Among the most significant changes with this year’s Elements releases has little to do with new features but instead concerns the ways users purchase and own the software. While prior versions of Photoshop and Premiere Elements have been lifetime licenses — the user buys the software and then owns it indefinitely — this year’s release has moved to a three-year license term.
A perpetual licence for a service isn’t possible, yes, but software is a product, and something you can absolutely buy once. You typically only get support for a limited time though.