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Paladin732
28 Posts
0
174321
March 24th, 2009 16:00
OEM Licensing, EULAs, and Dell
Hello,
My boyfriend recently had his XPS M1530 replaced by dell for a Studio XPS 1640 (he has gone through previous systems also). When they shipped the studio xps they shipped it without Microsoft Office, which he paid for the professional addition with his computer.
The installed copies of Office that dell puts onto consumer computers are OEM copies, correct? (They come packaged like OEM, and come preinstalled...) According to everything I have found it appears that this software is attached to the original computer it was shipped with by Microsoft's terms and conditions (EULA) the links below show my research:
(http://download.microsoft.com/Documents/UseTerms/Office%20Professional_2007_English_da39e5b2-7c24-4031-be4e-d9241ea38d1d.pdf
page 8, section 2 "The software license is permanently assigned to the device with which you aquired the software"
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/suites/fx101678741033.aspx
"OEM License Terms limit the installation to the device on which the software was pre-installed."
http://blogs.msdn.com/mssmallbiz/archive/2005/06/06/425681.aspx "
4) Can I uninstall my OEM software from one machine and install it on a new or replacement machine?
- ANSWER: No. OEM software has no transferability of license rights. This is not new and has been the case for a long, long, long, time. Look in your End-User License Agreement (EULA) for your OEM software. You will notice it does not include Transferability of License Rights. This is just one of the many differences between OEM and Retail or Volume License software. For a more in-depth comparison of the various licensing types, I would recommend either viewing the, "What is the difference between OEM, Retail Box, and Volume Licensing software? Which is right for me?" video we have posted on the Microsoft Small Business Channel Community Site in the Common Question and Misconceptions section or read through the, "Open vs. Retail Print Version" document we have posted in the MS Small Biz Shared Documents section of the Microsoft Small Business Channel Community Site."
Now, Dell is refusing to replace Microsoft Office for my new system (even though the warranty says I should get everything my original system had) and I have had TWO reps tell me that dell policy is for me to reinstall on my new computer (illegally)
Am I interpreting Microsoft's EULAs wrong (if so, how?) or if not, did I get bad reps? I do not see how Dell can get away with telling me to perform an illegal action(I have tech support chat transcripts supporting this). I am at the point that I am going to contact my state AG, and Microsoft's anti-piracy division if Dell does not wise up and provide thier customers with legal software instead of telling them to do illegal activities
"Am I interpreting Microsoft's EULAs wrong?"
No - that's exactly what the license for any OEM version of Office states. You can install Office on the new machine, but it won't activate on-line (as it has been activated previously). You can try calling the MS number which is supplied during the activation process and talk to an MS support person, but you probably won't get very far. MS won't usually help a customer who has an OEM version, but it's worth a try.
Paladin732
28 Posts
4199
0
Posted March 31st, 2009 11:00
Thanks for the help
dell will not send you another copy of office. i think the hook is that technically, you do not have an OEM copy of office, rather a retail copy (you have a valid product key on the cd sleeve). speculation on that, but i know from experience they will not send you another copy of office.
bweed6,
If this is in fact a "retail" version, then the installation and the activation will work on a second machine. If it is an OEM version, then obviously this won't work. What I find disturbing is that this Dell rep is insisting that Dell "never" supplies OEM versions of Office. That's just total misrepresentation.
bweed6,
"no need to answer that - it will work". Well, I won't dispute that with you, but I also know from personal experience that at least "sometimes" it doesn't work.
A few years ago, I purchased a Dimension 9200 with Office 2007 Professional installed. I was fully aware of the OEM and Retail EULA's, but for some reason (brain cramp) I decided to install Office on a second laptop (thinking of course of the Retail EULA). Office installed flawlessly (using the correct Product Key), but Activation failed. It was only then that I realized my mistake.
The OP can check by going to this site:
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/howtotell/content.aspx?pg=officeready&displaylang=en
Read down and there is a "How to tell" if the COA is retail or OEM....
Paladin732
28 Posts
4199
0
Posted March 25th, 2009 10:00
Thanks, so who at Dell do I talk to about this? I mean this is a massive issue, having several of thier reps telling me to commit an illegal activity