GeoBooks On Demand Licensing and Use
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Because ERP systems are mission-critical, we take your licensing and use questions seriously. Here are our no-nonsense answers to questions we receive most often about licensing and using GeoBooks On Demand services. If you have any further questions, please contact us. You can expect a fast, no-nonsense reply.
Licensing Questions and Answers
What kind of license do I receive when I sign up for GeoBooks On Demand services?
How is this license different from a typical commercial software license?
Can I have source code?
Isn't Software as a Service (SaaS) the same thing as open source?
What if I want to own the software?
What about my data? Who owns it?
How does an SaaS license benefit me?
What happens to my subscription (and my ERP system) if Geoprise is sold to another company?
What happens to my subscription (and my ERP system) if Geoprise goes out of business?
Can you guarantee constant, high-speed and trouble-free Internet access?
Can I copy my data, and store it on my own computer, if I am a GeoBooks VPD subscriber?
Is there any limit to the amount ot data I can keep in my GeoBooks Virtual Private Database?
Does my GeoBooks On Demand subscription include implementation services?
Can I modify GeoBooks On Demand software?
What if I find a bug? How does it get fixed if I can't modify the software?
How about software improvements? How can I help to improve the software if I can't modify it?
Licensing Questions and Answers
What kind of license do I receive when I sign up for GeoBooks On Demand services?
You receive a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to use the GeoBooks On Demand software and documentation hosted on our Web site (or the Web site of our authorized third-party hosting service provider), solely for your internal business use.
Limited means that you are permitted to use the software only for your own internal business operations, for the time period during which you have a valid, paid-up GeoBooks On Demand subscription. Your subscription is limited to the named users that you identify and pay for when you sign up for GeoBooks On Demand services, and no one else is permitted to use the GeoBooks On Demand software (you may, at your discretion, transfer an existing paid-up subscription from one named user to another at any time without cost). You are not permitted to use the GeoBooks On Demand software, or any part of it, for third-party training, commercial time-sharing or service bureau use. However, if you are a professional accountant, accounting firm or auditor, you may use the GeoBooks On Demand software to provide accounting and auditing services to your own clients. If your subscription lapses due to non-payment, or if we cancel your subscription because you did not comply with either the terms of use for our Web site, or your GeoBooks On Demand software license, we will withdraw permission for you to use the GeoBooks On Demand software by disabling your account.
Non-exclusive means that we can provide GeoBooks On Demand services to any other business or person, without having to get your permission to do so. For example, you cannot prevent us from offering or providing GeoBooks On Demand services to your direct competitors.
Non-transferable means that you cannot transfer your subscription to any other person or business without getting our written permission to do so in advance. Generally, if you or your business go through a business transition, such as a merger, acquisition, or sale of all or part of your assets or the assets of your business, we will permit you to transfer your existing, paid-up subscription to the acquiring person or business if we receive a written request from you in advance. However, we reserve the right to refuse permission if we believe that transferring your subscription would adversely affect our business. For example, we will not permit you to transfer your subscription to an acquiring person or business if doing so would cause us to violate governing law.
Hosted on our Web site (or the Web site of our authorized third-party hosting service provider) means that as long as we remain in business, you are not permitted to run the GeoBooks On Demand software, or any part of it, on your own computer or a computer under your control. It also means that as long as we remain in business, you are not permitted to download or keep any copy of the GeoBooks On Demand software, documentation or source code, or any part of it, for any reason whatsoever. But see "What happens to my subscription (and my ERP system) if Geoprise goes out of business?."
How is this license different from a typical commercial software license?
Most commercial off-the-shelf software that you install and run on your own computers (including traditional ERP software) is licensed on a "perpetual use" basis. After executing a software license agreement and paying the applicable licensing fees up-front, you can install the software on your own computer equipment and run it forever. This is true even for so-called "open-source" licenses that do not require you to pay any license fees up-front. License agreements for so-called "closed-source" software may or may not permit you to receive source code, or modify the software, and these licenses may be valid only for specific named users, a maximum number of concurrent users, or a specific computer processor. Usually, by paying extra "maintenance" fees, you are eligible to receive customer support as well as software updates and upgrades from the software vendor or a services provider over time.
