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Our company has various Mac computers that need to purchase software from the Mac App Store. This includes Apple software like Keynote or the Lion update, but also apps from third-party developers.
Currently we have one Apple id linked to the company credit card which we use to make purchases. However, we're only charged once per app (good for us; bad for the developer) and we suspect there might be a device limit.
What is the recommended or right way of purchasing from the App Store at work?
When you buy an app on the Mac App Store, you’re getting the rights to run that program on any Macs you own and operate, for your personal use. Basically, if your household has a half-dozen different Macs, including desktops and laptops, you can buy a copy of Gratuitous Space Battles and play it on every single one of them. Consider a purchase of consumer software via the Mac App Store to be a bit like buying a household site license for the app.
The situation is slightly different for apps that are considered commercial or professional in nature. For apps that fall into this category—Aperture’s a good example—the Mac App Store license says that you essentially can install that item on computers you use or on a single computer shared by multiple people. Basically think of it as a one-seat license for a pro app.
In other words, the Mac App Store’s purchasing system is not designed so that a podcasting company can spend $15 for GarageBand and equip 30 different Macs with a copy. But if you want to buy a game and put it on your desktop Mac, your laptop, your wife’s laptop, and your daughter’s laptop, go for it.
Find the full article here : http://www.macworld.com/article/157018/2011/01/appstore_licensing.html
There is no device limit on the Mac App Store, so if you have a single Apple ID that is shared by the whole company you'll be able to use the single copy you purchased everywhere.
For the iOS App Store, Apple has a volume purchasing program that lets you buy multiple copies of an app and install it on your company's iThings, but this doesn't apply to the Mac App Store. I haven't been able to find any information on a Mac App Store version of the program anywhere.
