Hi Dave, We have been told — in no u

December 2, 2009 by Dave Haynes

Hi Dave,

We have been told — in no uncertain terms, by Adobe legal themselves — that if you want to use an Adobe-provided Flash player for digital signage, you HAD to license it from one of their special licensing agents, regardless of operating system, size of screen, or any other factor.

Your only other option would be to license a 3rd party Flash player (there are several designed for the embedded space, for example), or build your own by Licensing Adobe’s IP (*very* expensive and complicated).

In reality, the paperwork is the biggest hassle. Once past that, the per-license royalty isn’t too oppressive. And I know for a fact that they’re watching the digital signage space, so in my mind, I’m better safe than sorry with paying those royalties.

Hope that helps. And I’d be very interested to hear if Adobe themselves has a new stance on the matter.

-Bill