn discontinued support for PlayOn Desktop,<ref>{{Cite web |last=JaviPlanma |date=Nov 8, 2021 |title=PSA to Companies: DO NOT OFFER LIFETIME LICENSES if you don't intend to follow through |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/PlayOn/comments/qpi14m/psa_to_companies_do_not_offer_lifetime_licenses/ |access-date=May 28, 2025 |website=Reddit}}</ref> which forced users to use PlayOn Home or PlayOn Cloud instead, both of which have no lifetime subscriptions.

|[[PlayOn Desktop discontinued]]

|-

|[[Mailbird]]

|2025

|TBA<ref>{{Cite news |last=Raindog308 |date=Mar 10, 2025 |title=The Mailbird Scam: When a "Lifetime" License is Not Lifetime |url=https://lowendbox.com/blog/the-mailbird-scam-when-a-lifetime-license-is-not-lifetime/ |access-date=May 28, 2025 |work=LowEndBox}}</ref>

|[[Mailbird revokes lifetime licenses]]

|-

|[[Better Way Electronics]]

|Various [[PlayStation]] repair tools

|2024-2025

|TBA

|-

|Magix

|Vegas 15

|2025

|Formerly sold under Sony, Magix has pulled Vegas 15 from Steam and has also revoked licenses

|https://youtube.com/clip/Ugkxma1DxdvcvxPtveni0uDBqw403WSI7Dkn?si=SZtUOMc00x_xUV_x

|-

|[[TeamViewer]]

|2021-2025

|In 2021, TeamViewer got rid of the ability to purchase a lifetime license to use TeamViewer.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-04-15 |title=Lifetime License ? - TeamViewer Support |url=https://community.teamviewer.com/English/discussion/113702/lifetime-license/p1?tab=all}}</ref>

In June 2025, TeamViewer killed off their lifetime licenses for all users, forcing them to pay for a monthly subscription or lose access.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-08-14 |title=TeamViewer and the "perpetual license" — paid like for a car, 10 years later they just cut you off |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/teamviewer/comments/1mq52pt/teamviewer_and_the_perpetual_license_paid_like/ |website=Reddit}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=26 May 2025 |title=End of support for TeamViewer versions 11 and 12 |url=https://community.teamviewer.com/English/discussion/141015/end-of-support-for-teamviewer-versions-11-and-12/p1 |website=TeamViewer Community}}</ref>

|

|}

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*[[Storefront shutdown]]

*[[Right to own|Right to ~~Own~~]]

*[[Right to own|Right to own]]

*[[Retroactively amended purchase]]

==References==

[[Category:Theme]]

[[Category:~~Common terms~~]]

