During a server refresh, you purchase licenses for the newest release of a commercial database platform. Several production hosts, however, must stay on the previous major version for six more months until a third-party application is certified. Which licensing characteristic allows you to run the older software legally using the newly acquired licenses without buying separate legacy keys?
A license that is backward compatible-often expressed as downgrade rights-permits the holder of a current-version license to run earlier major releases of the same product. The right flows only in one direction: a newer license key can authorize older software, but an older license cannot be used with a newer release. Forward compatibility is the opposite scenario (old license with new software); license mobility addresses moving licenses to other hosts or clouds, and edition upgrade rights cover switching product tiers rather than product versions. Therefore, backward compatibility/downgrade rights is the only property that meets the scenario's requirement.