Do I have to pay additional licensing fees if my use of these samples ends up on a hit record or other high-profile projects?
NO, your original purchase is your only license fee, and you’re free to use it in as many musical recordings as you want, forever. We hope you do get to use our sounds on a hit!
Do I have to credit this product if I use it on a recording?
No, you do not have to include credits mentioning Vienna Symphonic Library or the products you have used in liner notes or credits. Although we’d like to mention, if you do so, we’d highly appreciate it!
Can my writing partner, colleagues or friends use the sounds or the software once I’ve licensed the product? Can I form a group to buy and share products?
NO, each person who uses the sounds or the software must purchase their own copy (which licenses them to use the sounds). Anyone other than the original purchaser of the product, who uses the sounds or the software, is doing so illegally – risking legal action against both them and their clients! Contact us regarding package deals for special circumstances.
Can I offer the sounds or the software to clients as part of my recording studio or rental company services? Or, as a freelance sound designer, can I put custom compilation discs together (or any other medium) that include your sounds for my composer clients?
NO. Sorry, but each person who uses the sounds (the creative person) has to be a licensed user. Otherwise, this could cause legal problems for studio or rental clients.
Can I use these samples to make “Music Libraries”?
YES, unlike some soundware companies, this is fully allowed with all of our products. The sounds have to be used within a musical context, however, and cannot be presented isolated or “solo'ed”.
Can I use these sounds in Multimedia projects?
MAYBE, as long as the sounds are irremovably imbedded in music. Contact us if you’re still unsure.
Can I use these sounds to make and publish DLS sets?
NO. Any such usage is prohibited without prior clearance from us. Otherwise, you’re in direct violation of our license agreements. Contact us for more information.
Is it OK to sell the product to someone else if I’m finished with the project that I needed it for?
License Transfers will be handled on a case-by-case basis as a special customer service. It will be necessary to announce a license transfer to us, and both you and the new licensee will have to agree to the license transfer. A nominal fee will be charged per transferred license.
What if I still have questions?
The following license agreement covers all of your rights in detail. If you still have questions, please contact us at support@vsl.co.at to discuss any particular licensing questions you may have. We’re happy to help you!
IMPORTANT
Do not install the software until you have read this license agreement.
Update September 3, 2024: The only change to the prior version of the Agreement is the addition of the paragraph on the prohibition of AI training in Clause 3.
Installing this software product constitutes your acceptance of the following terms and conditions.
1. Definitions
All intellectual property rights in the software belong to Vienna Symphonic Library GmbH and its suppliers. As “Licensor” Vienna Symphonic Library GmbH grants to the “Licensee” a non-exclusive license to use the software files and other computer information including but not limited to sound files, samples, impulse response sound files, and accompanying documentation, hereafter referred to as “Software”. “You”, “Your”, and “Licensee” means the person who purchased this license to use this product or for whom the license was purchased. “Documentation” means the manual or guide and any other material provided by the Licensor, in any printed or electronic form, provided with or in connection with the Software. “License” means the license purchased and granted pursuant to this Agreement.
2. License
Vienna Symphonic Library GmbH grants to You, the Licensee, a non-exclusive, perpetual license to use the Software for your own personal use and not for sublicense, subject to the terms and conditions stated in this License Agreement. You may: (a) install the Software on one or more computers, (b) transfer the Software from one computer to another provided that it is used only by the licensee, (c) copy the Software into any machine-readable form solely for backup reasons, provided you include all copyright and other proprietary rights notices on the copy, (d) transfer the Software to another party if the other party agrees to accept all terms and conditions of this Agreement. If you transfer the Software to another party, you must at the same time transfer all copies, whether in printed or machine-readable form, to the same party and destroy any copies not transferred. An Educational Building Site License allows you to install the Software on the number of computers in one school site equal to the number as licenses supplied. Notwithstanding other sections of this License, the Software provided to you on a promotional basis (NFR – Not for Resale Copies) may only be used for demonstration, testing and evaluation purposes and may not be resold or transferred. All rights not expressly granted herein are reserved.
3. Restrictions
Unless expressly permitted by this License or otherwise applicable law, You may not, or allow any third party to, (a) rent, lease, sell, re-sell, loan, distribute, sublicense, for profit or otherwise, or otherwise transfer the Software or the Sounds it contains or copies of the Software or the Sounds it contains or the accompanying documentation, or any of your rights and obligations granted under this License, except as expressly stated above; (b) install or electronically transfer the Software or Sounds of the Software on a network for use by multiple users, unless each user has purchased a license; (c) decompile, reverse engineer or disassemble the Software, or otherwise reduce the Software to a human perceivable form; (d) remove or destroy any copyright notices or other proprietary markings of the Software; (e) modify, alter, or adapt the Software; (f) create derivative works based on the Software, (g) mix, combine, filter, re-synthesize, or otherwise edit the sounds, either as provided by Licensor or reformatted for use as sounds, multisounds, samples, multisamples, wavetables, soundsets, programs or patches in a sampler, microchip, computer, software, game console or any sample playback device. Except as expressly permitted above, any attempt to lease, sublicense, assign or transfer any of the rights, duties or obligations hereunder is void. The use of the Software for the development, training, or enhancement of artificial intelligence systems, including but not limited to machine learning models, large language models, or any similar systems, is strictly prohibited. Any attempt to analyze, reverse engineer, or utilize the Software, its output, or any derivative works for the purpose of creating or improving such artificial intelligence systems is a violation of this Agreement and is expressly forbidden. The Licensee agrees not to permit or enable any third party to use the Software for these purposes. Any breach of this provision will result in immediate termination of the license and may result in legal action.
