Long-running fight between Microsoft and ValueLicensing ramps up again.
Microsoft wants to ban pre-owned software, cheap Office keys and Windows 11 serials but is that a lost battle already?
Microsoft’s long-running dispute with ValueLicensing, a UK reseller of pre-owned licenses for products like Windows and Office, returns to the Competition Appeal Tribunal this week, with the US tech giant now arguing that selling pre-owned Office and Windows licenses is unlawful.
ValueLicensing says the trial will focus on whether the entire resale market for perpetual Microsoft licenses is legal, or indeed ever has been, and the result could have huge implications for Europe’s popular second-hand software market.
The reseller contends that if Microsoft’s argument succeeds, it would mean second-hand license trading should never have existed in Europe.