Licencing Question

[Mark Barnes (Jao)]

Hi

Once of the companies I work for has worked out that if they purchase
Retail Office 2003 licences & disks from Taiwan/Hong Kong they will make a
considerable saving than buying them in the UK. These are legitimate licences
from a legitimate MS approved supplier (not the 10000 applications on 1 CD
for 2$ you see in the markets over there). Me ever being the cynic has
pointed out that if it was this simple, everybody would be doing it, and
there is probably something in the licencing agreement that says shipping
these licences back to the UK for activation and useage isn't allowed.

So my question is, is it possible to do the above and is it within the
terms of the licence?

Cheers


Me.

 

[JoAnn Paules [MSFT MVP]]

You already know the answer to that question.

 

[Mark Barnes (Jao)]

Well that's just it. I've been wrong about MS licencing before so I'm asking.

The MD who is in taiwan at the mo has been assured by the local distie that
everything is kosher , but I'm still a cynic.

So my question remains, is it explicitly in the agreement that you can't do
it?

You already know the answer to that question.

--

JoAnn Paules
MVP Microsoft [Publisher]

Hi

Once of the companies I work for has worked out that if they purchase
Retail Office 2003 licences & disks from Taiwan/Hong Kong they will make a
considerable saving than buying them in the UK. These are legitimate
licences
from a legitimate MS approved supplier (not the 10000 applications on 1 CD
for 2$ you see in the markets over there). Me ever being the cynic has
pointed out that if it was this simple, everybody would be doing it, and
there is probably something in the licencing agreement that says shipping
these licences back to the UK for activation and useage isn't allowed.

So my question is, is it possible to do the above and is it within the
terms of the licence?

Cheers


Me.

 

[Bob Buckland ?:-\)]

Hi Mark,

In this case you may want to call the local MS licensing
folks for your area for an official answer.
http://microsoft.com/licensing

========
Well that's just it. I've been wrong about MS licencing before so I'm asking.

The MD who is in taiwan at the mo has been assured by the local distie that
everything is kosher , but I'm still a cynic.

So my question remains, is it explicitly in the agreement that you can't do
it? >>
--
Let us know if this helped you,

Bob Buckland ?
MS Office System Products MVP

*Courtesy is not expensive and can pay big dividends*

For Everyday MS Office tips to "use right away" -
http://microsoft.com/events/series/administrativetipsandtricks.mspx

 

[Mark Barnes (Jao)]

I've gone and done just as you said, and it appears that I'm being overly
cynical. There's nothing to stop the MD from going over to Taiwan, buying a
container load of Retail Office CDs, and shipping them back to the UK for the
company to use. In short his credit card is now about 60000 USD lighter
Cheers for your assistance.

Full text of official answer below:-

MSEMEA#001-344-532

Dear Mr Barnes

Thank you for contacting Microsoft­® about the purchasing of software titles
from abroad.

The rules that retailers have to abide by when selling Microsoft software is
that the can only sell within their own geographical regional which also
applies to online retailers as well. One primary reason for this is exactly
as outlined in your mail - to reduce the spread of counterfeit software.

What this means is that a UK based company cannot purchase online from a
Taiwanese company and have the products shipped to the UK, likewise a genuine
Taiwanese reseller/distributor couldn't sell direct to the UK by the usual
methods.

However, it is certainly permitted to purchase software directly from the
reseller while in Taiwan, as no trade rules are being broken, as long as the
following are adhered to:-


1. To ensure authenticity, the software should only be bought from an
authorised Microsoft reseller.
2. The software is solely for personal/own business use and therefore
cannot be redistributed to another party when returning to the UK.
3. All product support still lies with the Microsoft affiliate in the
country of purchase - no support can be granted in the UK.

I hope this answers your question. If we can be of any further assistance
please contact us on 0870 60 10 100 Monday to Friday 8am - 6pm, e-mail us or
visit www.microsoft.com/uk for all your information and support needs.

Kind regards

<name removed>
Customer Service Professional

Microsoft Customer Services