Macrovision on Monday will unveil FlexNet Publisher 11, an upgrade to its software-licensing system that provides insights into license usage as well as the ability to transfer licenses.

Enterprises as well as hardware and software sellers use the product. It ships Nov. 30.

"For enterprises, [release 11] is going to provide them visibility into what they own and what they have left in terms of licenses available," said Daniel Greenberg, vice president of worldwide marketing at Macrovision. This visibility is provided through a self-service customer portal. "Today, many enterprises are running blind," Greenberg added.

Licenses also can be moved from one user to another.

"Enterprises will now have transferable licenses, so licenses now are like currency," Greenberg said.

Version 11 also offers enterprises automatic compliance for volume license agreements, according to Macrovision. And enterprises can ensure compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley regulations.

Silent and on-the-fly license activations provide hands-free installation, the company said.

Version 11 provides the automated license fulfillment, license allocation, and the ability to move licenses around to different users, said Harvey Tenen, senior product manager at Citrix Systems, which uses an earlier version of FlexNet in its commercial software.

"The new version has the features I"m looking for that will allow me to realize my vision" of what Citrix needs for electronic licensing, Tenen said.

FlexNet Publisher 11 can integrate with Macrovision"s FlexNet Manager product to provide reports on license usage and align with users" license management, tracking, and processes.

FlexNet Publisher prices range from US$50,000 to more than $1 million, based on the number of products linked to FlexNet and levels of functionality used.