Question

Does anyone know if the Crystal Reports Viewer that comes with Visual Studio 2008 is a royalty free distribution for C# apps?

Thanks.

Answer 1

Here’s what the license agreement says:

USE AND DISTRIBUTION OF RUNTIME
SOFTWARE.
4.1 Deployment and Distribution of Client Applications. Crystal Decisions
grants you a personal, nonexclusive,
limited license to deploy, reproduce
and distribute Client Applications to
end users, if you comply with all of
the terms of this license agreement,
including section 4.4.

4.2 Deployment Within Your Organization of Server/Web
Applications. After you have activated
your copy of the Software, you may
install and use Server/Web
Applications in one or more Server
Environments owned or operated by you
for your internal business purposes.
You may not use the Software or a
Server/Web Application on a rental or
timesharing basis or to operate a
service bureau facility for the
benefit of third-parties unless you
first acquire an Application Service
Provider License from Crystal
Decisions. The Runtime Software may be
installed on only one server in each
Server Environment, and only one
instance of the Runtime Software per
Server/Web Application may be utilized
on that Server at any one time. While
you may allow Access to the Runtime
Software by an unlimited number of
users, the version of the Runtime
Software provided with Visual Studio
.NET is a performance limited edition
intended for development purposes and
use with Server/Web Applications
accessed by small groups. If multiple
users are simultaneously accessing the
Runtime Software, performance will be
affected and users may be unable to
access the Runtime Software. If you
want to deploy the Runtime Software in
a production environment or extend the
performance of the version of the
Runtime Software provided with Visual
Studio .NET, you may purchase
additional licensing from Crystal
Decisions as a stand-alone offering.
For more information, please visit the
Crystal Decisions’ Web site at
http://www.crystaldecisions.com/net/licensing.

4.3 Distribution to Third Parties of Server/Web Applications. This license
agreement does not in itself give you
any right to distribute Server/Web
Applications to third parties. If you
want to distribute Server/Web
Applications to third parties, you
must obtain written authorization from
Crystal Decisions to do so. If you
obtain written authorization from
Crystal Decisions to distribute
Server/Web Applications to third
parties, you may reproduce and
distribute copies of Server/Web
Applications to end users of
Server/Web Applications so long as you
comply with all of the terms of this
license agreement, including section
4.4. For more information, please visit the Crystal Decisions’ Web site
at
http://www.crystaldecisions.com/net/licensing.

4.4 Runtime Software Distribution Requirements. If you distribute the
Runtime Software to Third Parties
pursuant to sections 4.1 or 4.3, you
agree to comply with the following
requirements:

4.4.1 You distribute copies of the Runtime Software solely as a part of
specific-purpose application programs
written using an authorized copy of
the Software;

4.4.2 You remain solely responsible for support, service, upgrades, and
technical or other assistance,
required or requested by anyone
receiving such Runtime Software copies
or sample applications;

4.4.3 You do not use the name, logo, or trademark of Crystal Decisions, or
the Software, without written
permission from Crystal Decisions;

4.4.4 You do not alter, disassemble, decompile, translate, adapt or
reverse-engineer the Runtime Software;

4.4.5 You do not alter, disassemble, decompile, translate, adapt,
reverse-engineer, or convert the
report file (.RPT) format to an
alternative format, including but not
limited to report file formats of
general purpose report writer or
database querying products that are
not property of Crystal Decisions,
except as permitted by the Software,
without written permission from
Crystal Decisions;

4.4.6 You do not use the Client Application or the Server/Web
Application on a rental or timesharing
basis or to operate a service bureau
facility for the benefit of
third-parties unless you first acquire
an Application Service Provider
License from Crystal Decisions.

4.4.7 You will defend, indemnify and hold Crystal Decisions harmless
against any claims or liabilities
arising out of the use, reproduction
or distribution of Runtime Software;

4.4.8 You shall secure the end user’s consent to terms substantially
similar to the following:

End User agrees not to alter,
disassemble, decompile, translate,
adapt or reverse-engineer the Runtime
Software or the report file (.RPT)
format;

End User agrees not to use, distribute
or integrate the Runtime Software with
any general-purpose report writing or
report delivery product that is
generally competitive with Crystal
Decisions product offerings;

End User agrees not to use the
Software on a rental or timesharing
basis or to operate a service bureau
facility for the benefit of
third-parties unless End User first
acquires an Application Service
Provider License from Crystal
Decisions;

End User may not use the Software or
Runtime Software, together or
separately or in combination with
Server Environments, as part of a
Report Distribution System, without
obtaining an additional license from
Crystal Decisions;

So it really depends on the type of application you are doing. A “specific purpose” client application is royalty-free, but a server/web application may not be.