Monday, March 11th 2019
Maxon Sends Legal Threats to PC Enthusiast Websites Hosting Portable Cinebench R20 Downloads
Maxon last week week posted its Cinebench R20 CPU benchmark. Breaking convention, the company behind rendering software such as Cinema 4D R20, did not host the installer of Cinebench R20 on its own website. Instead, the software is being exclusively distributed through Microsoft Store (for Windows) and Apple App Store (for the MacOS platform). Several reputable PC enthusiast websites such as Guru3D and us, were bombarded by comments from their readers that they didn't like having to get their Cinebench R20 copy from "walled garden DRM platforms," and instead preferred portable versions of the software. Cinebench R20 is freeware, and so with good intentions, many PC enthusiast websites decided to build portable versions of Cinebench R20 that people can just unzip and run. Maxon did not take kindly to this.
Guru3D received legal threats from Maxon to take down their download hosting of Cinebench R20 portable. Facing these threats, Guru3D took down their download and amended their news articles with links to the Microsoft DRM store. The e-mail we received politely asked us to remove the "unauthorized download" but did include a threat that the company "reserves the next legal steps." We believe this behavior by Maxon is unfair, and will alienate a section of PC enthusiasts form Cinebench. No record-seeking PC enthusiast with an LN2 bench painstakingly set up has time to plug their machine to the Internet, launch the UWP store, evade attempts to get them to log in with a Microsoft account, and fetch Cinebench R20 with versions they have no control over. They'd rather install and run their benchmarks and tools off a flash drive, with control over versions, and the ability to keep their machines offline to stabilize their overclock. Many others simply hate DRM platforms for freeware. TechPowerUp has since taken down Cinebench R20 portable from its Downloads section. You can find it on Microsoft UWP Store.
Guru3D received legal threats from Maxon to take down their download hosting of Cinebench R20 portable. Facing these threats, Guru3D took down their download and amended their news articles with links to the Microsoft DRM store. The e-mail we received politely asked us to remove the "unauthorized download" but did include a threat that the company "reserves the next legal steps." We believe this behavior by Maxon is unfair, and will alienate a section of PC enthusiasts form Cinebench. No record-seeking PC enthusiast with an LN2 bench painstakingly set up has time to plug their machine to the Internet, launch the UWP store, evade attempts to get them to log in with a Microsoft account, and fetch Cinebench R20 with versions they have no control over. They'd rather install and run their benchmarks and tools off a flash drive, with control over versions, and the ability to keep their machines offline to stabilize their overclock. Many others simply hate DRM platforms for freeware. TechPowerUp has since taken down Cinebench R20 portable from its Downloads section. You can find it on Microsoft UWP Store.
149 Comments on Maxon Sends Legal Threats to PC Enthusiast Websites Hosting Portable Cinebench R20 Downloads
The sense of entitlement and disrespect for others’ rights and property is strong here in TPU. It’s sad.
They have the normal rights connected with owning something. They can tell you how you're allowed to use it. It's a general law, not limited to software.
You don't understand the law fundamentals that are needed in this case. And my guess is you don't want to understand them. It's the same discussion we had in the software keys topics.
I don't know if you're an anarchist or you just financially benefit from this approach. I'm not going to judge.
You're very persistent in spreading your theories, but anyone who learned basics of copyright should instantly notice you're wrong. The fact that so few people are objecting simply shows that not many people on this forum understand the topic. Which, as I said earlier, is bizarre in XXI century in general, and on a PC forum in particular. Your opinion about their decision doesn't give you the right to ignore law. So you're an anarchist after all? I'm disappointed. Well, I could have said that better. Law protects the program (the creation), not the files.
In any case, EULA forbids you from sharing the files. So even if we assume extracting is OK, giving the result to someone else is not. So? It also requires you to have a PC. How is this even relevant? Context of benchmarking? WTF? You're breaking the law because you want to benchmark? Why? Maybe they know their clients moved to Win 10 and supporting other platforms isn't needed? Or maybe they made a mistake? Or maybe they're stupid?
It doesn't matter.
Your need to benchmark and the other party being stupid are both on a very long list of things that don't let you violate their rights. So say "no thank you" and get another benchmark instead of violating the EULA of this one.
And no, their product is not intended for gamers and they won't lose revenue. The only thing that's quite certain at this moment is that the shift to MS Store will lower their costs.
Funny how you worry so much about their financial well-being, but at the same time you're fine with stealing their property. Nice.
And gamers are not their userbase. Maxon has no business in it. Cinebench is just a hardware test for their software.
Unless you're trying to convince me that OC hobbyists that use Cinebench are more likely to buy Maxon software for their professional cine business. Good luck with that.
Maybe they did it on purpose? Maybe they got fed up with thousands of e-mails accusing them of bias towards CPU brand X or Y? Maybe they wanted to cement their professional image?
We don't know and we shouldn't care. They do things by the book and gamers are breaking the law. End of story.
www.microsoft.com/en-us/servicesagreement/#STANDARDAPPLICATIONLICENSETERMS
Point 3D (ironically). You're not allowed to share.
If theres no license document in the package, you can't know you can't distribute it unless you run it. Microsofts store eula is big words and completely unenforceable outside of the US.
And the terms are, obviously, available on Windows Store.
When you open an item in Windows Store, there's a link saying "Terms of transaction". It leads here:
www.microsoft.com/en-US/storedocs/terms-of-sale
The interesting part of this document: "12. Software Licenses and Use Rights". Among other things, it contains the link that I've posted earlier.
2. According to the article, Maxon asked politely if they could take it down. It just crossed my mind, that they don't even have proper download statistics if someone else hosts it. So who could blame them
3. If you don't like their store version (or even if you think that was a "stupid dick move"), just tell them politely! If enough users tell them they will find for sure a solution. If NOT enough people complain, well then it's just a few people where the effort is not worth it. At the end let me close this with: software agreements and licenses are complex and difficult to understand. Everything might be shiny and easy to do, but bringing everything under one hood is really not an easy task. Since I am a (hobby) developer myself, it's a horror - for end users, devs and companies. As said n my previous post, software agreements and licensing is so complex, I wouldn't be able to say yes or no - I just doubt that though.
Disclaimer: I am a dev myself and work in the hardware industry
www.maxon.net/en-us/header-meta-navigation/about-maxon/contact/
But, Cinebench is definitely a benchmarking tool, through and through. It's useful for measuring system performance (as Maxon themselves say on the Cinebench page) and they released it to the public. I'm not sure how being exclusively on the Microsoft Store would prevent them from being accused of bias (which is silly in the first place). I'm also not sure how that would help them look professional. But you are right that I don't know their motive behind doing so... and I don't care. I just won't use their benchmarking tool, and I'm not gonna be butthurt about not seeing it the next time I look at a CPU review.
As far as breaking the law, well, I have yet to condone illicit sharing of the R20 portable version. They wrote the software, so as far as I can tell, they're within their legal right to restrict distribution however they want. That doesn't mean they're still going to be popular with the benchmarking crowd after forcing everyone on the Microsoft Store.
All of this effectively makes them hypocrites as they don't seem to have any issues with the "Extreme" version of R15 discussed here;
www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/cinebench-extreme-edition-mod-by-hwgeek.252293/
Boycot Maxon and all their products.
The only way they'll learn.
(But I can only dream, countless hordes of w10 zombies will use UWP store anyway)