Since 1st September, 2010, all the single-licence electronic standards purchased from the Estonian Centre for Standardisation will be encrypted with FileOpen software. This change means that a single-licence electronic standard can be opened only on one computer – and that is the computer on which the file is opened for the first time. Afterwards, the standard can only be accessed on the same computer. If something happens to this computer and you have a backup copy, you can transfer the access rights to another personal computer with the assistance of the Centre’s customer service. Two copies can be printed out – one user copy and a backup copy. If you exceed the printout limit or try to open the standard on another computer, the software will block your access to the electronic document.
Since the operation of the software is based on an e-shop modification, single-licence standards can only be obtained through the e-shop from now on. Once you have purchased an electronic standard from the e-shop, you will be given a link where you can download and save the FileOpen software interface. This allows you to open the electronic file of the standard only in one computer and allows you to make two printouts as specified in the user agreement. You can download the FileOpen plug-in for free from the following web page: http://plugin.fileopen.com/all.aspx. In addition to Windows the plug-in is compatible with Macintosh, Linux and Solaris.
NB! As the standard file can be opened in only one computer and it is not the same computer used for browsing the webshop then the standard file should be downloaded using the "save as" function (right click of the mouse on the standard file link). Clicking on the standard download file link will open the standard (for the first and last time) automatically.
The purpose of the introduction of this software is to minimize illegal copying and distribution of standards, which is very widespread. Unfortunately, it is still a prevalent practice to purchase a single-licence standard which is then copied, used in internal networks and distributed – regardless of the fact that this violates the user agreement regulating the electronic documents issued by the Estonian Centre for Standardisation (a single-licence standard can only used on one computer, with just two printouts allowed). The software is introduced to meet the internationally accepted distribution regulations for standards, and helps to enforce copyright laws.
As an alternative to single-licence standards, we launched local network or server licences in spring of 2010 – with these licences, the standard can be accessed by several users simultaneously. This solution allows you to open the same electronic standard on several different computers, with prices depending on the number of users, i.e. licenses.