As part of a simplification of Qt Group license agreements — and to improve the overall readability — we have updated the structure of our commercial contracting documentation. This change has a limited impact on the terms and conditions under which Qt Group licenses commercial products and services.
The update does not affect any open source licensing or existing and ongoing agreements with Qt Group customers. In other words, if you keep your current products and are only interested in purchasing more of the same, you have no need for any changes.
The previous Qt License Agreement, version 4.4.1, originates in the Qt Developer Framework’s dual licensing model. The version 4.4.1 was created to add new Qt Group products in the Quality Assurance area, such as Squish, Coco, and Test Center, to the license agreement. Through that change, the License Agreement became more comprehensive but bulkier. With the growth of Qt Group expanding to include the new products of Axivion Suite, it became clear that we needed a new approach to the License Agreement.
Rather than changing the core of existing licensing structures for Qt products, we have constructed our agreement in a new, modular, and scalable way.
Modular Structure for Terms and Conditions
The new agreement is modular in structure and called the Qt Frame Agreement. The main body of the agreement is not product or service-specific but rather establishes the relationship between the legal entities (Qt and its customer) and sets forth the general terms and conditions for doing business. As with past Qt License Agreements, the new Frame Agreement is intended for business-to-business relationships.
To complement the main body of the Frame Agreement, products and services now have their own specific appendices to the Frame Agreement. This format allows product-specific structures (for example, covering developer framework-specific conditions like dual licensing) to be set forth in that product’s appendix to the Frame Agreement. In other words, our intent is forthe Frame Agreement to be more focused and easier to use in a multi-product world. The Frame Agreement also allows modular changes and additions as products or services evolve.
Ultimately, our goal is to make it faster and more convenient for our customers to review and approve the agreement. Instead of reviewing a contract covering various products and services outside of the current focus, customers have the terms and conditions specific to the product they are looking to purchase or use.
Some Change Highlights
Qt Developer Framework: Clarified policies for using different types of license editions as well as transfer of licenses between employees in a customer company.
Squish, Coco, Test Center, Axivion, Insight: Terminology alignment and fit to the Frame Agreement structure.
Professional Services: Until now, Professional Services from the Qt Group have been handled in separate, dedicated agreements. With the new Qt Frame Agreement this is no longer the case. General terms for Professional Services provided by the Qt Group are now included as part of the Frame Agreement as a general Professional Services appendix; related Statements of Work are then completed for Professional Services (whether time and materials, fixed project work, trainings, workshops or other Professional Services).
Support: Qt Technical Support terms and conditions have been restructured to support the multi-product nature of Qt Group’s current offering. The support service levels, response times, and actual support service offering is not changed.
Educational License Agreement: Educational and student use was moved out of Qt LA 4.4.1 Appendix 5 to a separate end user license agreement already in November 2023.
You can find the new agreement under qt.io/terms-conditions. The change is effective today, 1st February 2024.
