James Bannan25 October 2007, 3:17 AM
OEM licensing can be a difficult beast, especially when it's time to upgrade. An APC reader enlisted our help to find out just how many hoops he'd have to jump through to get the latest version of Office.
APC was recently contacted by a reader who had contacted Microsoft to inquire about his upgrade options from Office 2003 OEM on his original XP-based computer to Office 2007 on a new Vista-based machine, and was encountering some difficulties getting any meaningful information.
Microsoft’s initial reponse was certainly ominously enigmatic:
“From the information you have provided in your message, I found that you are located in Australia; your best resource for support is the Microsoft Australia subsidiary.
There are significant programming differences between North America and localized versions of software. You will be best assisted by the subsidiary that specializes in the version.”
Naturally concerned, the reader asked APC to find out what these differences actually are, along with his upgrade and transfer options to Office 2007. We got in touch with Microsoft Australia, who responded as follows:
“The cost-effective pricing for OEM versions of Office means the license is attached to the motherboard of the computer it is purchased for. Users are permitted only to reinstall the copy of Microsoft Office onto the same computer - for example, if the original hardware is upgraded or replaced (however, it is recommended that you consult the computer manufacturer before proceeding with a replacement part to ensure it meets the End-User License Agreement (EULA) conditions).
For transfer rights, you need to have purchased the boxed retail version of Microsoft Office Professional. For example, the retail version of Microsoft Office Professional 2007 gives you the opportunity to transfer Microsoft Office Professional 2007 onto another computer, provided the product has been completely removed from the first computer. It also permits you to install the software on one computer and one laptop - and if you need to replace hardware, a copy of Office can be reinstalled without limitations.
Your options would therefore be:
- Purchase an OEM version of Office 2007 for the new computer (with no ongoing transfer rights)
- Purchase a boxed retail version of Office 2007 for the new computer (which would give you the option to transfer to a new computer if/when you upgrade in the future)
- Upgrade Office 2003 OEM license on your old computer to Office 2007 using an Office 2007 Full Package Product (FPP) Upgrade license. This would then give you the right to transfer the license to your new computer. To exercise this option, you will need your proof of purchase for the 2003 version (e.g. merchant receipt, original packaging/collateral) to prove you have a genuine copy of Office 2003.
- Purchase the OEM version of Office 2007 and Software Assurance (which provides upgrade benefits and transfer rights). However this option is typically for business customers with more than five computers.”
OEM licensing for Microsoft Office (which has been around since Office 2000), effectively prevents transfer rights to another machine, and the trade-off is the lower cost price. However, for a user to perform an in-place upgrade of an Office 2003 OEM installation (assuming no transfer to a new machine), you’d still have to purchase the Full Packaged Product (FPP) Upgrade license. For Office 2007, the FFP Upgrade RRP is $549.
Additionally, the FFP Upgrade media requires the original 2003 OEM media for installation. If a user doesn’t have the media available (for example, it wasn’t supplied on purchase), Microsoft have provided a workaround:
“Re-install Office 2003 OEM base license on your new computer. If you do not have the original OEM media, call the Microsoft Licensing Hotline on 13 20 58, using the menu shortcuts Option 5, and then Option 3. Have your proof of purchase ready. Once your OEM license is verified as genuine, the hotline will then send you out a customer service pack containing a full version of Office 2003 that you can use as the base Office license on your new PC.”
So essentially, you can transfer your OEM license if you have an FPP Upgrade license to go with it. But without the FPP Upgrade, transferring the base OEM license isn't an option.
There’s a certain feeling here that OEM customers are stuck between a rock and a hard place when it comes time to upgrade, and that perhaps if the limitations of OEM licensing were made clearer at the time of purchase, then different purchasing options might have been chosen. Our reader certainly thought so:
“I’m still of the opinion that the limits of OEM licenses over full retail licenses are not clearly evident to the consumer at the time of purchasing a new computer and I would argue that most “original equipment manufacturers” could not articulate MS product licensing differences to consumers. As example even significant OEM’s such as Dell only offer OEM licensing via their website with no explanation of limitations these license evidently imply. How is the average consumer expected to understand these licensing differences at the time of purchase which from a software functional perspective are the same product? Even at the time of installation the EULA doesn’t gives no indication that the license acquired maybe significant limited over the retail version. I was always under the illusion that OEM licensing was simply a cheaper low distribution cost licensing model that promoted pre-installation of a vendors software with new PC’s and not that the license terms were significantly different to a shrink wrapped version of the product.
I think it would more transparent to rename the licenses to give fairer representation of the differences i.e.
- OEM becomes “Single Computer Non Transferable non-concurrent user licence”;
- Full retail becomes “Transferable 2 PC (1 x desktop and 1 x portable) non-concurrent user licence”
These are fair points. Not too many people outside business environments know much about the differences between the various licensing models. Having said that, OEMs should be much more aware of the types of licenses they’re passing on to their customers, and could certainly do more to educate both themselves as well as end users.
- For more information on Microsoft Office licensing, click here.
- For more information on finding a Microsoft Office retailers in Australia, click here.