SaxonJ and SaxonC come in three editions: HE (home edition), PE (professional edition), and EE (enterprise edition). SaxonCS currently offers the enterprise edition only.
Saxon-HE (home edition) is open source, and no license file is needed.
For Saxon-PE and Saxon-EE a license is needed to activate the extra functionality of
the software beyond Saxon-HE capabilities. Saxonica issues licenses in the form of a
license file saxon-license.lic. The same license file will work across
all three platforms (SaxonJ, SaxonCS, and SaxonC), though the installation instructions
vary in each case.
With the release of Saxon 11.1 on 1 February 2022, we made an important change to the business model: in line with what has become the general industry practice, licenses for Saxon 11 and above are now fixed-term rather than perpetual. The online shop offers a choice of buying a license that's valid for one year, or taking out a subscription which will automatically renew annually. For corporate purchasers buying offline, we can provide a quote for a longer term such as 3 years.
License keys issued under the new arrangements will carry an expiry date: see Annual term and subscription licenses, and the Individual annual term and subscription license agreement (PDF), for more information. We'll try to remind you a few weeks before your license expires, but please don't rely on this, because our reminder can easily end up in your spam folder. The software doesn't actually stop dead when the expiry date is reached; rather it issues warning messages and imposes a gradually-increasing processing delay. Legally, though, after the expiry date you are using the software without lawful authority.
The new term licenses will work with Saxon 10 and earlier releases - but they will still expire on the anniversary of purchase unless renewed.
If you have previously purchased a perpetual license, it will allow access to Saxon 11 and above for a defined period, usually one year, from the date of purchase. Such licenses will work with Saxon 11 and above until the upgrade entitlement ends, at which point you will need to switch to a term license. The discount arrangements for renewal of perpetual licenses will continue to apply: for two years after purchase of a perpetual license, you can trade it in for a new purchase and receive a discount calculated according to the age of your old license.