Here's how our GeoBooks On Demand software license may differ:
Limitations on use of the software: generally, "perpetual-use" licenses allow you to use the software forever, whereas a GeoBooks On Demand license allows you to use the software and documentation only as long as you have a valid, paid-up subscription. Also, "perpetual-use" licenses allow you to install and run the software and documentation on your own computer equipment (or computer equipment under your control) whereas a GeoBooks On Demand license forbids this (see, however, "What happens to my subscription (and my ERP system) if Geoprise goes out of business?"). Otherwise, the GeoBooks on Demand license is very similar to most "closed-source" named-user commercial software licenses.
Exclusivity and transferability: like us, most developers of commercial software packages want to sell their product to as many customers as they can, so in this respect the GeoBooks on Demand license is very similar to most "closed-source" named-user commercial software licenses.
On-Going maintenance and customer support: your GeoBooks On Demand subscription includes customer support (including automatic software updates and upgrades), at no additional cost, at all times when you maintain a valid, paid-up GeoBooks On Demand subscription. The typical commercial software license requires you to pay extra "maintenance" fees from time to time for on-going customer support, software updates and upgrades, even if you paid an initial license fee up-front.
Source code escrow: your GeoBooks On Demand subscription includes our deposit of source code with a third-party escrow agent, at no additional cost, at all times when you maintain a valid, paid-up GeoBooks On Demand subscription. The typical commercial software license does not have any escrow provisions, or requires you to pay extra fees for this protection. See "What happens to my subscription (and my ERP system) if Geoprise goes out of business?" for further information.
Please understand that licenses and maintenance subscriptions offered or negotiated by commercial software developers vary widely, so this is only a guideline. You should always consult a qualified attorney to obtain specific legal advice on any software licensing issues.
Can I have source code?
No, as long as we remain in business, we will never distribute GeoBooks On Demand source code to any customer. But see "What happens to my subscription (and my ERP system) if Geoprise goes out of business?."
However, we can and do distribute the Linux operating system software, Apache Web Server software and MySQL database software (along with phpMyAdmin, a MySQL database management utility, and Samba, a file management utility) to GeoBooks Exclusive customers under the GNU General Public License (GPL), Version 2 or higher. These are the same distributions that are freely available to the public and we have not modified them in any way to support the GeoBooks On Demand software, except certain configuration file settings. Although you have the right to modify this software, we strongly discourage you from doing so as it may prevent the GeoBooks Exclusive service from working properly, and will also void the GeoBooks Exclusive Service warranty.
Isn't Software as a Service (SaaS) the same thing as open source?
No, SaaS and so-called "open source" are completely different software licensing models. Open source is a "perpetual-use" licensing model whereas the term of an SaaS license is limited to the period when the user has a valid, paid-up subscription. For more information, see "How is this license different from a typical commercial software license?"
What if I want to own the software?
Generally, the only way you can "own" software is to write it yourself. Most commercial off-the-shelf software, and "open-source" software, is "licensed" rather than "sold" so you don't own it at all; copyright and intellectual property ownership is retained by the developer or distributor.
What about my data? Who owns it?
You do. Our privacy policy explains this in full detail. The only data we own is the personally identifiable registration, financial, profile and service usage information we collect from you on WWW.GEOPRISE.COM for the purpose of selling Geoprise services to you, billing you for these services, collecting payment from you for the amounts we bill you, tracking and resolving problems that you encounter when using GeoBooks On Demand services, assisting you in using GeoBooks On Demand services, and providing forums for public discussion between you and other customers on the use of GeoBooks On Demand services. We also retain ownership of all aggregate (non-personally identifiable) information that we collect for the same purposes. We will never disclose this information to anyone (other than our authorized third-party hosting service providers, and then on a "need-to-know" basis only) unless we are compelled by governing law to do so, and we operate on the presumption that we do not have your permission to disclose any of your data that you maintain at any of our data centers using any GeoBooks On Demand service. Our third-party services providers are contractually bound to the same restrictions and we regularly audit them to ensure that they comply fully with these restrictions at all times.
