>The C0000005 error in VFP 6.0 has caused us to rethink portions of our contract. If we tell our customers that they must install IE 4.0 or DCOM, or our product won't work, what are the legal implications of this stance? Are there licensing fees involved with DCOM /IE4?

DCOM95 is freely distributable, and the file can be redistributed with your application. Win98 has all the necessary DCOM components as a part of the operating system; the customer may have to reinstall selected portions of the operaitng system if somehow it gets damaged. Microsoft has never clarified the distribution permission for the DCOM98, which would address both Win95 and Win98.

The Service Packs which would add the necessary components to NT are redistributable.

Redistribution of IE4 with a product requires an agreement with Microsoft; I don't believe there's a fee associated with the redistribution under most circumstances, but there are quarterly reporting requirements. Contact Microsoft directly for details.

It's not unusual for a piece of software to require a certain environment; even games may require specific support features to be used (ie DirectX.) If you make it clear that the software requires specific software to be usable and supportable, and make that clear before the customer has the software, you're probably covered. I'd check with an attorney for the specific legal language to use to let people know what's required.

FWIW, requiring IE4 or DCOM support should not be a major problem; DCOM at least is relatively unobtrusive.

Ed