How do you handle compliance in confirming that the product is only used for the license duration? (Or is it more of a one time purchase plus recurring fee for updates?)
Feds are DMCA immune, so no real recourse.
Usually you do have recourse via procurement channels and reps. If you file a complaint with that agency stating that they’re using a license without paying for it, it will result in at least an investigation.
I wouldn't. I'd hire some Peter Gibbons type, who only does about 15 minutes of real, actual work in a typical week. Then I'd tell them they can finish early if all their pending cases are closed.
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2008/08/air-force-cracks...
And unpaid software licenses are a violation.
Now maybe the client in this case may have had some kind if ownership clause, etc. but in general, procurement people tend to be pretty neutral in my experience.
Then again, over only dealt with small contracts (< $500k)
We have had companies outright refuse to even give us a price when we told them we wanted to investigate buying a license. Such a PITA.
Hopefully this was fixed, but this was the standing precedent at the time.
> probably be much cheaper than building and maintaining an air-gapped licence solution
I think this is an unwise attitude to take. There's something to be said for a simple picket fence. Even though someone could easily hop it if they wanted to, they lose plausible deniability and in most cases that's all that really matters at the end of the day.