Forum: War Ensemble BBS

If I Buy Something, Do I Own It?

From Lawrence =?iso-8859-13?q?D=FFOliveiro?=@[email protected] to comp.misc on Fri Nov 14 19:59:45 2025

From Newsgroup: comp.misc

Microsoft has lost a claim that perpetual Windows licences cannot be
resold <https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/big-tech/microsoft-to-appeal-ruling-in-favor-of-reselling-perpetual-windows-licenses-uk-competition-court-says-fineprint-holds-no-ground-as-judges-throw-out-companys-creative-work-argument>:

Since Office programs like Word include some graphics and such, it
allegedly qualifies as an original work of art, protected by
creative work laws. The judges disagreed with Microsoft, making it
clear there's nothing in these products that would warrant
copyright protection. A customer holding a perpetual license can
resell it however they wish, a notion that ValueLicensing already
knew had grounds. A decade ago, a similar suit filed in the UK by
UsedSoft declared that reselling licenses is valid, so Microsoft's
last-ditch effort wasn't exactly calculated.

But of course the company is going to appeal.

If you buy something, don’t you own it? Seems Microsoft is determined
to keep insisting that you do not.
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