It doesn't take an expert to guess Microsoft's motivation for the tougher line. When asked how the Office 2013 EULA would be enforced, Microsoft dodged the question, and instead replied with boilerplate of, "Software piracy is a substantial global issue, and we implement a number of protocols to prevent unlawful software distribution." Yesterday, for instance, Microsoft said that if a customer's computer crashed, "They are allowed to reinstall Office on that same computer if there are problems with this process, customers can contact Microsoft technical support."īut the company may also more strictly administer Office 2013 than it did Office 2010. Historically, the activation process has been somewhat relaxed, with Microsoft often allowing customers to reinstall Windows on new hardware, or radically-changed hardware, after a telephone call. Ullman expected that the company would use its activation technology to do so, as it does to ensure Windows remains tied to a specific PC. It's unclear how, or even whether, Microsoft will enforce the install-once restriction of Office 2013. It's not that they don't have good technology, but they're driven by, consumed by licensing." "As I've said before, I see Microsoft as a licensing company first, and second as a technology company. "They're very smart about maneuvering or changing licensing to meet a business goal," Ullman continued. And they've brought these same down to the consumer level. "Microsoft has been doing the same kinds of licensing policy changes for corporations. "This is no surprise to me," Ullman said. "If you want to buy a new computer, you've just thrown away the cost of Office," Ullman said.Īnd he had not doubt about why Microsoft modified the EULA for Office 2013. Instead, the customer would need to purchase another copy of Office 2013 for the new computer. Under the EULA, that would not be allowed. He posed a scenario where a customer had installed Office 2013 on a two-year-old Windows 7 PC, then later wanted to move the suite to a newly-purchased machine. The implications of Microsoft change were clear to Ullman. OEM licenses differ in many aspects from copies purchased at retail, including shunting support to the OEM, and generally come with more restrictive rights. OEM software is that pre-installed by a computer maker, or OEM (for "original equipment manufacturer"), such as Windows or a factory-installed copy of Office. Microsoft has had that language in place for OEM software in the past, but not for retail licenses." "According to this language, if your computer dies, so does your Office license. "This is stricter language than was available before," said Paul DeGroot, principal consultant at Pica Communications, and like Ullman, a licensing guru. The response from Microsoft's public relations firm was simply, "Correct."Īnother question asked whether, under the retail Office 2013 EULA, customers could move the suite - and its license - to a replacement PC when the original was lost, stolen or destroyed. That then means it cannot be reassigned to ANOTHER PC owned by the same individual, correct?" Via email, Computerworld asked Microsoft, "Once an Office 2013 retail license is assigned through activation to a PC, it's connected TO THAT PC, correct? Just as is Windows. On Thursday, Microsoft confirmed that once a retail copy of Office 2013 is installed on a PC and activated - the process of entering a 25-character "key" to prove the software was legitimately obtained - it cannot be uninstalled and then re-installed on another machine owned by the customer. In several other places in the EULAs, those same EULAs also stated, "Our software license is permanently assigned to the licensed computer." Microsoft modified the EULA for the same editions of Office 2013, however, eliminating the suite's flexibility by striking the clause about reassigning the license. That language showed in the EULAs of all retail versions of Office 2010, including Home & Business, which targets small businesses, and Professional, another business-oriented suite with even more applications. "If you reassign, that other device becomes the 'licensed device.' If you retire the licensed device due to hardware failure, you may reassign the license sooner." "You may reassign the license to a different device any number of times, but not more than one time every 90 days," stated the EULA for Office Home & Student 2010, the most popular consumer version of that edition. Prior to Office 2013, which debuted last month, Microsoft's EULA for retail copies of Office plainly stated that customers could reassign a license when, for example, they replaced an aged PC with a newer model, or the original machine gave out.
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