LEADTOOLS Licensing

Product Configurations. LEADTOOLS SDKs include stand alone SDKs and Add On Modules and Plug Ins.  You must own a license to a standalone SDK to be eligible to purchase a license to an Add on Module or Plug In. In some cases, a specific standalone SDK is required in order to license a particular Add On Module or Plug In.

License Components. There are two major components to LEADTOOLS SDK licensing:  (i) the Development License, which covers the use of the LEAD SDK in the development of an end user application and (ii) the Runtime License, which covers the copying, distribution and  deployment of LEADTOOLS redistributable files as part of the resulting application.

Development License.
A Development License is required to program with LEADTOOLS. The Development License allows the customer to install the SDK on a development computer and use the SDK for development of an end user application, by integrating certain redistributable libraries and files into the end user application using the SDK sample code and documentation.

The basic rules for the development licenses are as follows:

• License Needed for Each Developer. A copy of LEADTOOLS must be licensed for each programmer who uses the SDK. For example, if there are three (3) programmers building a single application with LEADTOOLS, three (3) development licenses of LEADTOOLS need to be purchased. (Discounts are available for additional development licenses.)
• License Needed for Each Application Developed. A copy of LEADTOOLS must be licensed for each application that is developed. For example, if three (3) separate applications are developed, three (3) LEADTOOLS Development Licenses need to be purchased.
• End User Applications Only. LEADTOOLS may only be used to develop an "end user" application. An end user application is an application for business or personal use that may not be copied or redistributed by the user or used to develop software. LEADTOOLS may not be used in a developer oriented product, such as a development toolkit or a product that contains an API.  In addition, if all or any portion of an application is redistributed by our customer's customer, the application is not an end user application within the meaning of the LEADTOOLS EULA. If a customer wishes to use LEADTOOLS in connection with the development of an application that is not an "end user" application, the customer may be able to obtain a customized license from LEAD. Please contact sales@componentsource.com for a quote.

Please note that a Deployment License Application (DLA) form needs to be completed, signed and submitted before a .lic file and unlock codes can be generated and sent to you. The form requires:

• Licensee Contact Information.
• LEADTOOLS Product/Products purchased.
• Target Operating Sytem for end-user application.
• API being used for development e.g. .NET Framework, .NET Core, Xamarin...
• Development Project and Deployment Information.

Runtime and Deployment License.
The Deployment License governs the customer’s use of the resulting end user application ("End User Software") that is developed with the SDK. Unlike a license agreement for a typical end user application, an SDK license generally grants the user a license to copy and redistribute a portion of the SDK. LEAD’s customers must obtain the appropriate deployment license in order to copy LEAD’s intellectual property and deploy it along with the end user software developed with the LEAD SDK. The deployment license terms and conditions vary depending on whether the application developed with the LEAD SDK (“End User Software”) is being used internally by customer’s employees, is being hosted by customer for use by third parties or is being commercially distributed to end users.

LEAD deployment licensing requirements and prices vary depending upon the type of deployment. The following are some of the typical types of deployments of End User Software developed with LEAD SDKs:

Commercial Deployments. "Commercial Deployment" is any distribution and other disposition of End User Software by a customer to third party end users, either directly or through distribution channels. Commercial Deployments are typical when our customer is acting as an ISV, OEM or solution provider offering End User Software to the public for license, lease, subscription or other form of disposition.

Internal Deployments. "Internal Deployment" is where our customer is deploying End User Software, including Single User Deployments, Concurrent Deployments, Server Deployments, Multi-user Deployments and/or some other deployment model approved by LEAD on hardware devices owned or controlled by our customer for internal business use limited to our customer's employees and contractors.

Hosted Service Deployments. "Hosted Service Deployment" is a type of Server Deployment where our customer is hosting End User Software on customer's machines for consumption or commercial use by its customers, vendors and other third parties. Examples of a "Hosted Service Deployment" include End User Software operated by a service bureau, application service provider, outsource facility, and any public facing End User Software hosted by our customer accessible by third parties via the internet or other network.

