So most of us were unhappy with the Microsoft Office 2013 licensing scheme, but don’t worry, they’ve changed their mind!
For those of you that didn’t know, Microsoft announced Office 2013 would be licensed to a single machine, not to a single user. This meant the software license would be permanently assigned to the device on which the software was initially activated and you would have to ask Microsoft to transfer the license if you could no longer use that computer.
Fortunately, Microsoft have come to their senses after a lot of negative feedback! They have now reverted back to the equivalent of Office 2010 retail license terms, hoorah!
Microsoft released this statement on their Office blog:
Updated transferability provision to the Retail License Terms of the Software License Agreement for Microsoft Office 2013 Desktop Application Software:
Can I transfer the software to another computer or user? 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.
Even though Microsoft have changed their approach to the licensing, it still makes sense to subscribe to your Office products through Office 365 because this allows the user more flexibility with both licensing and upgrades.
