Microsoft changes Office licensing terms…it’s a little better, now

(The current, “better”, licensing terms are in the section below with the header “LICENSE AGREEMENT”…)

First…where we came from…

Microsoft announced that a purchased copy of Office Home and Student 2013, Office Home and Business 2013, and Office Professional 2013 would only be allowed to be installed on one computer…ever.

According to their statement:  “…Office 2013 suites have consistent rights and restrictions regarding transferability as the equivalent Office 2010 PKC, which was chosen by a majority of Office 2010 customers worldwide.”

It needs to be proven to me that customers chose and preferred those specific rights and restrictions…I just don’t believe people would select that option over others.

OK…here’s the initial reason I’ve been against using (a retail version of) Office 2013:  “…The Office 2013 software is licensed to one computer for the life of that computer and is non-transferable (consistent with the rights and restrictions of Office 2010 PKC). In the event that a customer buys the Office 2013 software and installs it on a PC that fails under warranty, the customer can contact support to receive an exemption to activate the Office 2013 software on the replacement PC.”

(“PKC” is a product key card…)

Microsoft stated that…after you have purchased the product, and installed it onto a computer…that’s it.  By the licensing agreement, you are not allowed to (remove it from that computer and) install it on another computer.  Ever.

To me, Microsoft seems to be pushing consumers to Office 365 Home Premium which “works across up to 5 devices (Windows tablets, PCs or Macs) and can be activated and deactivated across devices”.

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If true, that made me wonder why.

I compared some of their suites, based on my interests.

Office 365 Home Premium, Office Home and Student 2013, and Office Home and Business 2013 include OneNote in their suites.

Office 365 Home Premium costs $99…per year.

The price for Office Home and Student 2013 is $139…Outlook is not included.

Outlook is included in Office Home and Business 2013, which is priced at $219 for the product.

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LICENSE AGREEMENT

As Monty Python would say:  “And now, for something completely different.”

“…Based on customer feedback we have changed the Office 2013 retail license agreement to allow customers to transfer the software from one computer to another. This means customers can transfer Office 2013 to a different computer if their device fails or they get a new one. Previously, customers could only transfer their Office 2013 software to a new device if their PC failed under warranty.”

I’m dizzy from all of the “spinning” that’s been done…

“…this change is effective immediately and applies to Office Home and Student 2013, Office Home and Business 2013, Office Professional 2013 and the standalone Office 2013 applications. These transferability options are equivalent to those found in the Office 2010 retail license terms…

“…You may transfer the software to another computer that belongs to you, but not more than one time every 90 days (except due to hardware failure, in which case you may transfer sooner). If you transfer the software to another computer, that other computer becomes the ‘licensed computer.’ You may also transfer the software (together with the license) to a computer owned by someone else if a) you are the first licensed user of the software and b) the new user agrees to the terms of this agreement before the transfer. Any time you transfer the software to a new computer, you must remove the software from the prior computer and you may not retain any copies.”

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In the past I had been a big fan of Outlook…and OneNote.  But after some changes to the applications…and this licensing drama…if I were to ever again invest in an Office product:  I might consider the Professional version because it contains Outlook and OneNote, and would be a better package for me for the cost…or, if I could afford to pay $99 for it every year, I would use Office 365 Home Premium.  Or, maybe I would pay for both…but it would greatly depend on my budget.

Now that I’ve said all of that, consider reading “Microsoft Office 365 University only $80!”…