From the article: > Users who wish to avail themselves of HPE OpenVMS long term licenses are encouraged to purchase permanent licenses at standard prices. It

From the article: > Users who wish to avail themselves of HPE OpenVMS long term licenses are encouraged to purchase permanent licenses at standard prices. It seems like HP still have the ability to issue licenses, and from the VMS Software Inc. FAQ [0]: > VMS Software, Inc. (VSI) is the sole provider of the OpenVMS operating system and layered products. In 2014, VMS Software, Inc. licensed exclusive rights from Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company (HPE) to develop new versions of the operating system. Edit: after carefully re-reading, I get where you're coming from: HP sold off the exclusive rights, and the company who has the rights might not want to support hobbyists. Well, if only HP had included a stipulation that hobbyist licenses remain available in their license terms, especially since "The community support OpenVMS has received over the years has been instrumental in the success of the product". [0]: https://vmssoftware.com/about/faq/#faq1 https://vmssoftware.com/about/faq/#faq1