[[Category:Lifetime license removal]]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{StubNotice}}
-Lifetime licenses are granted for software that many consumers and businesses rely upon daily for the simple fact that it is more affordable in the long-term for these products and services. As subscription-based products have become more favorable for investors among various companies,<ref>{{Cite web |last=The ProValet Team |date=Oct 16, 2024 |title=Subscription vs. One-Time Purchase: Which Saves You More Money? |url=https://www.provalet.io/guides-posts/subscription-vs-one-time-purchase |access-date=May 28, 2025 |website=ProValet}}</ref> many are forced outside of the licenses that they expected were theirs to own as-is following the terminology of "lifetime." The removal of these licenses combat the consumers' [[right to own]] the products that they paid for.
+Lifetime licenses (also known as perpetual licenses, or one-time purchases) are granted for software that many consumers and businesses rely upon daily for the simple fact that it is more affordable in the long-term for these products and services. As subscription-based products have become more favorable for investors among various companies,<ref>{{Cite web |last=The ProValet Team |date=Oct 16, 2024 |title=Subscription vs. One-Time Purchase: Which Saves You More Money? |url=https://www.provalet.io/guides-posts/subscription-vs-one-time-purchase |access-date=May 28, 2025 |website=ProValet}}</ref> many are forced outside of the licenses that they expected were theirs to own as-is following the terminology of "lifetime." The removal of these licenses combat the consumers' [[right to own]] the products that they paid for.
 ==Why it is a problem==
-{{Placeholder box|If the theme or common term is positive for the consumer this section can be omitted.
-===Point 1===
+===Right to Own===
+The sale of these licenses are made with the expectation that the purchaser will forever retain access to this license. When these are revoked among a litany of reasons, via a multitude of methods, such as discontinuing the software or [[Retroactively amended purchase|retroactively amending the agreement]], it defies the [[Right to own|right to ownership]].
-===Point 2===
+===Viability===
-}}
+The viability of a lifetime license is dependent on the product's operational costs and its monetization plan.
-==Examples<!-- Web search to flip through: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=lifetime+product+license+revoked+-driver&t=brave&ia=web  Possible things to investigate to add: AutoDesk Norton Filmora  https://linustechtips.com/topic/1476599-filmora-is-no-longer-supporting-users-lifetime-licenses/page/2/ PlayOn https://www.reddit.com/r/PlayOn/comments/qpi14m/psa_to_companies_do_not_offer_lifetime_licenses/ Mailbird https://lowendbox.com/blog/the-mailbird-scam-when-a-lifetime-license-is-not-lifetime/  --><!-- I want to add this one, BUT the article has ZERO work done. https://consumerrights.wiki/Tango_Elegoo_Edition_False_Lifetime_License -->==
+Products that require recurring operational costs for their necessary advertised functions (backend service upkeep, staff involvement, etc.) can't function on their own without income. Lifetime license users may be serviced at a loss compared to subscription-based users who meet the recurring revenue operational cost demand. The price difference between a lifetime license and a subscription-based license only offsets the threshold of when a lifetime subscription customer becomes unprofitable to service.
+==Examples<!-- Web search to flip through: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=lifetime+product+license+revoked+-driver&t=brave&ia=web  Possible things to investigate to add: Norton   --><!-- I want to add this one, BUT the article has ZERO work done. https://consumerrights.wiki/Tango_Elegoo_Edition_False_Lifetime_License -->==
 {| class="wikitable sortable"
 |+
@@ Line 53: / Line 55: @@
 |[[Filmora]]
 |2022
-|In 2022, Wondershare updated their licensing terms inside their EULA to mark all lifetime licenses as invalid;<ref>{{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Ernie |date=3 Jan 2023 |title=Filmora lifetime license controversy |url=https://midrange.tedium.co/issues/filmora-lifetime-license-controversy/ |access-date=May 28, 2025 |website=MidRange}}</ref> in 2024, consumers sued over this revocation.<ref>{{Cite web |last=McCroskey |first=Kelsey |date=26 February 2024 |title=Wondershare Hit with Lawsuit Over Alleged Subscription Auto-Renewal Practices |url=https://www.classaction.org/news/wondershare-hit-with-lawsuit-over-alleged-subscription-auto-renewal-practices |access-date=May 28, 2025 |website=ClassAction.org}}</ref>
