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. Distribution licenses for Microsoft Agent are royalty-free, regardless of whether the application is for profit or not.
Also, you may find it helpful to look at the answers that have been provided for commonly asked questions about the distribution licensing for Microsoft Agent.
Instructions for licensing online
Note, if you are requesting a distribution license on behalf of a company at which you are employed, make sure that you are authorized to represent your employer. Also, to apply for a distribution license for Microsoft Agent, you must be of legal age. If you are not of legal age, a parent or legal guardian will be required to execute this agreement on your behalf.
Before you proceed, you should have the following information ready:
- Your name, complete mailing address, e-mail address and phone number.
- Your company name and work title, if applicable.
- Your alternate e-mail address and fax number, if applicable.
Follow these steps to review and execute a License and Distribution Agreement for Microsoft Agent:
- Using Microsoft Internet Explorer as your Web browser, select the following link to open the Microsoft® Agent License and Distribution Agreement.
- Read the license agreement completely. If you have a printer available, you may print the license agreement by clicking on the link provided for your convenience at the top right corner of the newly opened document window.
- The license agreement contains references to exhibits that are a part of the agreement. When a reference to an exhibit is made in the agreement, just click on the link to scroll the browser window to the referenced exhibit. You may return to the previous position of the agreement by clicking the Back button of your browser toolbar, selecting Back from your browser menus, or manually scrolling the browser window.
- The document contains fields (the boxes outlined in the color red) requesting contact information that must be completed in order to successfully execute the agreement. An asterisk next to a field indicates that it is required information. Note, there are two sections of the license form where your input is required.
- If you do not wish to proceed with the execution of the license agreement, click the button labelled "Cancel" to clear all input fields.
- If you wish to proceed with the execution of the license agreement, click the button labelled "I accept". A pop-up notification window will let you know if there are any omissions in the data that you have entered.
- If your online agreement is successfully accepted, a document will be returned with the data that you have supplied along with your new license ID number and the Effective Date. Print the accepted license agreement by clicking on the link provided for your convenience at the top right corner of the document window. Please note your License ID and reference it in any future communication with us regarding your distribution license.
- If the document is returned without a license ID number and the Effective Date, then your online agreement was not successfully accepted. If you have any difficulty with completing and/or executing the Microsoft Agent License and Distribution Agreement, please send an e-mail to msagtlic@microsoft.com.
- If you are interested in renewing your Microsoft Agent License and Distribution Agreement when the one year anniversary date of your acceptance approaches, return to this Web site for renewal instructions. Renewal is not automatic. Also, note that while there are currently no plans to discontinue availability of Microsoft Agent, we are also under no obligation to continue to make Microsoft Agent available for distribution. If Microsoft Agent is made available to you for distribution when your anniversary date expires, it will be made available on the then current terms and conditions.
ACF/ACA files for Genie, Merlin, Peedy and Robby
When scripting Microsoft Agent within Web pages and applications, developers may write their code to load characters in either .ACS file format or the combination of .ACF and .ACA file formats. Please refer to the Character Data page for more information about the usage of these two different character file formats.
If you are scripting your Web pages and applications to load the Genie, Merlin, Peedy or Robby Microsoft Agent characters in their .ACF and .ACA file formats, you can access these files from Microsoft's World Wide Web servers on the Internet (see the information at the link above). You may also obtain these .ACF and .ACA files for these four characters for the purpose of hosting them on your own Web server, but you will also need to obtain a distribution license for Microsoft Agent.
To obtain these .ACF and .ACA format files for Genie, Merlin, Peedy and Robby, you may request them with a written letter sent to the following address and stating the particulars of your current distribution license for verification purposes:
MICROSOFT CORPORATION
One Microsoft Way
Redmond, WA
U.S.A. 98052-6399
Attn: Microsoft Agent Licensing
Note, the .ACF and .ACA format files for these Microsoft Agent characters are not necessarily required to use them in conjunction with Web pages. Do not request these character files if you do not need them or have not scripted your Web pages to utilize them. They serve no useful purpose otherwise.
Enquiries
It may be helpful for you to look at the answers that have been provided for commonly asked questions about the distribution licensing for Microsoft Agent.
For enquiries about your distribution license request, contact the Microsoft Agent License Coordinator at msagtlic@microsoft.com.
Please note, we are not qualified to provide legal counsel. If you do not understand something in the Microsoft Agent License and Distribution Agreement, you may want to seek appropriate legal counsel (at your own cost).
Note, the purpose of the above e-mail address is not for technical support questions or recommendations about application packagers, installers, or other setup tools. For assistance with Microsoft Agent, refer to the support information.
Back to the Microsoft Agent home page
Last Updated: May 2, 2003
Microsoft Agent distribution license