I'm C# developer and i'd like to use this libraries:
AcroPDFlib, AxAcroPDFLib
from Visual Studio COM References. Is it't legal to sell software which using these libraries ? I know that it's required to have installed Adobe Reader on PC.
Can I sell it without contact with Adobe ? It's not easy to find clear find clear information.
Best regards,
Baton.
No it is not legal.
The current license fee is:
One-time License Fee - $5,000
The following libraries are from Adobe and you need to get any license if you want to sell it commercial.
http://www.datalogics.com/products/pdfl
The following files are wrappers and there is no need of license of a wrapper:
AxInterop.AcroPDFLib.dll
Interop.AcroPDFLib.dll
But if you are downloading these both files from anywhere in the internet, it is not legal to sell it to your customers. The original files
AxInterop.AcroPDFLib.dll
Interop.AcroPDFLib.dll
Are needed and then, you need a license.
Pay attention using http://wpfpdfviewer.codeplex.com/ for reading PDF files. It is not for free for commercial as it seems to be.
@Piotr Knut is correct, you are free to distribute these libraries as long as the user has Reader or Acrobat installed.
When my development team encountered this thread we engaged our Vendor Management department for clarification directly from Adobe. The response from Adobe was
The complete list of the APIs are listed in the SDK documentation:
http://help.adobe.com/en_US/acrobat/acrobat_dc_sdk/2015/HTMLHelp/#t=Acro12_MasterBook%2FAPI_References_SectionPage%2FAPI_References%2FAcrobat_API_Reference%2Findex.html
You are free to use any of these to build the app.
http://acrobat.adobe.com/us/en/acrobat/pdf-reader/volume-distribution.html
http://www.adobe.com/products/clients/all_dist_agreement.html
Even though it's free you still need an agreement (license) in order to distribute.