eWarehouse in Montreal, Canada, said it has signed an agreement to use Preview Software’s TimeLOCK technology
exclusively on its electronic software distribution (ESD) Web site.
TimeLOCK will enable eWarehouse to provide Try-Before-You-Buy functions for
the thousands of PC software applications offered for electronic fulfillment
from its site.
The exclusive agreement between eWarehouse, which sells over 30,000 products
online, and Cupertino, CA-based Preview Software, a provider of secure ESD
software technology, will enable eWarehouse shoppers to download a software
package, experiment with it for several days, and then decide to make a
purchase. Financial terms were not disclosed.
With TimeLOCK, software publishers can give their customers a risk-free,
hands-on evaluation of product features without threat of piracy. And
electronic distribution allows the purchase of software products 24 hours a
day, 7 days a week.
TimeLOCK uses RSA’s BSAFE encryption technology. Vendors can encode a
product’s selling price and the length of time an evaluation will be valid.
TimeLOCK also uses BSAFE software to issue digitally signed license
certificates upon purchase, as a further measure to reduce software piracy.
