Dear Martin D
Your question: how you can prove that you own the copy of LabVIEW or any other National Instruments software tool. When we ship out our software we log the serial number against the order and then enter that into our install base so the product is tied to the company that purchased the product. That information NI is able to tie in the Purchase Order number and the product thus proving that the company purchased the copy.
License transfer from one user to another is valid and just a case of contacting National Instruments and requesting that document. Once the details have been filled out by the original owner then this must be sent back to the National Instruments branch (of the specific country it was purchased in). Please note that if your copy is an Upgrade then the person that you are selling this to is not legally allowed to use that copy. The license on an upgrade is moved from the original pre-upgrade copy over to the upgraded version. If you do not fill out the transfer documentation then you have no legal proof of the ownership transfer. Be aware that there have been illegal copies of National Instruments software sold on ebay in the past, and we do monitor that site.
As most people know we use activation technology, only a valid serial number which can be checked against a valid owner will activate the product (or it will default to 30 day trial). Software companies are becoming more concerned about illegal copies being used, activation technology help manage these concerns and protect the consumer.
I hope this answers you question. Feel free to contact your local National Instruments branch if you wish to discuss this further
Kind regards
Joe Woodford BSc MIEE
Northern European Engineering Manager
National Instruments UK