+|In 2022, Wondershare updated their licensing terms inside their EULA to mark all lifetime licenses as invalid;<ref>{{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Ernie |date=3 Jan 2023 |title=Filmora lifetime license controversy |url=https://midrange.tedium.co/issues/filmora-lifetime-license-controversy/ |access-date=May 28, 2025 |website=MidRange}}</ref> in 2024, consumers sued over this revocation.<ref>{{Cite web |last=McCroskey |first=Kelsey |date=26 February 2024 |title=Wondershare Hit with Lawsuit Over Alleged Subscription Auto-Renewal Practices |url=https://www.classaction.org/news/wondershare-hit-with-lawsuit-over-alleged-subscription-auto-renewal-practices |access-date=May 28, 2025 |website=ClassAction.org}}</ref><!-- Extra source: https://linustechtips.com/topic/1476599-filmora-is-no-longer-supporting-users-lifetime-licenses/page/2/ -->
 |[[Filmora lifetime licenses terminated]]
 |-
@@ Line 68: / Line 70: @@
 |[[Fongo changes purchased Lifetime Ad Removal to Monthly Subscription]]
 [[FreePhoneLine revokes Lifetime VoIP service for monthly subscription model.]]
+|-
+|[[Autodesk]]
+|[[AutoCAD]], [[Autodesk Inventor|Inventor]], etc.
+|2023
+|In 2016, Autodesk concluded the sale of lifetime licenses,<ref>{{Cite web |last=AutoCAD life time license |date=Jan 5, 2024 |title=AutoCAD life time license |url=https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/installation-licensing-forum/autocad-life-time-license/td-p/12480109 |access-date=May 28, 2025 |website=[[Autodesk]] Community}}</ref> focusing exclusively on a subscription based model; In 2023, they [[Retroactively amended purchase|retroactively amended the agreement]] with the purpose of revoking lifetime licenses from all Autodesk users.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ace_Dragon |date=Jul 1, 2023 |title=Autodesk changes the deal, retroactively cancels all remaining lifetime licenses |url=https://blenderartists.org/t/autodesk-changes-the-deal-retroactively-cancels-all-remaining-lifetime-licenses/1471477 |access-date=May 28, 2025 |website=Blender Artists Community}}</ref>
+|[[Autodesk retroactively revokes all lifetime licenses]]
+|-
+|[[MediaMall]]
+|[[PlayOn]]
+|2021
+|In 2021, PlayOn discontinued support for PlayOn Desktop,<ref>{{Cite web |last=JaviPlanma |date=Nov 8, 2021 |title=PSA to Companies: DO NOT OFFER LIFETIME LICENSES if you don't intend to follow through |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/PlayOn/comments/qpi14m/psa_to_companies_do_not_offer_lifetime_licenses/ |access-date=May 28, 2025 |website=Reddit}}</ref> which forced users to use PlayOn Home or PlayOn Cloud instead, both of which have no lifetime subscriptions.
+|[[PlayOn Desktop discontinued]]
+|-
+|[[Mailbird]]
+|[[Mailbird]]
+|2025
+|TBA<ref>{{Cite news |last=Raindog308 |date=Mar 10, 2025 |title=The Mailbird Scam: When a "Lifetime" License is Not Lifetime |url=https://lowendbox.com/blog/the-mailbird-scam-when-a-lifetime-license-is-not-lifetime/ |access-date=May 28, 2025 |work=LowEndBox}}</ref>
+|[[Mailbird revokes lifetime licenses]]
+|-
+|[[Better Way Electronics]]
+|Various [[PlayStation]] repair tools
+|2024-2025
+|TBA
+|TBA
+|-
+|Magix
+|Vegas 15
+|2025
+|Formerly sold under Sony, Magix has pulled Vegas 15 from Steam and has also revoked licenses
+|https://youtube.com/clip/Ugkxma1DxdvcvxPtveni0uDBqw403WSI7Dkn?si=SZtUOMc00x_xUV_x
+|-
+|[[TeamViewer]]
+|[[TeamViewer]]
+|2021-2025
+|In 2021, TeamViewer got rid of the ability to purchase a lifetime license to use TeamViewer.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-04-15 |title=Lifetime License ? - TeamViewer Support |url=https://community.teamviewer.com/English/discussion/113702/lifetime-license/p1?tab=all}}</ref>
+In June 2025, TeamViewer killed off their lifetime licenses for all users, forcing them to pay for a monthly subscription or lose access.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-08-14 |title=TeamViewer and the "perpetual license" — paid like for a car, 10 years later they just cut you off |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/teamviewer/comments/1mq52pt/teamviewer_and_the_perpetual_license_paid_like/ |website=Reddit}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=26 May 2025 |title=End of support for TeamViewer versions 11 and 12 |url=https://community.teamviewer.com/English/discussion/141015/end-of-support-for-teamviewer-versions-11-and-12/p1 |website=TeamViewer Community}}</ref>
+|
 |}
@@ Line 73: / Line 112: @@
 *[[Storefront shutdown]]
-*[[Right to own|Right to Own]]
+*[[Right to own|Right to own]]
+*[[Retroactively amended purchase]]
 ==References==
 {{reflist}}
+[[Category:Theme]]
-[[Category:Common terms]]
+[[Category:Lifetime license removal]]