Micro Focus licensing guide: Government & non-profit

Micro Focus licensing guide: Government & non-profit

Image by Jackelberry from Pixabay

Government entities purchase via the “VLA for Government” and the rules are very similar to those for the commercial VLA – these can be found here.

Qualification for the program

Qualifying government entities must meet all of these conditions:

• Perform services or duties of a public character for the benefit of all citizens of a community
• Government-owned or affiliated
• Non-revenue producing and non-profit
• Included in the list of eligible public sector entities as defined by each country’s highest-level governmental authority
• Hold a discernible legislative, administrative, or judicial role

Non-qualifying customers include:

• Government-owned corporations and enterprises
• State-owned enterprises that undertake commercial activities such as:
• Healthcare
• Telecom
• Banking
• Transport
• Utilities

Government-to-Citizen licensing

Available for select products, government-to-citizen licensing allows governmental organisations with large numbers of external users to purchase licenses at a discounted price. The definition of “citizen” in this scenario is:

“a citizen or resident to whom a Governmental Entity provides services or goods as part of its normal business operations, except that it does not include current or former employees, agents, contractors or suppliers”

And the definition of a “governmental entity” is:

“a government-owned or affiliated entity performing services or duties of a public character for the benefit of all citizens of a community and whose primary purpose is not to generate a profit. Government-owned or affiliated telecommunications, media, utilities, or mining companies are not Governmental Entities. If there is an issue concerning whether an organization is a Governmental Entity, our opinion will prevail so long as it treats similarly situated entities the same”

Non-profit organisations



Image by Capri23auto from Pixabay

Non-profit organisations purchase via the “VLA for Non-profit” and the rules are very similar to those for the commercial VLA – available here.

Qualification for the program

USA non-profits

USA-based organisations must meet the following criteria:

• Qualify as a “Public Charity” not a “Private Foundation” – as defined by Section 509 in the United States Internal Revenue Code
• Produce a copy of their 501(c)(3) determination letter from the IRS. The determination letter must deem the organization as a 501(c)(3) “Qualifying Publicly Supported Charity” rather than a “Non-Qualifying Public Charity”
• Complete the Non-Profit Eligibility Form

Non-USA non-profits

Non-profit organisations based outside the USA must meet the following criteria:

• Be designated as a registered non-profit charity organization by their government’s authorizing authority, and hold the highest level of non-profit status
• Produce written verification from their government’s authorizing authority
• Complete the Non-Profit Eligibility Form

The “Non-Profit Eligibility Form” that Micro Focus publicly list is here and, interestingly, is still Novell branded and refers to Novell terms – although the links go to the Micro Focus website.

VLA documents

VLA terms and conditions
VLA Program Guide
VLA Services guide

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