4. Protection
You agree to take all reasonable steps to protect this product, the Software and any accompanying documentation from unauthorized copying or use. You agree not to modify the enclosed product or the Software to circumvent any method or means adopted or implemented by Licensor to protect against or discourage the unlicensed use of copying of the Software.
5. Copyright
This Software and all accompanying materials are copyrighted. Licensor constantly monitors digital product releases and the Internet to check for copyright infringements, and will prosecute all piracy and copyright violations to the fullest extent of the law. You may use the Software on any commercial music release (including music libraries), public performance, broadcast, or similar occasion. You may use any of the Sounds in a commercial recording without paying any additional license fees. The sounds are guaranteed 100% copyright clean. Multimedia and Game Music use of the Software is restricted to use within the musical compositions themselves.
6. Ownership
The license granted hereunder does not constitute a transfer or sale of ownership rights in or to the Software and the Sounds it contains. Except for the license rights granted above, Licensor and its suppliers retain all right title and interest in and to the Software including all intellectual property rights therein. The Software is protected by applicable intellectual property laws.
7. Term and Termination
This License shall be effective upon installation of the Software, and will remain in full force until termination. The License shall terminate upon the earlier of (a) Your failure to comply with any term or condition of this Agreement; (b) Your return, destruction or deletion of all copies of the Software in your possession. Licensor’s and its suppliers’ rights and Your obligations shall survive termination of this License.
8. Personal Data and Privacy Protection
In order to use any of Licensor’s products you need to create an account at www.vsl.co.at and register your product(s) to this account. We may collect your contact information and other information that you choose to provide, including but not limited to salutation, name, company, address, e-mail address, phone number, website, profession, bank details, credit card number, PayPal account, VAT-ID, optional billing or delivery address, forum name, preferred language and information about ordered and registered products. When you use the product, we may collect data about your computer’s operating system and system ID, your IP address, the date and time when you download data such as library content and software updates, and your email address when you fill out a crash report and send it to us. We only collect, store and process your personal data for fulfilling the contract with you and not for other purposes. In this context we may transmit certain information to commissioned third parties such as distributors or suppliers if necessary to fulfill the contract. These partners also maintain the same privacy statement. No personal data will be distributed to third parties who are not involved in the contractual business process. We will only contact you based on the stored data if you have given your consent to do so (e.g., by subscribing to our newsletter or by contacting our support department). Your user data will be stored as long as you are a registered licensee of any of our products. Registered users without a license may request the deletion of their data at any time.
9. Updates
Licensor may, from time to time, revise the performance of this Software and in doing so, incur no obligation to furnish such revisions to any Licensee. Unless explicitly stated otherwise, any new features that augment or enhance the current Software, including the release of new properties, shall be subject to terms of this License, and shall be provided at the sole discretion of Licensor.
10. Limited Warranty
The Software and the accompanying documentation are provided “as is” without any warranty or condition of any kind. Licensor and its suppliers make no warranties, express, implied, or otherwise, that the documentation or the functions contained in the Software will meet Your requirements or that the operation of the Software will be uninterrupted or error free. The Licensee expressly agrees that it is not possible to develop software programs in such a way that they will function without failure in all fields of use of licensee. Licensor specifically excludes any warranty for any functions or specifications described in the Software description or any promotional materials. Licensor expressly disclaims all warranties including but not limited to warranties of merchantability, non-infringement, and fitness for a particular purpose.
11. Limitation of Liability
You agree that in no event will Licensor, its suppliers, or anyone else who has been involved in the creation, production, or delivery of the Software be liable for any consequential, incidental, indirect, special or punitive damages, including any lost profits or lost savings arising out of the use or inability to use the Software, accompanying documentation or content, even if Licensor has been advised of the possibility of such damages. Licensor’s liability to Licensee or any third party arising out of or related to this License however caused and on any theory of liability, whether in contract, tort (including negligence), or otherwise will not exceed the fee paid by Licensee for the Software, as applicable.
12. General
This License is governed by the Laws of Austria, without regard to conflict of laws principles therein. The Courts in Vienna, Austria, shall have exclusive jurisdiction to adjudicate any dispute arising out of this License and You hereby consent to the personal jurisdiction of the Courts in Vienna, Austria. This License is the entire agreement between You and Licensor and supersedes any other communication with respect to the Software. No modification of or amendment to this License will be effective unless in writing signed by both parties. If any provision of this License is held invalid or unenforceable, the remainder of this License will continue in full force and effect.
All trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
© VIENNA SYMPHONIC LIBRARY GmbH, Vienna, Austria.
September 3, 2024