Transfer purchases to another ID

Actually you are one off, you can authorize 5 Macs for use of your iTunes content.

Frankly, I'm rather upset by some of the knee-jerk responses to the original question, because I came here to ask something similar, and now feel somewhat intimidated. Everyone knows there is a difference between copying and moving. The OP is talking about moving, not copying. Copying is theft, moving is not.

My situation also involves my sister, as it happens. I recently bought us both iPad 2s. She is younger and poorer than me. As a student she has trouble getting a credit card so we innocently decided that I would buy apps as needed and transfer to her. In particular, we are interested in productivity apps. After a bit of joint research I bought omnifocus, 2do and Toodledo and had a play. As agreed I had the first choice (omnifocus if you're interested!) and now want to transfer one or both of the others to her.

This is nothing to do with "theft". If I transfer to her ID, I cannot use that app any longer.

For all the sanctimonious people citing 'apple regulations' as if this was the same as natural law, I would say that I can barely think of any other commodity on this planet that I cannot sell to someone else. I could even sell my kidney if I wanted to -- though I accept that if I told the purchaser that I was hoping to retain the right to use the kidney when I wanted to, there might be problems....

I totally understand and accept that 2 users should not be allowed to share an app across 2 IDs. That would be open to abuse. But it should be possible to MOVE the use to someone else as a gift or as a sale, just as we can buy and sell the iPad itself.

The problem with your issue is that you are not buying a comodity. You do not own the app. Apple owns that app. Apple has sold you a license to use a copy of its app in conjunction with the End User License Agreement. The EULA specifically states how you may use the app and with whom and how you may share use of the app. You defacto agreed to the EULA buy purchasing the licence to use the app, downloading the app and so are then bound by its terms.

The EULA states that you may not transfer use of the app to anyone else who is not an immediate family member living in your same household. You may not transfer use of the app or the EULA to use the app to another person, freely or for money. The copy of the app that you agreed to download to your computer is encoded with your Apple ID and will only function with your Apple ID. You cannot transfer the function of the app from your Apple ID to the Apple ID of any other person.

If you wish to gift someone the use of an app you may do so by buying them a gift card to cover the price of the app. They can then redeem the gift card using their own Apple ID and then use the credit on their own account to purchase use of the app and receive the EULA that regulates that use. Their copy of the app for their use will then be encoded with their Apple ID and have the same restrictions regarding their use as your use of your copy restricts you.

If you are unhappy with how this EULA functions, your only choice is to not use the Apple iPad.

You say: "the EULA states that you may not transfer use of the app to anyone else who is not an immediate family member living in your same household"

Well, I am an immediate family member living in the same household and I was foolish enough to ask my husband for his password to buy apps and put them onto both our iphones. It went a bit against my gut feelings, but it seemed that Apple condoned and even encouraged it. But I do not want to know his password. I just want then apps that I have bought. We both agree that he does not, has not and will not use them. Unfortunately I have just bought Pages and Numbers under his ID so will lose that money.

There is no reason why you can't keep the apps. Others may disagree, but you are living in the same household and sharing an ID are you not? My wife an I share an Apple ID. She is an IPod Touch User and has very few apps on her device, but we do share some apps.

Obviously we're saying that the license to use the app should be transferrable between people/ID's. We know it doesn't work that way, but given our situations it's insulting that it doesn't work that way. It goes against all common sense and you don't have to think that hard to realise that the only reason you can't do this is money. So hopefully Apple will one day see that treating customers like this will also cost them money - freeing my device from jail is looking mighty attractive right now, how's that for an option?

That's your opinion. You are welcome to it. And you are free to use any other company's system. But this is how Apple's system works and the few folks who come here and complain and threaten don't really seem to have much effect on the situation. Apple continues to sell more product each quarter than that same quarter the year prior. Apple is a for profit company, they do this to make money, in addition to creating the products they value. And the continued success allows them to continue to make more products. If you are unhappy with the Apple products and how Apple chooses to make them work, the bottom line will always be your freedom to patronize another company. Happy shopping.

I'm not sure what 'patronizing' another company would do?

Apple is just doing what everyone else who distributes digital products is doing these days - eliminating second hand sales by forcing everyone to own a non-transferrable license. Because where's the money for them in those sales? Nowhere. So best take away some basic customer rights and make sure we're involved in every transaction - right?

I just can't understand why some people are so enthusiastic and happy about this system. Online passes, restrictive license agreements - it's the way of the future.. yay! 😐

I want to pay for these digital goods, but if the DRM gets in the way then I'm going around it - and I don't mean shopping elsewhere, I mean removing the need for a license altogether.

Well good luck with that. When you brick your device, you won't get any suppot here. Your warranty will be voided. You could have a very shiny paperweight. So good luck with that.

Go ahead, make fun of my use of English as a second language. I am sorry that it isn't perfect.

I see Apple doing something different than you obviously do. I see Apple offering instant download of software online. I have software that I have bought on line with immediate download from many 3rd party developers, in addition to what I buy from Apple, none of them give me an EULA that allows me to freely transfer or sale the use of the app to someone else. On line sales have never worked the way you want them to work, in my experience. And, in my experience, on line sales has never used the model that you want to bring to it from the former software on media model of disribution.

Boasting that you will become a software pirate won't get you far here in this community.

Dah•veed wrote:

If you are unhappy with how this EULA functions, your only choice is to not use the Apple iPad.

Yes, but Apple is carrying this too far. Well after I purchased (many) Macs and made significant investments in high-end applications software, Apple decided to apply this app concept to their Mac software, including the OS. I don't like it but there isn't a darned thing that I can do about it. I'm certainly not about to trash my Mac and buy a Windoze machine. That would cost me some $5,000 in software purchases!

There are folks who swear that a Mac will run Windows for you better than any PC, so you won't have to buy a computer, just the software.

But I miss your point, what do you need to be happy with Mac software? The ability to sell it to someone else?

And you do realize that's really a conversation for a different forum?

Dah•veed wrote:

On line sales have never worked the way you want them to work, in my experience.

That's not true. I've always purchased Adobe software online and recently upgraded my Photoshop to CS6. I can (and have) legally sold my Photoshop CS5 software to a neighbor. My registration has been cancelled and my neighbor registered it in his name.

Dah•veed wrote:

But I miss your point, what do you need to be happy with Mac software? The ability to sell it to someone else?

I routinely keep a Mac three, maybe four, years, after which I give it to my son (who does not live with me). Now, my son is required to pay to replace all the Apple software that I already paid for.

Adobe allows you to purchase a license and to download over the internet a copy of their app and then Adobe later allows you to sell the license and the app copy that you downloaded to another person?