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Microsoft Software for Sale, Slightly Used
Alsee writes "The Register reports that recent UK business Discount-Licensing.com has been having booming growth reselling pre-owned Microsoft software licenses 20-50% below retail, after spotting the opportunity in Microsoft's licensing terms and Britain's insolvency laws for insolvent and downsizing businesses. Sorry, no discount personal OS resales, corporate bulk resales only."
What a crazy idea - the thought that you actually can do what you want with something you purchased. I wonder how long it is before the BSA finds some way of shutting these people down.
Microsoft will start putting a non-transferability clause in license agreements. Simple as that. US Bankruptcy law may or may not create an out for such a clause, so that a trustee can sell a debtor's licences. If the law allows it and if it causes a drain on sales revenue, you can bet that there will be another anti-consumer amendment to the bankruptcy code.
From TFA: "The secondhand resale of a license agreement is not the intended purpose of these provisions."
Apparently, a Microsoft rep said that to the article writer.
Something tells me that Windows Vista and future versions of Office, etc. will probably restrict their licenses somehow to prevent this. Some company had "net saving in the region of £10,000." That means Microsoft probably lost a lot more than that.
Too bad they won't sell to individuals; I might actually purchase a Microsoft product if I could just download it from P2P and go buy a cheap license from these guys. Even better, someone should go start collecting unused Windows licenses and giving them away to those who need them, like college students (okay, just kidding).
This is legal in the US too. And protected under the "Doctrine of First Sale", much as the software companies would like it didn't exist.
"US copyright case law supports that consumers cannot make copies of computer programs contrary to a license, but may resell what they own."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First-sale_doctrine
"Software publishers claim the first-sale doctrine does not apply because software is licensed, not sold, under the terms of an End User License Agreement (EULA)."
but if it's licensed then one should be allowed to make backups of the disc or receive a replacement disc if the disc gets lost or damaged. Software companies will argue either way where it suits them.
they can't have the cake and eat it. It's either or
Typically, when you think of used goods, you think of worn out hand-me-downs donated to Goodwill or the Salvation Army. But software licenses are not anything at all like that. In fact, they do not wear out, nor do they have any physical form except for the paper they are printed on. They are purely logical constructs.
But IP owners would have you think otherwise. They want you to think that licenses are akin to the actual CDs that the media came on. One CD, one installation. However, this is prima facie ludicrous. One CD suffices to create a farm of PC installations, the only thing needed is multiple licenses for each individual installation.
So don't be fooled into thinking that buying CDs is absolutely necessary. All you need are valid licenses and you have the rights to install as many times using the same CD as you have licenses.
On one hand this is good because it reaffirms such doctrines as "fair dealing" and "exhaustion of rights", which are statutory rights that cannot legally be abridged by contract. On the other hand it is bad because it perpetuates the myth of dependency on Microsoft {though I suppose I shouldn't complain about that without actually trying to do something positive, like build and try to sell a sexy little all-in-one business server based on i-tal software}.
Disclic aren't doing anything illegal, nor are they doing anything wrong {an important distinction in the UK, where many things that are not wrong are technically illegal, and many things that are wrong are not illegal}. I'm sure Microsoft would like to have a pop at them; but I don't know of anything that they could actually make stick. And if they do try, it will almost certainly call into question the legal enforcibility of EULAs in the UK.
Je fume. Tu fumes. Nous fûmes!
"Modern societies go out of their way to restrict one's freedom"
Actually, modern has nothing to do with it. And just living with another person will restrict your freedom. Ask any married man. But some of those rules are societal such as you mention:
"you cannot buy alcohol and give it to minors"
or
"[you cannot] drive a car around without a license"
Let's be clear about these things. They are *laws* debated and agreed to by *represented officials* and can be changed at any time if society at large decides these rules need to be changed.
Also, it's worth noting these laws don't restrict the sale or ownership of an item, they restrict the use of an item.
Let's compare that with a EULA from MS not to resell that item.
1) It's not against the law to buy or sell software
2) Copyright law has no jurisdiction in this case, because it deals with reproduction, not sale
3) First sale doctrine encourages me to resell what I own
4) Microsoft would rather I didn't and they put it in a EULA.
5) Nobody voted on this restriction. In fact, they didn't even get a say. I bought a PC a few years ago, it came with XP Pro, I assumed I could sell it, but no, it's licensed to the box and I can't resell it. Why? Well... just because. I don't think it would hold up in court, but it's not worth it to try.
So please stop comparing a EULA to underage drinking and societal conventions because they are not at all related. EULAs are a trick that may or not be legal and they are enforced by big money, not society.
...Now, is there any chance I can legally buy a used driver's license?
Sure, I have a few old expired ones hanging around; I'm not sure how far you'll get, seeing as they have my name and picture on them, and a corner is cut off...but they were given back to me by and employee at the DMV because I asked nicely, so I assume I can do whatever non-fradulent thing I want to do with them now.
In some states you can also buy old license plates. That doesn't mean it's legal to put them on your car, but you can get them. In fact, I know of at least one state where the DMV sells "novelty" plates direct: they're not legal to actually use as a license plate, but if you wanted to get a historical one for your Model T, they'll sell it to you.
You can buy and sell all sorts of stuff that would be illegal if used in a certain way.
"Ladies and gentlemen, my killbot features Lotus Notes and a machine gun. It is the finest available."
Wow, I'm underwhelmed.
Wake me up when you can sell the crappy CD that comes with your non-naked PC the same way you could sell it's floppy drive, the manuals or any other worthless component. It's funny they want to extend all of the limitations of physical property into the binary world and then binary limits into the physical world.
Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.