So yesterday we reported on the possibility of a bug in the Mac App Store that allowed users running trial versions of the iWork suite (amongst other software) to upgrade to full versions for free. Well it turns out that the bug might not necessarily be a bug after all. This is according to J. Glenn Künzler over at MacTrast
when he managed to upgrade his version of Aperture for free. He then proceed to test this out with a DVD version of iLife ’09 and found that it worked as well, which is when he decided to reach out to a contact at Apple to find out what was going on and if they were planning on fixing the bug.
To his surprise, and probably to the surprise of everyone, his contact told him that this was not a bug. According to his contact. “Rather than maintain separate updates for these in addition to the Mac App Store versions of each app, Apple has decided to eliminate their legacy software update system for apps entirely. Instead, when Mavericks discovers legacy apps installed on your Mac, it provisions them as a Mac App Store purchase using your Apple ID.”
His contact goes on to state, “While we are aware that this enables piracy of our apps for unethical users, Apple has never taken a strong stance or action against piracy in the past. We like to believe that our users are honest, even if that belief is in vain.” So there you have it, it looks like Apple is banking on the honor system, although it should be noted that this is hardly an official confirmation and there’s no telling if Apple will change their minds in the future. So for those of you on the fence debating whether you should go ahead with this “illegal” upgrade, you now know how Apple feels about it.
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