Broadcom appears to have sent the letters to users shortly after their support contracts expired, regardless of whether they continued using VMware.
Broadcom has sent cease-and-desist letters to VMware perpetual license holders whose support contracts have expired, according to a report in Ars Technica.
The letters state that users suspected of unauthorized use of patches, bug fixes, and updates released after the expiration of the support agreement may be subject to review. The exception detailed in the letter is security patches for zero-day vulnerabilities, according to the report.
After Broadcom bought VMware in November 2023, the sale of perpetual licenses has stopped to focus on subscription models instead. This has been criticized for leading to increased costs and less flexibility among users.
Broadcom has not commented on the demand letters.
This article originally appeared on ComputerSweden.
