Commercial license for sites
The Steam Internet Cafe program allows licensees to offer Steam products, SteamVR, and marketplace content to their subscribers. As part of the program, the site owner is provided with tools to manage this service. Once you sign up, you'll have access to hundreds of commercial game licenses through Steam: depending on what games your visitors play, you can, for example, store a cache of content and distribute game files over your local network.
The program is suitable for any institutions that provide Internet access: Internet cafes, shops, coffee shops, schools, libraries, hospitals, theaters, airplanes, cruise ships, buses, trains, subways, etc. However, they must be registered and have registration number, for example, as non-profit organization, government agency, sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability company, corporation, or other formally organized group. Click to get additional information about the program requirements.
Platform users will be able to log into their Steam accounts, download and enjoy content, both that they own and that provided by your organization, as well as use all Steam services, including the purchase of in-game items, badge collections, achievements, drops, trading cards and etc.
Information about program benefits
- A license that gives visitors access to Steam on registered sites.
- Access to purchasing commercial licenses for content on Steam from developers and publishers participating in the licensing program.
- Discounts on commercial licenses and the ability to purchase in bulk.
- Access to software for the server of each registered site. The server will allow you to identify users and manage licenses.
- Usage reports that can be used to manage the number of commercial licenses required for a given site.
- Data cache on the local network for your computer and visitors with their laptops.
- Dynamic management of site licenses for simultaneous use. Licenses can be transferred to any computer that is permanently or temporarily connected to the licensee's network.
- Site visitors will be able to connect their laptops to the network and its commercial content.
Multi-site support
If your organization owns multiple sites, you can specify the location of each site during registration and use existing content across all sites. Steam will manage the content for you. You will only need to set up one site server in each location.
Studying user preferences
Steam provides analytics tools that let you see what games your visitors are playing. You'll be able to see if they're running their own games or content you offer. You will also be able to:
- Find out how much time visitors spend playing games to better understand whether they are truly engaged with the content on offer or just trying it out.
- Find out how much content is being used to determine whether your site has enough licenses.
- See the hours of greatest user activity and find out whether there were cases of refusal due to a lack of licenses.
Program requirements and registration instructions
If you are interested in this program, it is recommended that you take a look at.
Where can I find commercial licenses?
Do I need to create a separate Steam account for each computer on my site?
Because you will have a licensed site server that will provide access to a pool of commercial licenses, you do not need a separate account for each computer. Instead, you will need to create one account, which will be used to register for the program, and one account for each server of the licensed site (usually one per location). We require organizations to create a new Steam account specifically for commercial use. You will not be able to use a personal account for this program.
How will the license pool be distributed across my network?
When a visitor comes to your cafe, he goes to the computer you assigned to him and logs into Steam using his own account. If he doesn't have an account, he can create one when he starts the client. After a visitor has logged into his account, in his library he will see both the games he owns and the games on your site. When a user starts playing one of your games, the licensed site's server will notify the Steam servers that they have requested a game license. When the visitor exits the game, the license will return to the license pool for that game. Visitors will be able to use the site's licenses for a particular game until all of the site's licenses for that game are in use at the same time.
For example, your cafe has 50 computers and your pool has 35 licenses for Left 4 Dead 2. Up to 35 visitors can play Left 4 Dead 2 in your cafe at the same time. If the 36th visitor arrives and wants to play Left 4 Dead 2, they will be shown a message stating that there are no more licenses available. If any of the 36 users have their own copy of Left 4 Dead 2 on their account, they will all be able to play, and that user will not borrow a license from the pool.
Should my site have constant Internet access?
Yes, the licensed site's server and clients must be in contact with Steam so that it can manage licenses and allow users to play. The program will not support offline mode.
Will all computers on my site have access to the commercial license pool?
There is no limit on the number of computers that will have access to commercial licenses, provided that they are all located on the same network as the authorized server of the licensed site.
Can I purchase multiple commercial licenses at once with a discount for purchasing in bulk?
Commercial accounts will have access to commercial licenses for all games whose publishers offer commercial copies. At the time of purchase, you will have the option to enter the number of copies you want, and if a discount is offered for purchasing multiple copies, it will be applied. Wholesale discounts installed directly by the game publisher.
Do I need to purchase commercial copies of games through Steam?
No, owning a commercial account and agreeing to a commercial license allows the owner of the site to use free games Steam and Valve. You are not required to purchase commercial copies of any other games, but only games purchased through Steam or authorized resellers will be able to be used on the licensed server and added to the license pool.
What if a visitor comes to my site with his laptop?
If a visitor comes to you with his laptop, and you allow him to enter the network on which the server of the licensed site is running, his laptop will also have access to a pool of gaming licenses. Those games that the user owns on his account will not require licenses from the pool.
