1. Microsoft has changed its transfer terms and conditions. Does this mean customers cannot now purchase pre-owned Open licences?
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No. The changes made to the Open licence agreement and Notice of Transfer forms in October 2007 cannot be backdated to affect licences purchased prior to that date. Therefore, the previous transfer provisions will still apply for many years to come. Furthermore, new transfer provisions have been developed by Discount-Licensing.com to ensure the resale of pre-owned licences will continue indefinitely (‘Select’ and ‘Open’ volume’).
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2. What is Microsoft ‘Volume’ licensing?
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Volume licensing programs are tailored to the size and purchasing preference of your company. These programs include Open, Select and Enterprise. Each provides a more flexible solution compared to Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) or Fully Packaged Product (FPP) licensing. The Open licence program is designed for companies that have as few as five desktop PCs. The Select and Enterprise licence programs are designed for corporate, government, and academic organisations that have 250 or more desktop PCs.
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3. How do I purchase pre-owned Microsoft licence agreements from Discount-Licensing.com?
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Once a suitable licence agreement(s) has been identified and we have received your purchase order, Discount-Licensing.com will then re-confirm the availability of the licences with the owner. We will then send the appropriate Microsoft documentation to you in order to transfer ownership – this normally takes between 1 to 5 working days. We inform Microsoft as soon as we receive the signed Microsoft transfer documentation from your company. Your business is then the legal owner of the licence agreement.
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4. What are the legalities of transferring pre-owned software licences?
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Microsoft’s volume licensing terms and conditions allow transfers of licence agreements. It is legal to transfer a software licence from either an insolvent or solvent company to another solvent business as long as the transfer adheres to the terms and conditions of the respective manufacturer and local corporate laws.
Note that the software licence is a separate asset to the software itself. The software is generally an asset that is owned by the licensor (in this case, Microsoft). The licensee (the end customer) is granted permission (known as the “software licence”) to use the software on a machine. Discount-Licensing.com simply sells the ‘right to use’ that software by transferring a disused ‘permit/licence’ to a new customer.
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5. How can I be certain that the licences that I am purchasing are genuine and that the transfer is 100% legal in the eyes of the software manufacturer?
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You may need more than a reseller’s own invoice, purchase certificate or even a Notary’s attestation, which simply shows evidence that a legally empowered witness has certified the validity of ownership. Such documents prove that your business has purchased the rights to the licences; however, they do not necessary guarantee that your business owns the legal rights to use the licences in the eyes of the software manufacturer (Microsoft).
All licences purchased through Discount-Licensing.com are acknowledged by Microsoft as legitimate transfers. For instance, in the case of reselling pre-owned ‘Open’ licensing, Microsoft retains sole authority in updating its eOpen website, which gives the customer 100% certainty that the transfer has legally occurred. Your business will know that the transfer has been completed and verified by Microsoft as legally binding because it will be able to view the licence agreements on Microsoft’s own eOpen website showing your business as the owner with the rights to use the licences listed.
For proof of ownership with regards to pre-owned ‘Select’ licensing, Microsoft simply requires the “Select agreement, applicable enrolment, customer’s order confirmation, proof of complete payment, along with the Notice of transfer form”.
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6. I have discovered that my business is not Microsoft licence compliant. Can I purchase pre-owned licensing to rectify the problem?
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Yes. Companies may legally purchase pre-owned licensing either for new software installations or when a company realises that it is not licence compliant (before or after a Software Asset Management ‘SAM’ audit). A company has the legal right to purchase either ‘pre-owned’ and/or ‘new’ licensing in order to correct its non-licence compliant position ongoing.
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7. Where are pre-owned Microsoft software licences sourced from?
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Discount-Licensing.com sources surplus or disused Microsoft ‘volume’ licence agreements from worldwide insolvencies and solvent organisations - this includes 'Open' / 'Select' licensing only - we do not currently supply 'FPP' or 'OEM' product. We work closely with the owner of the licence agreement(s) as well as the software manufacturer. These close relationships enable Discount-Licensing.com to investigate the make up of the licence agreements and confirm whether they are legally transferable.
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8. My business is not based within the UK. Can I purchase a pre-owned licence agreement from Discount-Licensing.com and then use the licences outside the UK?
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Yes. Depending on where we source the licences from and where you are based, your business can legally use the pre-owned licence agreements for use in your required country / region. Note that Microsoft still provides the final failsafe as it is Microsoft that retains authority in updating any pre-owned licence sales.
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9. If I purchase pre-owned licences from Discount-Licensing.com, does my business have the right to use the software in my local language?
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Yes. As long as Microsoft’s cross-language terms and conditions are adhered to, your business may use the software in its local language. When submitting your enquiry, please confirm the language you require and Discount-Licensing.com will clarify your language rights.
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10. I only want some of the licences contained within a specific agreement that I have seen on your website - can I split that pre-owned licence agreement apart?
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No. The agreements displayed on this website cannot be broken apart; however the licences shown only represent a small selection of the 100’s of licences available for supply. In this instance, please submit your licence enquiry so that we can check our database and send you a quote within 24 hours.
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11. Can I purchase a pre-owned Open agreement if I already have a Select licence agreement?
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Yes. You may dual own an Open and a Select licence agreement without affecting your user rights.
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12. I am thinking of purchasing a previous version product such as Office 2000 or XP. How much longer does Microsoft support these products?
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Microsoft has extended its support dates for most products. You can view the extended support dates within the following link: Microsoft Product Support Dates.
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13. Do you supply licences from other software manufacturers?
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No. Discount-Licensing.com currently concentrates 100% on supplying Microsoft licensing.
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14. I cannot see an agreement that matches my licence requirements. What can I do?
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The licence agreements on this website represent only a small selection of the 100’s of licences available for supply. Note that you can also combine licence agreements to meet your requirements; however, we recommend you spend a few minutes submitting your licence enquiry. We will check our database and then send you a quotation within 24 hours.
Note that Discount-Licensing.com is a registered partner and authorised reseller. If there is ever a shortfall in the supply of pre-owned licensing, Discount-Licensing.com will provide ‘new’ licences sourced from a Microsoft distributor at the current reseller prices (prices to be confirmed at time of quotation).
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