Your data belongs to you even if your subscription lapses due to non-payment, or if we have to cancel your subscription because you did not comply with either the terms of use for our Web site, or your GeoBooks On Demand software license. If this happens, we will archive your data and make every effort to send the archive to your last known contact address. Although we reserve the right to take your data off-line, we will keep a backup copy of your archive on file for one year. You may request us to send the archive to you electronically at any time, at no cost, after which we will immediately destroy our copy. We will automatically destroy all archives after 1 year.
If you have any concerns about your ability to keep full control over your data, we invite you to consider our GeoBooks Exclusive Service which allows you to maintain your data securely behind your own firewall.
How does an SaaS license benefit me?
It depends on your situation. If you or your business don't want (or can't afford) to pay up-front license fees for ERP software (plus the on-going maintenance and customer support fees) and you don't require a customized ERP solution, then the SaaS licensing model may be very attractive financially. On the other hand, if you need a customized ERP solution then SaaS probably isn't for you; we'd recommend any number of proven commercial ERP packages that allow customization (though these will probably require a major up-front investment) and there are several open-source options available as well. But keep in mind that "customization" is not the same thing as "configuration". "Customization" means having a programmer modify the program logic whereas "configuration" means having users set up the software so it does what you need. GeoBooks On Demand is highly configurable, and we are confident that you can configure it to do everything you really need from an ERP system. We invite you to explore our Web site to learn more about the many ways you can configure GeoBooks On Demand. If our Web site doesn't answer all your questions, please feel free to contact us.
What happens to my subscription (and my ERP system) if Geoprise is sold to another company?
In the event GEOPRISE TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION goes through a business transition, such as a merger, acquisition by another company, or sale of all or some of its assets, our obligation to service your active and paid-up subscription will likely be transferred to another company. You will be notified via email and prominent notice on our Web site at least 30 days before any such change in ownership or control of your account.
What happens to my subscription (and my ERP system) if Geoprise goes out of business?
We maintain an up-to-date copy of the GeoBooks On Demand software and documentation, including all source code, on deposit with a third-party escrow agent. You have permission to access the GeoBooks On Demand software and documentation, including all source code, in the event that we permanently cease to provide on-line access to the GeoBooks On Demand services to which you have subscribed and which you have paid for, and we have become insolvent due to bankruptcy, reorganization or liquidation. If this happens, the third-party escrow agent will release all the GeoBooks On Demand software and documentation to you under the GNU General Public License (GPL), Version 2 or higher if you request them to do so. After they release it to you, you are free to install and use the GeoBooks On Demand software and documentation on your own computers for as long as you wish, without paying us any additional fees, as long as you comply in full with the terms of the GNU General Public License (GPL).
Use Questions and Answers
Can you guarantee constant, high-speed and trouble-free Internet access?
No, because we do not control the entire connection between our data center and you or your end-users.
On our side of the connection: We will do everything we can to keep our data centers up and running 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. This includes staffing our data centers and Support Center around-the-clock; maintaining an adequate power supply with backup power generators; maintaining primary as well as backup Internet access using reliable Internet service providers (ISPs) and dedicated Internet addresses; providing adequate network, processor and data storage capacity to assure acceptable response times at peak hours; securing our facilities and equipment and keeping them in good running order; providing backup processor and data storage capacity; employing state-of-the-art high availability, backup and disaster recovery techniques and procedures; and employing the best available firewall technology to prevent denial of service, spamming and virus attacks without blocking your access to our data center. We operate data centers in many countries to avoid exposure to a single point of failure and to minimize traffic that has to pass through congested international Internet access gateways. In the event of service disruptions affecting the World Wide Web, we will do everything we can to re-direct incoming and outgoing traffic to avoid congested areas, but we have no ability to re-route traffic once it enters the World Wide Web.
On your side of the connection: you are responsible for procuring broadband Internet access from a reliable ISP; procuring and correctly setting up the right modem, router, network and PC equipment (including PC operating systems and browsers) on your premises; procuring and correctly setting up the right database server equipment on your premises (if you are a GeoBooks Exclusive Service subscriber); and keeping your Internet service and equipment up and running whenever you or your end-users require it. Your GeoBooks On Demand subscription does not cover these items and you must buy and maintain them separately.
