Adobe outlined plans to roll out product activation for its products today, beginning with a three-month trial on Photoshop 7.0 set for April in Australia.
Drew McManus, Global Director of Marketing, told PC Authority that the activation process was not about 'catching criminals or pirates, but more about making sure that genuine Adobe customers had valid products'. According to McManus, the activation data sent to Adobe does not contain any identifying content and that it will be used to confirm that installations match product serial numbers.
'Activation will not prevent people from installing one copy on their work PC and another on their home notebook, as in the standard Adobe end-user license agreement,' he said. Users will have 30 days to activate Photoshop 7.0 before the software locks up, and it may be activated online or via a free call to Adobe.
The activation process is available online or over the phone but unlike Microsoft Window XP and Office XP's controversial activation process, Photoshop 7.0 will not require re-activation after hardware changes.