What does non-commercial use cover when included in the license for hardware drivers?
<p>I have an Intel wireless adapter in my laptop and I went to their website to download an updated driver. In order to begin the download, I was required to agree to the Intel Software License Agreement, a section of which contains the following statement:</p>

<p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/SUNmW.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/SUNmW.png" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

<p>What does this mean when applied to software necessary to make a piece of hardware function correctly? If I conduct business over the Internet (using the wireless adapter) am I violating the license?</p>

<p>I reached out to Intel and received <a href="https://communities.intel.com/message/450884#450884" rel="nofollow noreferrer">the following reply</a>, which clarifies the wording:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>By non-commercial use, we mean that you agree that you will not receive a fee, salary or any other form of compensation for the software (you may not sell it). While we're not saying we don't care what you do with it, you could say we are more interested in restricting what is done to the software itself.</p>
  
  <p>This is clarified, as much as anything written in legal jargon can be, with the following note:</p>
  
  <blockquote>
    <p>"2. You may not copy, modify, rent, sell, distribute or transfer any part of the Software except as provided in this Agreement, and you agree to prevent unauthorized copying of the Software."</p>
  </blockquote>
  
  <p>In short, using this software as a tool to conduct your business will not go against the terms of use, so long as your business does not consist of commercializing our software.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>In practice, Intel wouldn't be bothered whether you use the software or not, even if the use is commercial. Intel <em>would</em> be bothered if you use the software, and something goes wrong, and your company sues Intel for damages. In that case, Intel whips out the license agreement and shows the judge that you had no license for commercial use, therefore Intel cannot possibly responsible for damages to your business. </p>

<p>So if you conduct business over the Internet (using the wireless adapter) and because of Intel's negligence the wireless adapter stops working, causing as a consequence your business to go bankrupt, you have no chance getting damages paid by Intel. </p>

software licensing