Can I copy my data, and store it on my own computer, if I am a GeoBooks VPD Service subscriber?
Yes, you can make backup or archive copies of your data, and download the copies to your own computer or data storage devices, at any time and at no extra cost. You can also export your data at any time to prepare custom reports using your own spreadsheets or reporting tools, and purge obsolete data from your virtual private database after archiving it.
Is there any limit to the amount ot data I can keep in my GeoBooks Virtual Private Database?
No, there is no pre-set data storage limit. We reserve the right, however, to monitor your use of our data storage resources and impose restrictions if necessary. We do this to keep automated data-generation processes under control and prevent abuse for the benefit of the entire GeoBooks customer community.
Does my GeoBooks On Demand subscription include implementation services?
No, it does not. Your subscription allows you to use our software and documentation over the Internet; access your virtual private database over the Internet (if you subscribe to GeoBooks VPD Service); and obtain customer support, maintenance (including bug fixes) and upgrades that we make available to the entire GeoBooks On Demand customer community. If you need someone to implement our software for your organization, please contact us to request an implementation services quotation from us, or obtain a referral to one of our business partners.
Please bear in mind that "implementation" and "customer support" are not the same thing. An "implementation" is a one-time project that ends shortly after your new GeoBooks On Demand system goes "live", and could involve anything from planning how you are going to organize your own information, or run your business processes, to preparing your database and training your end-users. "Customer support" is an on-going process that typically begins during the implementation project and continues as long as you maintain your subscription. It includes everything from running our data centers and answering our customers' questions, to accepting, tracking and resolving issues, improving our software and delivering upgrades.
Can I modify GeoBooks On Demand software?
GeoBooks On Demand software is both powerful and flexible, which means you can configure it many ways to suit your business operations and ways of working. Configuration, however, is not the same thing as custom modification, which means having a programmer modify the software just for you. We do not allow this. GeoBooks On Demand services are shared by many customers, so a custom modification for you is really a modification for all. This is true for all GeoBooks On Demand services, including our GeoBooks Exclusive Service.
What if I find a bug? How does it get fixed if I can't modify the software?
If you find a bug, please report it to us right away. We recommend our issue tracking service but you can also e-mail our Support Center at support@geoprise.com, or contact us by telephone or postal mail at the contact information listed below. We'll work with you and do our best to resolve the issue as fast as possible. If this requires a software modification, we'll make the changes and immediately correct the software at all our data centers after thorough testing. All our customers benefit because everyone receives the correction as soon as you do.
How about software improvements? How can I help to improve the software if I can't modify it?
The continued success of our business depends on retaining our existing customers as much as it does on attracting new ones. So, when our customers tell us that our software needs improvement (and, better yet, tell us how to improve it), we listen. We do this by providing a forum for open public discussion between our customers, and our Support Center is always listening for good ideas when interacting with our customers. As with bugs, you can also submit your ideas for improvements through our issue tracking service, or you can e-mail our Support Center at support@geoprise.com, or contact us by telephone or postal mail at the contact information listed below.
We can't guarantee that we'll make all the improvements that our customers suggest, nor can we guarantee that we will improve the software exactly the way you want, or deliver improvements when you ask for them. A big reason for this is to achieve consensus among our customers on how and when to make specific improvements, so our customer community as a whole receives the greatest possible benefit. This is why we encourage you to discuss your ideas with other customers in the forum. We guarantee that we will listen in at all times, participate, follow-up and communicate progress to you.
Changes in this Licensing and Use Statement
If we decide to change our licensing and use policy, we will post those changes to this licensing and use statement, the homepage, and other places we deem appropriate so that you are aware of your rights and oblgations as a customer.
We reserve the right to modify this licensing and use policy at any time, so please review it frequently. If we make material changes to this policy, we will notify you here, by email, or by means of a notice on our home page.
Contact Us
If you have any questions or suggestions regarding our licensing and use policy, please contact us at:
Geoprise Technologies Corporation
Customer Care - Licensing and Use Issues
8400 Normandale Lake Blvd., Suite 920
Minneapolis, MN 55437 USA
+1 (888) 965 8868
Effective date: 8 July 2007