Extended user rights and 500 users limits on a PDF Form

There is not a 500 user limit. The limit is on the number of returned forms you can use (500) if you distribute the form to more than 500 recipients.

If you have the form set up to submit the form data, as opposed to the complete PDF, and you will not otherwise be collecting the filled-in forms, there are no applicable licensing restrictions.

Yes, that's correct.

#4 is correct, but only if the form is distributed to more than 500 users, and it includes hard copies as well, not just files.

As long as you only get the data file, then there is no violation for exceeding the 500 limit. You can easily open the data file in the form when you get it if that is needed.

As far as the Saving data feature, I would suggest you read the EULA carefully. I have heard differing opinions on that.

That's right, because the form data is not the same as a unique instance of the extended document, to put it in terms that the license agreement uses.

Bill@VT wrote:

 

As far as the Saving data feature, I would suggest you read the EULA carefully. I have heard differing opinions on that.

This is not discussed in the license agreement. Also, the agreement can only restrict what the licensee can do, not what the users of a document can do.

IMPORTANT

Adobe Systems has issued a guidance note on the use of Reader-Extended PDF forms on a public-facing website, which clarifies the wording of the Acrobat Pro EULA. This guidance note and the associated EULA are the sole legal points of reference for what is and is not permitted. Some of the responses above make claims which are not supported by either document: The EULA does not distinguish how the data from a Reader-Extended form is returned to the licensee, only that the form data is "extracted". This is further explained in the guidance note. Neither does it specify the destination of the extracted data has to be a human, so returning information to a server operated by the licensee cannot be excluded from the provisions.

In reply to the original poster: As the restriction applies only to Reader-Extended forms, a PDF form which submits XFDF/FDF data to a server which is not itself Reader-Extended has no limits on the number of responses that can be extracted. You don't need to extend the forms if they're submitted electronically to a server, even if you wish to provide the senders with an archive copy of their data.

A typical workflow to implement PDF > FDF > PDF workflows without limits to the number of datasets extracted would be:

• Create the form to submit to a server using FDF or XFDF, but do not apply extended rights (the filled-in form cannot be saved locally, but can be submitted)
• Receive the data on a website, and use it to electronically create a new 'flat' copy of the PDF file with the form data filled-in, e.g. by using PHP or Java
• Return that 'flat'  file to the user, either via a  link created in the original PDF file using XFDF response data, or via email

This open-loop workflow can be used with any form, even those containing digital signatures, though the 'flat' return file cannot be digitally signed by the sender's ID.

Dave Merchant wrote:

 

The EULA does not distinguish how the data from a Reader-Extended form is returned to the licensee, only that the form data is "extracted". This is further explained in the guidance note. Neither does it specify the destination of the extracted data has to be a human, so returning information to a server operated by the licensee cannot be excluded from the provisions.

The license clearly refers to the licensee extracting data (by whatever means) from instances of extended documents that have been returned to the licensee (in whatever form). Data extracted from an extended document by the user (by whatever means) and sent to the licensee is not the same thing. The only way a licensee is able to extract information from an instance of an extended document (in whatever form) is if the licensee is in possession of the instance of such an extended document, by virtue of users returning such documents (by whatever means) to the licensee.

For what it's worth, your interpretation is new to me in the years I've been following this issue since it became one with the release of Acrobat 8. Neither the license agreement nor the policy statement state that form data sent to the licensee is restricted in any way.

Can Adobe's licensing department define "extract"?  I know there is a lot of confusion here and I'm trying to understand.

Here is our scenario:  We have developed an Adobe fillable form which we will be sending to 1000 customers.  Customers can open the form (in Reader v9.5 and greater) and fill out the form, validate it and then print it.  The customers are not sending the PDF files back to us and the PDF data is not being collected so there is no data we can extract from Adobe files (we are not that advanced yet).  Customers will just print the information, then fax or send back to us by U.S. Mail. 

When we receive the completed information (via fax/mail, not PDF), we read information off our form.  Does Adobe consider reading our information “extracting” with our eyes?  I’m not sure how they can consider that extracting?  I would think Adobe owns the mechanism (aka PDF file) for validating our content, but they wouldn’t own the content on our form if we want to physically read it, right?

Adobe needs to clarify this more clearly and I’ve ready their interpretation of the Policy, but it doesn’t address this scenario.  http://www.adobe.com/products/eulas/pdfs/Reader_Extension_Policy_A10-5-31-2011.pdf

George, I don't think you are an Adobe Employee.  I see you are a MVP, but you are not officiall speaking for Adobe are you?

---Thanks.

No, I'm not an employee and can't speak for Adobe. The Acrobat License Agreement specifically states that hard copies are included. I often use the term "use" instead of "extract" as it makes it more clear what the license means. The point is the forms are being returned to you and you're using the information in some way, so they count against the total. It's really the only interpretation that makes sense. My interpretation comes from many years of following this issue with interest, taking in what a number of Adobe employees have said and materials that Adobe have provided, although too many employees have gotten certain aspects wrong.

Note that Reader 11 is capable of saving non-enabled forms. Adobe did this in part to provide some incentive for people to upgrade to the most secure and current version of Reader.

If your customers do not need to save the filled-in form and only need to print, you don't need to enable it and there is no licensing issue to be concerned with.