Single User Deployments. "Single User Deployment" is installation of End User Software by our customer and/or its customer on a stand-alone PC, work station, mobile device or other hardware for use by a single named user. End User Software that is deployed as Single User is intended for interactive use by the named end user, and has a GUI requiring the user to control the application by mouse, keyboard, touch-screen or similar means. A Single User Deployment also is applicable where End User Software is distributed to client machines through a deployment server or other network device via a CAB file or similar mechanism and installed on the client machine. Single User Deployments are commonly referred to as desk top licenses, client licenses, stand-alone licenses, app licenses and user licenses.

Concurrent Deployments. "Concurrent Deployment" is where our customer has built a reasonable method of concurrency into the End User Software so that, although installed on multiple PCs for single user uses, only a limited number of users are technically permitted to use the End User Software at the same time. For example, if the End User Software is installed on one hundred (100) PCs, but only ten (10) users may be logged in to use the End User Software at the same time, licensing for ten (10) Concurrent Deployments would be required instead of 100 Single User Deployment licenses. The fact that a server application is "queuing" jobs sent to it, and processing one job at a time, is not considered concurrency for purposes hereof. This type of deployment would be a Server Deployment. A Concurrent Deployment also occurs if our customer issues client licenses on a subscription type model and wishes to recapture client licenses that are no longer subscribed and assign such licenses to another user. Concurrent licenses are also commonly referred to as floating licenses.

Server Deployments. "Server Deployment" includes the following: (i) End User Software installed on a networked device accessible by more than one person who can independently operate the End User Software from another machine; (ii) End User Software installed on a networked device running as a service that accepts connections from other machines or applications (for example, a headless process to watch a folder or other data source for work originating from other machines), and (iii) End User Software deployed to a browser from a webserver, such as an HTML5 based application, where the End User Software is not installed on the client machine but is in use by the client machine while the user is connected to the webserver.

Multi-User Deployments. "Multi-User Deployment" is a computer installation designed to service the public or multiple un-named users, and not a single named user or set of concurrent named users, such as a kiosk or a scan station.

Modular Deployments. A "modular deployment" means our customer has different LEADTOOLS features enabled in an "application", with some modules being installed and enabled on one or more machines and other modules being installed and enabled on other machines. For example, a Document Management system may be comprised of some scan stations for OCR and Barcode recognition operations as well as some annotation/markup stations for image markup and editing operations. The deployment licenses for OCR, Barcode and image markup features are priced separately. The applicable deployment licenses only need to be purchased where the technology is enabled. Thus, OCR- and Barcode-enabled licenses will need to be purchased for the scan stations, while the lower priced Document Imaging licenses will need to be purchased for the image markup stations.

Other Licensing Options. If none of these deployment licenses fit your licensing model, LEAD can tailor a licensing program to meet your particular facts and circumstances. They offer fully paid up licenses, site licenses, and percentage of revenue licenses in certain cases. Please contact sales@componentsource.com to initiate a dialog regarding your unique license requirements.

Other Licensing Requirements. Additional licensing requirements apply to applications developed using LEAD SDKs:

• Copyright Notice. An application that is developed with LEADTOOLS must contain the following copyright notice in the "about box" or software documentation/help file: "Portions of this program were developed using LEADTOOLS 1991-2022 LEAD Technologies, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Portions of this product are licensed under US patent 5,327,254 and foreign counterparts."
• End User License Agreement. The end user application developed with LEADTOOLS must be distributed with an EULA which prohibits reverse engineering, disassembly, modification and copying (other than for back up purposes) and which preserves LEAD's intellectual property rights in the software to a commercially reasonable degree.
• OEMs. If LEAD's customer develops an application and wishes to allow a third party OEM to modify and redistribute the application, an OEM distribution license needs to be obtained by the customer for each OEM that will be modifying the software and redistributing it. Please contact sales@componentsource.com regarding OEM Distribution Licenses.
• Export Restrictions. Any end user application developed with LEADTOOLS is subject to the US Export Regulations. Thus, a LEAD customer may not ship the end user application to any country or any person where US law restricts exports, such as Cuba, Sudan, Iran or North Korea. (Please contact US Import Control Agency for a current list of prohibited territories and persons.)