Office License revealed

Do you know what you're buying when you hand over money for Microsoft Office?

Most people either don't know, or think they know but it's based on outdated information.   What you need to know is buried in legalese with an 'FAQ' that's not much help in deciphering it.  The worst part is that Microsoft, and apparently the legal system, expect you to understand every little point.

So we'll try to strip away some of the fine print and summarize the basic details of the Office 2000 and Office XP software licences.

Before we start some cautionary notes:

• The software license usually varies for each country, however generally the basics are the same.  The variations are usually in the local consumer protection laws.
• Software licenses vary from maker to maker and also product to product.  Just because you read something here about the MS Office license does not mean it applies to other software or even other Microsoft products.
• It doesn't matter what a salesman, your best friend or anyone else told you about software licenses -- the only thing that matters to a software maker is the letter of the license.

What's a EULA?

The heart of the software license is the End-User License Agreement or EULA.  Pronounced by it's few friends as ' YEW-LA '.  This timeless legal prose used to come in a paper sheet or booklet with your software, these days you're more likely to see it when you install the program. 

Remember that screen on the install that you click on 'I agree' and move quickly on?  That's the EULA.

The EULA is also in the MS Office Help.  Open up Help contents and look for End-User License Agreement.

When you buy any computer software you're not buying it in the same way you buy a car. 

You are really buying the right to use the software in limited circumstances - nothing more.

A better analogy is buying a book.  You buy a physical book but that's doesn't give you the right to copy the book and re-sell it.  The author of the book owns the words and the rights to publish it.  With computer software you buy a physical CD or floppy disk -- but that's doesn't mean you can re-sell it.

Why does this matter?

Because copying software has been relatively easy and commonly done we've become used to very lax software practices, regardless of the licenses that have been practically unenforceable.

That's about to change as Microsoft continues to release 'activation' code with their software -- this will allow the company to control each and every installation of their software.  If you are or even appear to be in breach of the EULA, Microsoft can and will refuse to let you use MS Office.

How many copies of Office can I install?

This is the important question that everyone wants an answer to.  For retail purchasers of Office 2000 and Office XP licenses (full purchase or upgrade) the answer is ONE and maybe two.

You can install and use one copy of MS Office on a single computer.

You can also install a second copy on a portable device for the sole use of the person who is the primary user of the first copy.

And that's it!  In practice this means you can install one copy of MS Office on a desktop machine and another on your laptop.  No more.

This only applies to retail purchasers.  Multiple 'license' purchases are subject to different rules.

Subscription License

Beginning with Office XP in some countries you can purchase a yearly subscription to MS Office XP.  This means you can use the full product for 365 days from activation, then pay another subscription fee for another years use.  The upfront cost is lower, but the license rules are different to normal purchases.

For subscription purchasers you can only use MS Office on ONE computer -- no more.

The allowance for a second copy on a portable computer is NOT given in the subscription version of Office XP.  This is an important factor in deciding between the usual purchase and subscription option.

What can I do?

The License FAQ in MS Office seems to be more of an anti-piracy diatribe than something designed to help people use their software legally.  Microsoft treads a line between applying their license scrupulously and not annoying their customers with the cold hard reality of what they've purchased.

Can I install MS Office at work and home?
Only if one copy (the 'second copy') is on a portable computer.

Can I install MS Office on two computers in my 'at home' office?
Again, only if one copy (the 'second copy') is on a portable computer.  If you have two desktop computers then you need two licenses.

What does 'portable' really mean?  I can move my desktop computer so you could argue that it is 'portable'.
The word 'portable' isn't defined in the EULA.  Commonsense would suggest that it is intended to mean notebook or laptop computers.  The current software activation software is not able to discern between a desktop and portable computer unless you tell Microsoft.

Doesn't the ability to install a second copy of MS Office only apply to business users?
The 'Questions and Answers' section of the Office XP help file seems to suggest that.  However that limitation does not actually appear in the accompanying EULA.  That 'Q&A' section seems to be inconsistent and maybe refers to an earlier version of the EULA for a previous MS Office.  While the 'Q&A' section can help understand parts of the EULA -- it is the terms of the actual EULA that apply not the Q&A.

Selling your MS Office

You can sell or give-away your copy of Microsoft Office but only in some situations.

Selling old versions

You can't sell that old copy of MS Office because you now have an upgrade.  If you now have an upgrade copy of Office, you must keep all earlier versions that validate your current license.

Microsoft says: "Because the original full product and the upgrade product together are considered a single software unit, you must retain the old product as part of that unit. "
 

For example, if you purchased an Office XP upgrade package you cannot sell the earlier version of Office that you rely on to qualify for the lower upgrade price.  If that earlier version of Office was itself an upgrade you should keep the even earlier version that validates that!

Strictly speaking you'd have to keep your copies of Office or other qualifying products right back to when you purchased a full license version.

A long-term user of Microsoft Office might, in legal theory, have a copy of their original Word v1 for Windows then each successive upgrade (Word 2, Word 6, Office 4, Office 95, Office 97 and Office 2000) in order to properly qualify for an Office XP upgrade!

Of course, in practice you only need the immediately past version to qualify since it's that CD or installed software that the Office XP installation software looks for to authorize the upgrade purchase.

How to transfer MS Office

If you have a retail copy of MS Office you can legally sell then here's how you should do it.

• Gather up all the materials that came with the original product including CD or disks, paper manuals, EULA documents, Certificate of Authenticity, CD Key etc.

• If what you're transferring is a upgrade package, you also have to include in the sale any other software that you used to qualify for the upgrade pricing.

• Remove all copies of that software from your computers.

You can then sell it to someone else.

There's NO requirement to notify Microsoft of the transfer.

This is a common misunderstanding, you don't have to advise Microsoft that you've sold your copy of MS Office.   More to the point, Microsoft has no system or desire to record software transfers.  If you tried calling them you'd be wasting your time and a letter is likely to be ignored.

Office bundled with a new computer

If you bought MS Office bundled with a computer then you can only sell Office with the computer system itself.  The hardware and the copy of MS Office are linked in license terms and can only be sold together.

Subscription Office

Subscription versions of Office cannot be sold or transferred at all.