Licenses and number of users. Transferring part of the licenses.

To begin with, it is worth telling what a "box" is and why exactly it is called a "box".
A long time ago (in a galaxy far, far away), before the internet existed, the way software was sold was this:
1. The client comes to the store, buys a physical box, in which there is a bunch of floppy disks and an activation code.
2. The client comes home, puts the software on his computer, enters the activation code, and sticks the sticker on the side of the system unit.
3. that's it, at this moment the software is activated and tied to this particular computer.
Later, floppy disks were replaced by CDs, then by flash drives, then only the code and a link to download the software were already in the box.
Because the conditional Windows could have been downloaded on the Internet anyway, the whole point is in the licensed activation code.
This is the essence of the box: software + activation code, binding to one PC.
Regarding the "Boxed OneBox":
We sell a license (one!) of software for N users.
This license and its activation code are tied to a host (box address).
It's not 10 separate licenses, it's one license for 10 users.
In invoices, contracts, acts, it is written everywhere (should be written) "OneBox CRM + ERP software license for N users."
Therefore, it is impossible to take and divide the software into two parts, transfer licenses somewhere. Because they are tied to the host.
You can only transfer the entire software entirely to another address, and the contract regulates this. This is in case one company absorbs another, or is rebranded and you just need to change the URL of the CRM, or when you just need to transfer it to another server and change the address.
When a client "acquires additional users" - this is not a purchase of new licenses, but an extension of an existing license.
There is also such a thing as "Competing (floating) licenses", this is an approach to licensing when the number of users can be dynamic.
If the classic boxed licenses use the approach "one user = one computer = one license", then this formulation is not very suitable for web products. The thing is that technically competing licenses are:
- there is one license server that is installed at the enterprise (this is an important point!)
- there are a lot of employees' PCs with Windows (the software is installed on the user's computer and does not depend on the server, this is important)
- an employee comes to work, turns on the computer, enters his username and password, and Windows (or other software) climbs into the local license server and asks "can I or can't I activate for a day now."
- the license server answers "possible" or "not possible", depending on how many people have already been "activated".
With regard to OneBox, we have a similar story, "one server = many users that can change", but legally this is a single license per host up to N simultaneous sessions.
If we sold "separate licenses" - then we would have to install several copies of the software for the client. Bought 10 licenses? Get 10 different boxes with different addresses :)
PS: And now the final story of this ballet.
It so happened that in some part of the contracts concluded with our current clients there are legal inconsistencies. Somewhere it says "10 licenses", somewhere it says "License for 10 users", somewhere someone "buyed additional licenses", and not "expanded the license". We know this and are developing a plan for how to gradually fix it all, most likely each individual case will be agreed with the client individually. While there are options:
- conclude an agreement with the correct wording "one license for 10 competing sessions"
- conclude an agreement with the division of boxes, if the client wants it
- cut a bunch of boxes according to N licenses to the client, as it is written in the contracts :)