Software within Software

Why will Denoiser Be Temporarily Removed? | Nate Sparks | Red Giant
Just a couple of months ago the software application "Get' from AV3 software was pulled when the licensing for the underlying technology was ended. Now the same thing appears to have happened to Red Giant's Denoiser:
Because of the Google acquisition, Red Giant no longer has the legal right to sell Denoiser. Unfortunately, you will not be able to purchase or download Denoiser from us, as we have to remove all current and past versions from our website and product catalog. With the next update of Magic Bullet Suite in mid-December, Denoiser will no longer ship with the Suite.
Red Giant does say that they are working on a new version of Denoiser they plan to release next year, and will offer it free to existing owners:
Our Red Giant team is hard at work developing a new version of Denoiser. In early 2012, the new Denoiser II will be included in Magic Bullet Suite and sold individually.
[...]
NOTE: Due to the restriction of the Green Parrot Pictures license, Denoiser II will not be backward compatible with earlier Denoiser projects.
I can understand that licensing can change, but both Denoiser and Get were pulled after (exactly) a year on sale. What's the matter with these people and only having a one year license; do they need better lawyers?!

To have an application end because it was unsuccessful is one thing, but to have it disappear because the license ended and it was sold to someone else seems ... disconcerting. I feel like software makers should have to disclose if their application is dependent upon some underlying technology that may disappear in a year.

Perhaps I'm being unreasonable. In the case of Get, existing owners were offered a free crossgrade to the "new" Boris FX product, and Red Giant is promising a new application, so at least it appears that existing purchasers are only out some inconvenience.

It just seems like an odd trend.

See also: NotesOnVideo: An important announcement for owners of 'Get'


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