Subj : Microsoft wants to ban pre-owned software, cheap Office keys and
To   : All
From : TechnologyDaily
Date : Fri Sep 12 2025 07:30:10

Microsoft wants to ban pre-owned software, cheap Office keys and Windows 11 
serials but is that a lost battle already?

Date:
Fri, 12 Sep 2025 06:13:00 +0000

Description:
Microsoft faces appeal tribunal in long-running dispute with ValueLicensing 
over the resale of Windows and Office licenses.

FULL STORY
======================================================================Microsof
t continues tribunal fight over legality of reselling Office and Windows 
licenses ValueLicensing claims Microsoft restricted resale market and seeks 
270 million in damages Outcome could reshape the future of Europes 
second-hand software industry 

Microsofts long-running dispute with ValueLicensing , a UK reseller of 
pre-owned licenses for products like Windows and Office, returns to the 
Competition Appeal Tribunal this week, with the US tech giant now arguing 
that selling pre-owned Office and Windows licenses is unlawful. 

ValueLicensing says the trial will focus on whether the entire resale market 
for perpetual Microsoft licenses is legal, or indeed ever has been, and the 
result could have huge implications for Europes popular second-hand software 
market. 

The reseller contends that if Microsofts argument succeeds, it would mean 
second-hand license trading should never have existed in Europe. A change of 
stance 

The case, which has been going on for several years now , stems from 
ValueLicensings claims that Microsoft restricted the availability of 
pre-owned licenses. 

According to the reseller, Microsoft offered customers discounts on 
subscription services if they surrendered their perpetual licenses, limiting 
the stock available to firms like ValueLicensing. 

It also alleges Microsoft inserted contract clauses that curtailed resale 
rights in exchange for further price cuts. This strategy, ValueLicensing 
claims, cost it 270 million in lost profits. 

Microsofts defense rests on the claim that it owns copyright not just to 
program code, but also to elements such as the graphical user interface. 

The tech giant says the European Software Directive does not apply to such 
components, meaning resale is not allowed. 

ValueLicensing boss Jonathan Horley said Microsofts position had shifted 
dramatically, from denying anti-competitive conduct to arguing that the 
resale market itself should not exist. "It's a remarkable coincidence that 
their defense against ValueLicensing has changed so dramatically from being a 
defense of 'we didn't do it' to a defense of 'the market should never have 
existed,'" he said. 

Microsofts stance draws on a precedent from the Tom Kabinet ruling, which 
found that software resale was allowed but that e-books were different. 

Microsoft is seeking to place its own products outside the rules that allowed 
secondary trading by making the interface distinct from software code. 

The tribunals decision could determine whether Europes thriving trade in 
pre-owned software survives or vanishes entirely. 

Via The Register You might also like Microsoft under fire for pushing users 
onto the SaaS bandwagon These are the best Microsoft Office alternatives 
Windows 11 Pro vs Windows 11 Home: which version is right for you?



======================================================================
Link to news story:
https://www.techradar.com/pro/security/microsoft-wants-to-ban-pre-owned-softwa
re-cheap-office-keys-and-windows-11-serials-but-is-that-a-lost-battle-already


--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 (Linux/64)
 * Origin: tqwNet Technology News (1337:1/100)

.