Can anyone tell me if this is really legal. There are loads of these sites selling OEM software (3ds max and maya) for very little money, and they say it is legit. Anyone?
http://www.4softsite.info/remove-108-1-info-Autodesk_3ds_Max_9.html?session=204511184190796
Sorry babracadabra, these guys are just pirates. I know they got a respectable website and all, but you can’t really tell by that anymore… It’s the online equivalent of a brand new BMW for $500
OEM software is perfectly legal. These sites are almost certainly not.
If you really want to know, write to autodesk and ask them if these people are an authorised re-seller.
Aye. What they do is illegal. OEM software isn’t. Go to newegg.com and you can buy OEM parts and software. It just means that it comes without manuals or extra cables or additional software. Just the thing, like Dell or a local computer builder would want.
What they do has also been reported to Adobe.
I have to pay when others just rip off the system, costing me more again for software I legitimately purchase.
If you can’t afford it, go seek an OSS solution instead.
m.a.
OK. I’m quite happy with Blender for now anyways for what I do, but if these guys had been legit, I might have finally tried 3ds Max.
Meta-Androcto: I really don’t think that you are paying more because of these guys. $3000 is an outrageous price for software. They’re selling it for that price because they can. They bought out Maya, (or vice versa), and now there is no real competition. There are lots of other good 3d apps out there, but most people who want to work in the video games industry are trained in one or the other.
you can get student version’s of major software packages for free, or for a student rate.
Nice to try before you buy 
When the term “OEM” is used in relation to automotive parts, it means that the parts in-question are those produced by the “original equipment manufacturer,” as opposed to a third-party part that is supposed to be compatible.
When the term is used in relation to software, however, it refers to software that was intended by the vendor to be supplied only with, and to, the purchase of a piece of computer hardware… only for use by the owner of that piece of hardware.
Copyright law generally says that, “if you own the copyright, you own the right to dictate how ‘your property’ may or may not be used.” If you intended ‘your property’ to be used only by a specified set of users and not to be “sold or re-sold separately,” that perogative is enforceable. Consequently, the “OEM software” is not legal.
“If it sounds too good to be true, it certainly is.”
Aye, but just because it has to be sold with software doesn’t mean that is a real barrier to anyone. Heck, to buy an OEM copy of winxp from newegg.com you have to buy some hardware, so they (at least used to) offer it in a combo with a molex power splitter for 3 dollars. No big deal. What that site does is stealing though.
Yep… stealing is stealing.
To offer a dissenting opinion here…
Stealing is stealing. Copyright infringement is copyright infringement. One is not the other, and the two should not be confused. I’m not saying I agree with illegal copyright infringement, but I do believe that calling it stealing is a mistake. I might as well start referring to jay-walking as murder, since they’re both similarly illegal.
This is not a copyright infringement issue, but an issue of contract law, since it’s the End User License Agreement which would bar someone from reselling their copy of a piece of software. The legal enforceability of EULAs is still in question, and this is by no means an open and shut issue, but so far courts have tended to rule against the enforceability of EULAs.
As far as Copyright law is concerned, selling your copy of anything, assuming you came into possession of it lawfully, is generally considered legal in the United States. This at present includes OEM software, student licensed software, regular software, books, magazines, movies and pretty much anything else you can think of, but is certainly not an open and shut issue either. Look up “first sale doctrine” and “softman products co. v. adobe systems inc.” for a start on this issue.
As always, I highly recommend taking a look at the US government’s Copyright website at http://www.copyright.gov/
It’s our responsibility as creators to acquire at least some basic understanding of the laws that govern our livelihood, and the federal copyright website is the best place to start. It’s exceptionally friendly and approachable for a government site, and there’s no excuse for not at least browsing the FAQ.
lol :eyebrowlift:
I had a look at “first sale doctrine” in the wiki, and it was quite interesting. If it is like you said, and the person who buys the product has the right to resell it… then it isn’t actually breaking the EULA either, because the person who is selling the software (assuming he hasn’t installed the software) hasn’t accepted the EULA. 
From what I’ve read most OEM high-end graphics apps for sale are usually counterfeit, mainly because most high-end graphics companies don’t license their apps for bundling with other software.
I’ve also heard that the biggest pitfall of using legal OEM software is no support, no print docs or manuals, and last but not least -no free or discounted upgrades. So a deep discount for legal OEM software isn’t always worth it.
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