Licence question concerning Office 97

[Gundemarie Scholz]

Hello,

I would like to find out which Office 97 Professional components really have
to exist when a legal version is sold. The Microsoft website wasn't too
helpful in that respect, probably because Office 97 is too old to be
supported. The German part has a form where you can get a complete listing
of the package (found at
http://www.microsoft.com/germany/piraterie/produktbestandteile.mspx).

The following part is a free translation:

=== snip ===

Documentation
- multicolour user manual "Working with Microsoft Office 97"

Data medium
- CD Microsoft Office 97 Professional

Miscellaneus
- Printed end user licence agreement (Microsoft Office 97
Professional Edition with Bookshelf Basics, Licences: 1)
- booklet: "Limited Warranty"
- Flyer (Microsoft Subsidiary Information)
- further marketing material

Certificate of authenticity
- A Certificate of authenticity (COA Label) is located on the
outside of the outer cardboard package

=== snip ===

Maybe I should mention that according to German law not only full versions,
but also OEM versions may be freely sold, and the licences stay valid.

Which of these components now are really necessary? I could imagine that the
original CD with product key on a yellow sticker on the back of the jewel
case is not enough, and that CD, key, EULA and COA are sufficient, but none
of the system administrators I questioned could tell me for sure.

My posting in the German newsgroup hasn't been answered yet, so now I am hoping that somebody in this group can
give me some more information directly, or tell me where I can look it up.

Best regards,
Gunde

 

[Carey Frisch [MVP]]

If you read your Office 97 EULA, it will tell you the terms and conditions.

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows XP - Shell/User
Microsoft Newsgroups

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

:

| Hello,
|
| I would like to find out which Office 97 Professional components really have
| to exist when a legal version is sold. The Microsoft website wasn't too
| helpful in that respect, probably because Office 97 is too old to be
| supported. The German part has a form where you can get a complete listing
| of the package (found at
| http://www.microsoft.com/germany/piraterie/produktbestandteile.mspx).
|
| The following part is a free translation:
|
| === snip ===
|
| Documentation
| - multicolour user manual "Working with Microsoft Office 97"
|
| Data medium
| - CD Microsoft Office 97 Professional
|
| Miscellaneus
| - Printed end user licence agreement (Microsoft Office 97
| Professional Edition with Bookshelf Basics, Licences: 1)
| - booklet: "Limited Warranty"
| - Flyer (Microsoft Subsidiary Information)
| - further marketing material
|
| Certificate of authenticity
| - A Certificate of authenticity (COA Label) is located on the
| outside of the outer cardboard package
|
| === snip ===
|
| Maybe I should mention that according to German law not only full versions,
| but also OEM versions may be freely sold, and the licences stay valid.
|
| Which of these components now are really necessary? I could imagine that the
| original CD with product key on a yellow sticker on the back of the jewel
| case is not enough, and that CD, key, EULA and COA are sufficient, but none
| of the system administrators I questioned could tell me for sure.
|
| My posting in the German newsgroup | hasn't been answered yet, so now I am hoping that somebody in this group can
| give me some more information directly, or tell me where I can look it up.
|
| Best regards,
| Gunde
|

 

[Gundemarie Scholz]

I cannot read the EULA of a product I don't own. I want to buy it used, but
I don't want to pay for something that isn't a complete product. I can live
without the manual, and I doubt it is necessary for a legal version, but
what about the other components? Sorry for not having been clear enough
before.

 

[Gundemarie Scholz]

In order for a license transfer to be legal, the seller must
offer a non-OEM version of Office 97, and include the
original Microsoft holographic installation CD, and the
Certificate of Authentity (Product Key). If they cannot
furnish those items, then do not purchase!

As Peter says it seems the original CD is not holographic. According to the
list I posted before COA and product key are two completely different
things, the COA is a little green sticker on the outside of the cardboard
package, and the product key is a yellow sticker on the backside of the
jewel case.

Why do you emphasize it has to be a non-OEM version? As I said before German
laws permit OEM software to be sold without the hardware it was tied to
originally (it is a decision by the Federal Supreme Court from the year
2000).

So if I understand you correctly it should be enough if the seller offers
the three components CD, product key and COA?

Regards,
Gunde

 

[Beth Melton]

I'm not familiar with German laws and EULAs, but in the US those items
should be enough. And, of course, they must uninstall Office from
their computer too. I'd say that's part of the EULA in all language
versions.

If it isn't an OEM version then I don't think the COA is applicable
since that applies only to OEM versions.

As for the other written materials, the US Office 97 EULA states those
should be given to the buyer as well. However I do some legal copies
of Office 97 contain only the CD. I received my copy of Office 97 at
the Office 97 Launch Event and all I received was the CD and a CD key.

If you want to be 100% certain I'd ask post in a German newsgroup and
ask if anyone using Office 97 could take a look at their EULA for you.
The file they need is EULA8.hlp in the Office folder.

Please post all follow-up questions to the newsgroup. Requests for
assistance by email can not be acknowledged.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beth Melton
Microsoft Office MVP

Word FAQ: http://mvps.org/word
TechTrax eZine: http://mousetrax.com/techtrax/
MVP FAQ site: http://mvps.org/

 

[Gundemarie Scholz]

I'm not familiar with German laws and EULAs, but in the US those items
should be enough. And, of course, they must uninstall Office from
their computer too. I'd say that's part of the EULA in all language
versions.

Yes, I got a copy of the EULA, thanks for the hint where to look for it. In
the text it says concerning the licence transfer (freely translated from
German): "You transfer the complete software product including [...] this
EULA [...]". So the EULA does not necessarily have to be available in form
of a sheet of paper, but the one that is copied to your hdd in the
installation process is sufficient?