A standard Steam subscription provides a strictly non-commercial, personal license (see Steam Subscriber Agreement). It in no way covers public use or third party access to content. The Steam Site Licensing Program is designed to make it easier and cheaper to give your users access to all the great content and services Steam has to offer.
| Licensing for computer clubs
Licensing for organizations that rent out PCs
As a rule, standard Microsoft license agreements prohibit the transfer of software for temporary use, rental, or rental. Therefore, for organizations whose business is the rental of computers with Microsoft software, a special licensing scheme is offered.
Which organizations can purchase licenses under this scheme?
- Equipment rental companies
- Business service centers (such as copying and printing)
- Internet cafes and computer clubs.
- Internet kiosks in hotels and airports
- Government organizations providing computers for public access
The following are not covered by this program: libraries, educational organizations, internal use (shared PCs), traditional financing.
How the PC rental licensing scheme works
- The organization purchases software that will be rented along with computers.
- In addition to the software licenses (for each rental product license), you must purchase the appropriate licenses that allow you to rent the software: Rental Rights for Windows 7 Professional, Office Standard/Professional Plus 2007/2010. Rental Rights licenses are provided under the Open License program.
Features of the program
- Rental Rights licenses are additional licenses that allow you to rent Microsoft software and cannot be used separately without the appropriate software.
- To confirm legality, organizations must provide documents confirming product licenses and Rental Rights licenses.
- A Rental Rights license is permanently assigned to a specific computer and cannot be transferred to another PC. When purchasing a replacement PC, you must purchase new Rental Rights licenses for the products installed on it.
- Network use or remote access to the software is not permitted.
- You may use a previous version of the software provided that such rights are granted in the applicable product license agreement.
- Use of an additional copy of the Software on a laptop or network device is not permitted.
- The Software may not be used on a virtual hardware system (or otherwise emulated system). In other words, you are not allowed to create or rent virtual machines.
For organizations that provide Microsoft solutions in hosting mode - telecommunications companies, telecom operators, Internet providers, service providers, etc., there is a separate Service Provider License Agreement (SPLA) program
Features of software licensing for computer clubs
How to do this at the lowest cost and legally correct? To sort out this issue, we turned to Andrey Tolstikov, manager of the Information Security department of the Forus Group of Companies. Our choice of expert is not accidental: the Forus company has been cooperating with Microsoft for more than 10 years and is a “Golden Partner” of the Corporation.
Andrey, hello, in a nutshell, what is licensing and why, in your opinion, has this topic become so popular now?
Licensing, or rather legalization of software, is the purchase of the necessary information solutions for the company’s activities. It's no secret that according to Russian legislation, any company working with software must use licensed programs, saying in simple language, she is obliged to buy them. Today, the legal issue of using software is particularly acute, and more and more companies want to legalize. In turn, Microsoft offers various software product licensing schemes that meet all market needs.
What are the features of computer club licensing schemes?
The licensing scheme for computer salons has its own nuances. First of all, the club must buy the necessary licenses, and secondly, sign an agreement with Microsoft Corporation to rent out software to individual users who come to play or work on computers. Licenses are purchased according to the usual scheme: at one time or in installments. But the main thing is the signing of the agreement. Many computer stores now simply buy licensed products, believing that this is enough to use the software in the club. This is precisely a common mistake in licensing clubs, because during inspections it turns out that the club does not have the right to rent software to users.
Can you tell me more about the conclusion of the agreement?
It is concluded once and has an unlimited validity period. The peculiarity is that the conclusion occurs only at English. The agreement specifies how many computers and what products the salon has the right to rent. Another condition of this agreement is that the computer salon is obliged to warn the user (in paper or electronic form) that he is accepting this software for rent.
How is this warning implemented in practice?
It’s very simple - when you turn on the computer, a web page appears on the monitor, where the user must check the box that he has read and agrees with these terms, after which he can start working. Fulfilling this condition takes a matter of seconds and does not cause any inconvenience to users.
Let's get back to the licensing process. What other pitfalls might the owner of a computer salon encounter when licensing?
There are many pitfalls. For example, Microsoft's policy is that you can't rent computers running Windows Home Edition. There are other nuances that the salon owner is not always aware of. At the same time, the rules and licensing requirements are written in either English or Russian, and not all clubs can find them on their own. Therefore, it is important to contact a trusted, competent software supplier, who will not only tell you about all the conditions, but will also take care of signing the agreement, and the client will only need to sign.
What kind of assistance can computer shops expect from Forus during the licensing process?
To a competent one (smiles - author's note). The quality of our services in this area is confirmed by the Microsoft Licensing Partner certificate. Consequently, we have a proven scheme for concluding agreements with Microsoft in accordance with all the requirements of the developer’s policy, we monitor and take into account all innovations. We have extensive experience in legalizing computer club software: we have successfully licensed salons in Angarsk, Bratsk and Irkutsk, as well as the well-known network of computer salons Next.
What is your advice to computer salons?
License wisely. Don't look for cheap solutions, look for competent suppliers. Then you will be provided with conditions under which you can work effectively and reduce the risk of legal sanctions, and your visitors will have the opportunity to enjoy all the benefits of licensed versions of programs
