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E.g. there is AutoCAD and Corel Draw installed on my Notebook. I bought those Apps some time ago. Can I let others use it and charge for it (per minute?)?

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It will depend on the terms of the End User License Agreements (EULA) for the applications in question.

Generally speaking, the answer is no. You would be violating the terms of the license agreements; several large software providers have default license terms to prohibit this. For example with Microsoft products you need a Service Provider License Agreement (SPLA), not their common retail version EULA, before you can 'rent out' Microsoft software.

Your intent would likely matter as well. If you do it just once, to help a friend, nobody is likely to care. If you're essentially trying to build a recurring business primarely based on giving people cheap access to AutoCAD without AutoCAD seeing any money, then the courts would likely go harder on you.

So, to clarify:

  • What you mention is not possible with the regular retail versions of most software.

  • Read the retail EULA of the specific software in question as your first step, and see what it says.

  • In principle, if the retail EULA is prohibiting multi-user use, then nothing is stopping you from approaching the software vendor and obtain the software with a different license (and price). With license terms which permit this use you could then rent out their software.

As always, please go see a qualified lawyer about this, don't take the words of a layman as me. But one thing, as an entrepreneur I will say don't try to build a business that is very directly positioned against the interests of large software vendors -- they have large legal teams and are not afraid to use them.

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@The NeoTycoon: What do you mean? They have signed a different license agreement with the original rights holder, much like Microsoft offers its software under both a regular retail EULA and a SPLA license. They're not just buying the 39.95$ retail copy of the game and renting that out, if that's what you mean... – Jesper Mortensen♦ Nov 1 '10 at 12:33
@ NeoTycoon @ JesperMortensen Many thanks for your valuable comments. The business idea behind it is: When I am not using my notebook,but it is online: I would like to let others use it via the internet. So others could use my AutoCAd software (charged by usage in minutes), e.g., remotely. So I wondered whether such a thing could be legal. I think it might be useful for many people. – philobus Nov 1 '10 at 12:56
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3.2.4 Hosting or Third Party Use. You may not Install or Access, or allow the Installation or Access of, the Autodesk Materials over the Internet, including, without limitation, use in connection with a Web hosting, commercial time-sharing, service bureau, or similar service, or make the Autodesk Materials available to third parties via the Internet on Your computer system or otherwise. The foregoing does not prohibit Network Version VPN Access in accordance with the terms of Section 3.1.2(b) (VPN Access for Network Versions). – philobus Nov 1 '10 at 13:13
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@philobus: Well done, you already know AutoDesk's position on this. Regarding "I can rent out my car .. why not my PC": Be careful with this line of thought. The Government isn't looking out for your best interests, it is looking for economic growth. The strong legal rights in patents, copyright and more are seen as facilitating growth, so they will be upheld. So you can rent out bicycles because they were invented in another era, but don't expect the same rights to apply to software, DNA engineered crops, medicine, etc. – Jesper Mortensen♦ Nov 1 '10 at 13:31
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@philobus - all user agreements are different and some do not allow the transfer of 'ownership' since they didn't sell you the software but sold you the right to use it under agreed upon circumstances. – JeffO Nov 1 '10 at 16:40
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