Msellers2 writes, "The thing is the internet was down still. A dialogue box came up saying could not start because lease could not be verified. So, does that mean I don't own the software? I thought I'd bought it."

If I understand correctly, lots of software (not just Poser) these days regularly "calls home" to the merchant's server so as to verify that the user's license is valid. As example, there have been threads on the SketchUp forum about this too.

If I understand correctly, what this means is that nobody actually owns software anymore. We own it only so long as the merchant is still in business, still owns the software, and their servers are up and running.

Can't say this for sure, but my guess is that if Smith Micro had just pulled the plug on Poser and walked away, instead of selling Poser to Renderosity, then all copies of Poser everywhere might have then gone dead. Again, just a best guess, and happy to be corrected as needed.

And again, to the best of my knowledge this is an issue that affects many different softwares these days, and not just Poser. It appears this is how software merchants are protecting their businesses against rampant software piracy, which is certainly a valid concern.