Intuit Apologizes for Product Activation

Intuit apologized to TurboTax users for the trouble caused when anti-piracy technology stopped them from installing the same copy of the personal finance software on multiple computers.

Some users, for instance, prepared their tax filings at home, and then could not install the same software on an office computer in order to print the filings at work.

A new version of the software, due later this year, will work on multiple computers, Tom Allanson, senior vice president of Intuit's consumer tax group, wrote in an open letter to TurboTax customers on Thursday.

"I want to personally apologize for any frustration you may have experienced due to the restrictions that came with our use of anti-piracy technology," Allanson wrote.

Change of Heart

Intuit announced in May that it would remove the technology, after users brought a class-action lawsuit against the company.

The company has now changed its software license to explicitly allow customers to install the software on multiple computers to prepare tax returns for members of their household, Allanson wrote.

In addition, users of the current version of TurboTax, for the 2002 tax year, will also be enabled to use it on multiple computers, according to Allanson's letter.