Contents
Microsoft Agent licensing
Distributing Microsoft Agent and components
Usage of the Genie, Merlin, Peedy and Robby characters
Microsoft Agent logo program - discontinued
Download buttons
Frequently asked questions (FAQs) about licensing

Microsoft Agent Licensing

The use of the Microsoft Agent software and technology is governed by the End-user License Agreement (this can also be displayed when the Microsoft Agent installation file, msagent.exe, is run.

Accordingly, the following uses, per the End-user License Agreement for Microsoft Agent, do not require a distribution license to be obtained (other End-user License Agreement requirements still apply):

• Your Microsoft Agent application or Web page can automatically cause the Microsoft Agent installation file, msagent.exe, to download from the Microsoft site by including the CLSID for Microsoft Agent in an HTML <OBJECT> tag on one of your site's pages, as described in the instructions for scripting automatic downloads.
• Your Microsoft Agent application or Web page can automatically cause the installation files for Microsoft Agent language support libraries to download from the Microsoft site by including the CLSID for the component in an HTML <OBJECT> tag on one of your site's pages, as described in the instructions for scripting automatic downloads.
• Your Microsoft Agent application or Web page can automatically cause the speech engines available from the Downloads page to download from the Microsoft site by including their CLSIDs in an HTML <OBJECT> tag on one of your site's pages, as described in the instructions for scripting automatic downloads, provided that these engines are only downloaded and installed for use with Microsoft Agent.
• Your Microsoft Agent application or Web page can provide instructions or a hyperlink URL to your end-user customers to download Microsoft Agent or its components from the Microsoft Web site;
• Your Microsoft Agent application or Web page can load the character animation data for Microsoft's Genie, Merlin, Peedy and Robby characters in .ACA/.ACF file format from the Microsoft Web site using the Microsoft Agent Load and Get (Prepare) methods, as described in the HTTP access section of the Character Data page.

Distributing Microsoft Agent and components

However, to add or include Microsoft Agent and any of its components to or with an application, or post Microsoft Agent and any of its components on a server, or distribute Microsoft Agent and any of its components using other electronic media, you must first obtain a distribution license for Microsoft Agent. The Microsoft Agent character files and their images and designated speech engines cannot be used or distributed without Microsoft Agent and only as part of a Microsoft Agent-enabled Web page or application.

To obtain a distribution license, please see the following:

• Microsoft Agent Distribution License
  Information on licensing and distributing Microsoft Agent and related component files.

Distribution licensing for the speech engines supplied by Microsoft that can be downloaded from this web site, is covered in the license agreement displayed when you install that engine. If you have a valid distribution license for Microsoft Agent, no additional license must be submitted for these speech engines. If you are using a speech engine supplied by a vendor other than Microsoft, check with your vendor for their distribution licensing requirements.

For licensing information for the Microsoft SAPI runtime binaries, refer to the Microsoft Speech group's Web site.

The Microsoft Agent distribution license does not cover the Microsoft Agent Character Editor or the Microsoft Linguistic Information Sound Editing Tool. These tools are available from the Developer Download page and may not be distributed otherwise.

For further information about the licensing and distribution of Microsoft Agent, contact Microsoft Agent License Info at msagtlic@microsoft.com. Do not send technical support questions to this alias - it is only for licensing and distribution questions.

Usage of the Genie, Merlin, Peedy and Robby characters

The four Microsoft Agent characters of Genie, Merlin, Peedy and Robby, are copyrighted creations of Microsoft. The character files for these four characters are provided for use with Microsoft Agent in accordance with the terms covered in the End-User License Agreement.

Additionally, refer to the Permissions page for information about the permitted uses of images of the Genie, Merlin, Peedy and Robby characters.

Microsoft Agent logo program - discontinued

Microsoft has discontinued the Uses Microsoft Agent Technology logo program. As such, no new product is eligible for this logo.

Download buttons

Download buttons are image files that you can use on Web pages and link to the downloads that will install the corresponding files when clicked upon. You can find out more about the Agent download button to install the core components of Microsoft Agent and the Character download buttons for the Genie, Merlin, Peedy and Robby characters.

Frequently asked questions about licensing

After reading the information in this section of the Microsoft Agent Web site, you may still have questions about the licensing of Microsoft Agent. It may be helpful for you to look at the answers that have been provided for commonly asked questions about the Microsoft Agent licensing.

Back to the Microsoft Agent home page