Legal compliance aside, many customers and manufacturers’ partners remain skeptical, as manufacturers generally do not address this topic proactively.
Microsoft now provides a dedicated page on the topic of “acquiring software legally,” including a specific section on the sale and use of used software.
Microsoft first took a formal position in November 2015, in an official statement from its legal department, on the permissibility of the distribution and use of used software and the associated licenses.
Read the Microsoft LCA statement on used software from November 2015 here.
At the end of March 2018, Microsoft issued another official statement to inform customers and partners, which also aims to help distinguish illegal offers from the many providers online from legally tradable used software.
Read the Microsoft LCA statement from 2018 here.
In addition, Microsoft reversed the previously implemented changes to its product terms as of June 1, 2021.
This allows enterprise customers to sell their no longer needed licenses to MRM Distribution without losing eligibility for “from SA” offers.