> Many companies (including Adobe, a bit ironically in the context of this
> conversation) offer free licenses to students. The stipulation is that
> when you stop being a student, you can't use the software legally anymore
> without acquiring a new license.
>
> So yes, companies have full right to distribute something for free and
> then later demand money.

Sure, but they have to tell you up front that it's only free to use 
whilst you're a student. They can't not tell you that before you 
download it and start using it, because you might not even be a student.

> And this particular case is not even that. They are offering a download
> of their software *for people who have a legal license*.

It doesn't say that on their web-page though - in fact they even removed 
the need to log in and made the web-page available to the general 
public. That doesn't sound like a download only for people who have 
bought a license.

> (Ok, it might depend on the jurisdiction. According to Finnish law,
> that's *exactly* how it goes. It doesn't matter how you get the software,
> if you don't have a valid license to use it, then you can't legally use it.
> Most countries have similar laws.)

But there is no indication you need to pay for a licence, in fact it 
seems impossible to do so. So you can't mislead people into thinking 
it's free (as it appears many have done) and then later change your 
mind. There is laws against that in most countries too.

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