Broadcom has been sending cease and desist letters to VMware perpetual license owners whose support contracts have expired, Ars Technica has confirmed.

Broadcom ended the sale of VMware perpetual licenses after acquiring VMware in November 2023. Users with perpetual licenses can still use the software they purchased, but cannot renew support services unless they have previously signed a contract that allows renewal. This controversial move is intended to force VMware users to purchase bundled VMware product subscriptions, resulting in an increase in related costs of 300%, or even more in some cases.

Some customers choose to continue using unsupported VMware, often because they are researching alternatives, such as VMware competitors or de-virtualization.

In the past few weeks, some users running unsupported VMware have reported receiving cease-and-desist letters from Broadcom informing them that their contracts with VMware and their rights to support services have expired. The letter [ PDF ], reviewed by Ars Technica and signed by Broadcom Managing Director Michael Brown, informs users that, as of the end of their support contracts, they will cease to receive any maintenance releases/updates, minor releases, major releases/upgrades, extensions, enhancements, patches, bug fixes, or security patches, with the exception of zero-day security patches.

Contents of the letter

The letter informs users that any "updates past their expiration date must be removed/uninstalled immediately," adding:

Using any such support after the expiration date constitutes a material breach of the agreement with VMware and a violation of VMware's intellectual property rights, which may result in a claim for additional damages and attorneys' fees.

Dean Colpitts, CTO of Canadian managed service provider (MSP) Members IT Group, told Ars that some of the company's customers received the letter despite not receiving VMware updates since their support contract expired. He said one customer received the letter six days after their support contract expired.

Similarly, users online have reported receiving cease and desist letters even though they haven't released any updates since losing VMware support. One user on the Spiceworks community forum reported receiving such a letter even though they had migrated from VMware to Proxmox.

Some users reported receiving letters from Broadcom that eventually led to legal intervention. Ars also saw the confusion online, with some interpreting the letter as meaning Broadcom believed they had violated their agreement with VMware. However, Broadcom appears to be sending these letters to customers shortly after their support contracts expire, regardless of whether they continue to use (or stop using) VMware.

Broadcom did not respond to a request for comment.

Broadcom warns of possible audit

The cease-and-desist letter also informs the recipient that they may be subject to an audit.

Failure to comply with the [post-expiration reporting] requirement may result in the customer being in breach of the agreement[,] and VMware may exercise its right to audit the customer in addition to any other available contractual or legal remedies.

In response, Colpitts told Ars:

What really irritates me a little bit is that Broadcom still reserves the right to audit at any time. But… that's complete bullshit. If the customer wants to hide the information, it's easy to do so (disclaimer: I've never done this, but since the information is all self-reported in the clear, with no security checksums or any means of detecting tampering, it's easy to do).

Since Broadcom terminated VMware's perpetual licenses and raised prices, numerous users and channel partners, especially small and medium-sized businesses, have had to reduce or terminate their business with VMware. Most of Members IT Group's VMware customers are now running unsupported VMware products. Colpitts noted that the biggest concern for MSPs is ensuring that employees don't accidentally apply patches to customers.

In recent months, Broadcom has been working to control potential use of VMware products that it considers unjustified. For example, it had a now-resolved legal dispute with AT&T over the latter's right to renew support services, and accused Siemens of pirating VMware software.

Broadcom's changes to VMware's distribution methods have caused several companies to abandon VMware and express doubts about Broadcom's customer care. Although Broadcom's financial success since acquiring VMware suggests that its business plans will remain unchanged, sending a cease and desist letter to VMware users may further damage its reputation among existing and existing customers.

Source: From arstechnica

Reference link https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/05/broadcom-sends-cease-and-desist-letters-to-subscription-less-vmware-users/

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