Broadcom has a demanding message for businesses that hold a VMware perpetual license with expired support contracts: Cease and desist using any updates installed after support expiration or face potential legal action.

The letters, sent to businesses across sectors, require VMware customers to remove any and all updates after their support agreement ended. While it’s typical that large enterprise software vendors perform reviews of customer subscriptions and reach out accordingly, this mailing was apparently automatically triggered by the end of support agreements. Customers received the notices within days of lapsed support agreements.

As seen on Reddit forums and other sources, VMware “immediately demands that all use of Support Services associated with VMware Software, including Maintenance Releases/Updates, Minor Releases, Major Releases/Upgrades, extensions, enhancements, patches, bug fixes or security patches (with the exception of zero-day security patches) be ceased. The implementation of any of the aforementioned (excluding select zero-day patches as defined above) past the Expiration Date must be immediately removed/deinstalled.”

Furthermore, any such use of VMware support past the expiration date constitutes “an infringement of VMware’s intellectual property rights, potentially resulting in claims for enhanced damages and attorneys’ fees.”

“Broadcom’s enforcement of licensing compliance for VMware users without active support agreements underscores a significant shift in the software industry’s approach. Organizations must recognize that access to software updates, including critical security patches, is typically contingent upon maintaining current support contracts. Applying updates without such agreements may violate licensing terms, exposing organizations to legal risks,” said Keith Townsend, executive advisor at The Futurum Group.

The action is part of a larger effort by Broadcom to reshape the VMware subscription model, a move that has caused consternation among customers. VMware offered a perpetual license, which allowed for unlimited use of the software for a one-time fee, and charged separately for support. After Broadcom completed its acquisition of VMware in November 2023, it changed the deal: These perpetual license holders must now purchase subscriptions—a greatly increased prices—in order to get support. This change has prompted many businesses to seek alternatives to VMware.

But because VMware’s virtualization platform is such an integral part of a company’s enterprise IT infrastructure, switching typically requires planning over an extended time period. The new legal threats from Broadcom may quicken these efforts for some businesses.

To be sure, Broadcom’s aggressive efforts as it reshapes its subscription model represents a change from the norm. Most SaaS vendors raise prices and change feature offerings, sometimes substantially, but they typically provide some type of enhancements to maintain their customer base.

Reflecting the grievance that some customers feel with Broadcom, VOICE, a German association of IT users, has filed a complaint with the EU Commission claiming that Broadcom is using its dominant position as a virtualization provider to infringe on competition regulations. VOICE points to the change in the perpetual license as well as subscription price increases by several hundred percent. This level of price increase has also been reported by U.S. companies.

However, as previously reported by Techstrong.it, Broadcom appears to be pursuing a long term strategy that may produce some unhappy customers but ultimately creates higher revenue. By focusing exclusively on its largest enterprise customers, Broadcom earns the most return on investment. These megacap customers are the most able to afford to price increases, and also the most reliant on vast infrastructure foundations that are exceptionally difficult to shift.

At a Broadcom investor day event, a company presentation noted that “We continue to invest in our targeted model of partnering with the largest multinational customers to provide a comprehensive portfolio of industry-leading solutions and generate sustainable revenue.” The advantage of this business model is that it is “serving 80% of the Fortune 500 and maximizing partnerships with strategic customers, who represent more than 70% of annual recurring revenue and approximately 80% of whom are licensed to five or more software solutions.”

A request for comment sent by Techstrong.it to Broadcom received no response by the time this story was filed.