Commercial site license
The Steam Internet Cafe Program allows licensees to offer Steam products, SteamVR, and site content to their subscribers. As part of the program, the site owner is provided with tools to manage this service. After registering, you will have access to hundreds of commercial game licenses through Steam: depending on what games your visitors will play, for example, you can store a cache of content and distribute game files over a local network.
The program is suitable for any establishments providing Internet access: Internet cafes, shops, coffee shops, schools, libraries, hospitals, theaters, airplanes, cruise ships, buses, trains, subways, etc. At the same time, they must be registered and have registration number, for example, as non-profit organization, government agency, individual entrepreneur, partnership, limited liability company, corporation or other formally organized group. Click to get Additional information about program requirements.
Site users will be able to sign in to their Steam accounts, download and use content, whether owned or provided by your organization, and access all Steam services, including purchasing in-game items, badge collections, achievements, loot, trading cards, and more. etc.
Program Benefits Information
- A license that grants visitors access to Steam on registered sites.
- Access to purchase commercial licenses for content on Steam from developers and publishers participating in the licensing program.
- Discounts on commercial licenses and the possibility of purchasing in bulk.
- Access to the server software for 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 site license management for concurrent use. Licenses may 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 the existing content across all sites. Steam will manage the content for you. You only need to set up one site server at each location.
Exploring User Preferences
Steam provides analysis tools to see what games your visitors are playing. You will be able to find out if they are launching 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 really passionate about the content offered or just trying it.
- Find out how much content is being used to determine if your site has enough licenses.
- See the hours of the most user activity and find out if there were failures due to lack of licenses.
Program requirements and registration instructions
If you are interested in this program, it is recommended to 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?
Since you will have a licensed site server that will provide access to the pool of commercial licenses, you do not need a separate account for each computer. Instead, you will need to create one account to be used for enrolling in the program and one account for each licensed site server (usually one per site). 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 that you assigned him and logs into Steam under his own account. If he does not have an account, he will be able to create one when starting the client. Once a visitor has logged into their account, they will see both the games they own and the games from your site in their library. When a user starts playing one of your games, the license site server will notify the Steam servers that they have requested a game license. When the visitor exits the game, the license is returned to the license pool for that game. Visitors will be able to use site-owned licenses for a particular game until all licenses for that game owned by your site are used 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 at the same time in your cafe. If the 36th visitor arrives and wants to play Left 4 Dead 2, they will be shown a message that there are no more licenses available. If one of the 36 users has 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 permanent Internet access?
Yes, the licensed site server and clients must be connected to Steam in order for it to manage licenses and allow users to play. The program will not support offline mode.
Will all computers in 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 they are all located on the same network as the licensed site's authorized server.
Can I purchase multiple commercial licenses at once with a bulk discount?
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 desired number of copies, and if a discount is offered for purchasing multiple copies, it will be applied. Bulk 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 site owner 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 may be used on the licensed server and added to the license pool.
What if a visitor comes to my site with their laptop?
If a visitor comes to you with his laptop and you allow him to enter the network where the licensed site server is running, his laptop will also have access to the pool of game licenses. Those games that the user owns on his account will not require licenses from the pool.
The Steam Standard Subscription provides a purely non-commercial personal license (see the Steam Subscriber Agreement). It does not in any way cover 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 that Steam has to offer.
| Licensing for computer clubs
Licensing for organizations that rent PCs
Typically, Microsoft's standard license agreements prohibit lending, leasing, or leasing software. Therefore, for organizations whose business is to rent computers with Microsoft software, a special licensing scheme is offered.
Which organizations can purchase licenses under this scheme
- Equipment rental companies
- Business service centers (for example, copying and printing)
- Internet cafes and computer clubs.
- Internet kiosks in hotels and airports
- Public organizations providing computers for public access
Not covered by this program: libraries, educational organizations, domestic use (community 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 to allow you to rent the software: Rental Rights for Windows 7 Professional, Office Standard/Professional Plus 2007/2010. Rental Rights licenses are supplied under the Open License program.
Program Features
- Rental Rights licenses are additional licenses that allow you to rent Microsoft software and cannot be used standalone without the corresponding software.
- To confirm legality, organizations must present documents confirming the availability of licenses for products and licenses for Rental Rights.
- The 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.
- Permission is granted to use a previous version of the software, provided such right is granted by the license agreement for the respective product.
- Use of an additional copy of the Software on a portable computer or network device is not permitted.
- The Software may not be used on a virtual hardware system (or otherwise emulated). In other words, you are not allowed to create and 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 it at the lowest cost and legally correct? To deal with this issue, we turned to Andrey Tolstikov, manager of the Information Security direction of the Forus Group of Companies. Our choice of an expert is not accidental: Forus has been cooperating with Microsoft for more than 10 years and is a Gold 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 the legalization of software, is the purchase of the necessary information solutions for the implementation of the company's activities. It's no secret that according to Russian law, any company working with software must use licensed programs, saying plain language she is obligated to buy them. Today, the legal issue of using software is particularly acute, and more and more companies want to be legalized. In turn, Microsoft offers various software 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 purchase the necessary licenses, and secondly, it must sign an agreement with Microsoft to rent the software to individual users who come to play or work on computers. Licenses are purchased according to the usual scheme: at a time or in installments. But the main thing is the signing of the agreement. Many computer shops now simply buy licensed products, believing that this is enough to use the software in the club. This is a common mistake in licensing clubs, because during the checks it turns out that the club does not have the right to rent software to users.
Can you tell me more about the agreement?
It is concluded once and has an unlimited duration. The peculiarity is that the conclusion occurs only on English language. The agreement specifies how many computers and what products the salon has the right to rent. Another condition under this agreement is that the computer salon is obliged to warn the user (in paper or electronic form) that he accepts this software for rent.
But 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 is familiar with and agrees to these conditions, after which he can start working. The fulfillment of this condition takes a few seconds and does not cause inconvenience to users.
Let's get back to the licensing process. What other pitfalls can the owner of a computer salon encounter when licensing?
There are many pitfalls. For example, according to Microsoft policy, you can't rent computers running Windows Home Edition. There are other nuances that the owner of the salon does not always know about. At the same time, the rules and licensing requirements are spelled out either in English or in 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 over the signing of the agreement, and the client will only need to sign.
What kind of assistance from Forus can computer salons expect in 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. Therefore, we have a well-established 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. In our practice, we have significant experience in legalizing software for computer clubs: 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 shops?
License wisely. Don't look for cheap solutions, look for competent suppliers. Then you will be provided with the conditions under which you can work effectively and reduce the risk of legal sanctions, and your visitors will be able to enjoy all the benefits of licensed versions of programs
