Microsoft Reverses Course on Office 2013 Licensing

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Microsoft appears to be re-thinking some of its recent licensing moves. Originally, the company announced that single licenses for Office 2013 could not be transferred from one PC to another, but now it has done away with that policy. In addition, reports indicate the company may be reducing the licensing fees manufacturers pay for Windows 8.

ZDNET’s Ed Bott wrote, “Bowing to ‘feedback from its customers,’ Microsoft is changing the terms of the license agreement for the three retail ‘perpetual license’ versions of Office 2013, restoring the terms that had been present in the corresponding agreement for Office 2010. If you purchase and install a retail copy of Office Home and Student 2013, Office Home and Business 2013, or Office Professional 2013, you will be able to transfer the license from one PC to another. As with previous Office versions, the new terms say you can make this sort of transfer no more than once every 90 days.”

Computerworld quoted Microsoft’s Jevon Fark, who said, “We received customer feedback that they wanted this flexibility, and we thought this was reasonable, just and fair. We will honor these new terms starting this morning.”

On Tuesday, Monica Chen and Adam Hwang with DigiTimes reported, “Viewing that Windows 8 has fallen short of expectations in driving demand mainly because Windows 8 notebooks and tablets are too expensive, Microsoft will lower OEM licensing costs by offering a discount of US$20 for 11.6-inch and below notebooks that are equipped with touch screens, according to Taiwan-based vendors and ODMs. For below 10.8-inch notebooks, tablets and hybrids, Microsoft will offer the US$20 discount plus free Office 2013 software, the sources indicated.”

The Wall Street Journal’s Eva Dou and Spencer E. Ante confirmed, “Microsoft Corp. has recently been offering price breaks on its Windows 8 and Office software to help spur the development of small, touch-enabled laptop computers, people familiar with the situation said. The Microsoft discounts are particularly tailored for portables with small displays that would likely appear this fall, these people said.”