If it isn't an OEM version then I don't think the COA is applicable
since that applies only to OEM versions.

COAs are only a part of OEM packages, and normal versions of Office 97 do
not have a COA?

Regards,
Gunde

 

[Beth Melton]

Yes, I got a copy of the EULA, thanks for the hint where to look for
it. In
the text it says concerning the licence transfer (freely translated
from
German): "You transfer the complete software product including [...]
this
EULA [...]". So the EULA does not necessarily have to be available
in form
of a sheet of paper, but the one that is copied to your hdd in the
installation process is sufficient?

The US EULA states:

"...you may transfer all of your rights under the Microsoft EULA,
provided you also transfer all copies of the software and all written
materials, including the EULA itself and, where applicable, the
Certificate of Authenticity. Prior to transferring your rights, you
must remove all copies of the software product from your computer."

COAs are only a part of OEM packages, and normal versions of Office
97 do
not have a COA?

Newer versions of Office do have COAs when purchased as a retail
version but they are usually affixed to the box.

I couldn't recall if retail versions of Office 97 also included a COA,
since the last one I could find was for 1998 and I don't have a paper
or image COA for Office 97, so I was basing this on the EULA FAQ for
Office 97:

"The Certificate of Authenticity is a security device that accompanies
all Microsoft products distributed with a computer by an OEM (Original
Equipment Manufacturer). The Certificate is used to assure the end
user that the software program(s) accompanying the computer system is
legally licensed Microsoft software."

Please post all follow-up questions to the newsgroup. Requests for
assistance by email can not be acknowledged.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beth Melton
Microsoft Office MVP

Word FAQ: http://mvps.org/word
TechTrax eZine: http://mousetrax.com/techtrax/
MVP FAQ site: http://mvps.org/

 

[Harlan Grove]

Carey Frisch [MVP] wrote...

In order for a license transfer to be legal, the seller must
offer a non-OEM version of Office 97, and include the
original Microsoft holographic installation CD, and the
Certificate of Authentity (Product Key). If they cannot
furnish those items, then do not purchase!

....

You're fixated on US licensing. Germany explicitly invalidated OEM
restrictions in software licenses years ago, so in Germany there's no
legal distinction between OEM and non-OEM versions. Since Microsoft
hasn't stopped allowing OEMs to sell preinstalled Microsoft software in
Germany, presumably Microsoft accepts that Germans aren't bound by the
licensing restrictions Microsoft imposes in other countries. It'd be
very unlikely Microsoft's lawyers failed to understand the
ramifications of German law in this regard.

One question would be whether the seller also lives in Germany. Even if
not, it may only require to seller to bring PC and software package
into Germany in order to make selling an OEM software package covered
under German law.

 

[Carey Frisch [MVP]]

Many computer manufacturers will BIOS-lock software to a specific
computer. It does not matter what country you reside in since the
OEM software will not install on a different computer.

 

[Harlan Grove]

Carey Frisch [MVP] wrote...

Many computer manufacturers will BIOS-lock software to a specific
computer. It does not matter what country you reside in since the
OEM software will not install on a different computer.

Begging the question whether selling machines with such BIOS would be
legal in Germany if it effectively circumvented German law with regard
to eliminating any distinctions between OEM and retail software
licenses.

Besides, would there be such BIOS locks in Office 97, which is now 8
years old? Would the German Bundestag have bothered passing the law
that eliminated the specific resale conditions in OEM licenses if OEM
software CDs couldn't be used to install software on other machines? Do
you believe the German parlementarians were so obtuse?

 

[Carey Frisch [MVP]]

Politicians are known to be technically naive and quite often try to solve
a problem, only to create a larger problem.

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows XP - Shell/User
Microsoft Newsgroups

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

:

| Begging the question whether selling machines with such BIOS would be
| legal in Germany if it effectively circumvented German law with regard
| to eliminating any distinctions between OEM and retail software
| licenses.
|
| Besides, would there be such BIOS locks in Office 97, which is now 8
| years old? Would the German Bundestag have bothered passing the law
| that eliminated the specific resale conditions in OEM licenses if OEM
| software CDs couldn't be used to install software on other machines? Do
| you believe the German parlementarians were so obtuse?

 

[JoAnn Paules [MSFT MVP]]

Nooooooooooo! Oh dear! What a blasphemous statement! Next thing you know
you're going to say that they don't always tell the truth!

 

[Harlan Grove]

Carey Frisch [MVP] wrote...

Politicians are known to be technically naive and quite often try to solve
a problem, only to create a larger problem.

....

Problems like making it clear you know nothing about German software
licensing laws?

 

[Gundemarie Scholz]

Somebody from Microsoft Germany called me yesterday in order to answer my
licencing questions.

However I do some legal copies
of Office 97 contain only the CD. I received my copy of Office 97 at
the Office 97 Launch Event and all I received was the CD and a CD key.

According to him, if you don't have COA and EULA you got only a test
version, not a full version.

If you want to be 100% certain I'd ask post in a German newsgroup and
ask if anyone using Office 97 could take a look at their EULA for you.
The file they need is EULA8.hlp in the Office folder.

And according to him EULA and COA on paper belong to the package too, and
without them you are not allowed to install and use Office 97.

Regards,
Gunde

 

[Beth Melton]

Thanks for the update! Glad to hear you got your questions answered -
directly from the source is the best way to go for these types of
questions.

Please post all follow-up questions to the newsgroup. Requests for
assistance by email can not be acknowledged.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beth Melton
Microsoft Office MVP

Word FAQ: http://mvps.org/word
TechTrax eZine: http://mousetrax.com/techtrax/
MVP FAQ site: http://mvps.org/