and it's common practice for schools to get software for free so he didn't do anything wrong.
It's not? Schools still have to purchase licenses, and in fact if they don't purchase the licenses then they run the risk of getting sued after being audited. Maybe educational licensing is cheaper than commercial licensing (I haven't checked, but I assume it may well be), but it is not free. (In fact, at my school, I've been denied use of software I wanted to use on several occasions since it was deemed "too expensive")
You are right, it's common practice for unis to talk to them. A substantial portion is free or steeply discounted, but that's all about the uni and the organisation coming to an arrangement. They'll often have a 'contact us if you are an educational institution' part on their pricing page. Or if it's common and large enough company they might just have that as a purchase option. Looking at maxon and zbrush (art software I'm more familiar with), for the full suite it's 2k AUD annually individually, or 300AUD for a lab license, and 2.3k for teams, with students paying half the full license fee also (so 1k anually). 2.3k->300 is a steep discount to be sure, but it's not free. This is pretty typical.
They uni can't just assume it and take it for free. That's insane.
Good. He's insufferable, especially when he compared ad blockers to piracy
When did he do this? I know someone that follows him, so I'm curious as to what they're reaction would be to that.
It's not? Schools still have to purchase licenses, and in fact if they don't purchase the licenses then they run the risk of getting sued after being audited. Maybe educational licensing is cheaper than commercial licensing (I haven't checked, but I assume it may well be), but it is not free. (In fact, at my school, I've been denied use of software I wanted to use on several occasions since it was deemed "too expensive")
You are right, it's common practice for unis to talk to them. A substantial portion is free or steeply discounted, but that's all about the uni and the organisation coming to an arrangement. They'll often have a 'contact us if you are an educational institution' part on their pricing page. Or if it's common and large enough company they might just have that as a purchase option. Looking at maxon and zbrush (art software I'm more familiar with), for the full suite it's 2k AUD annually individually, or 300AUD for a lab license, and 2.3k for teams, with students paying half the full license fee also (so 1k anually). 2.3k->300 is a steep discount to be sure, but it's not free. This is pretty typical.
They uni can't just assume it and take it for free. That's insane.