Microsoft radically overhauls license agreements for Windows 8

**Brink** · 20 Aug 2012

For Windows 8, Microsoft has completely rewritten its license agreements, replacing legalese with plain language and for the first time allowing retail customers to legally install cheaper OEM versions. Here's what's new.

Read more at:
Microsoft radically overhauls license agreements for Windows 8 | ZDNet

See also:
How the new Windows 8 license terms affect you

**pparks1** · 20 Aug 2012

According to that piece;

PERSONAL USE LICENSE (SYSTEM BUILDER) FOR WINDOWS 8 PRO
We do not sell our software or your copy of it – we only license it.Under our license, we grant you the right to install and run that one copy on one computer (the licensed computer) as the operating system on a computer that you build for your personal use, or as an additional operating system running on a local virtual machine or a separate partition, subject to the restrictions outlined under “Are there things I’m not allowed to do with the software?”

Does this mean that it can only be used on this 1 computer and cannot later be moved to another computer?

The way I am reading it, says you can use it on 1 computer at any given time. So, unlike an OEM license currently, you can move to another computer if you upgrade. The OEM license now states it has to run on the computer that accompanied the software. They don't make any mention of this about the Personal Use System Builder license.

**FSeal** · 20 Aug 2012

Yes it is somewhat vauge (And this was supposed to be the plain english version!)

It would be awesome if it just plain worked like that. One license, one install (at a time) but can be moved to another machine if the first one dies. Would remove the Russian Roulette aspect of the old OEM license...

**Brink** · 22 Aug 2012

What's changed in Microsoft's radical new license agreements for Windows 8? I've got full details about how you can transfer Windows to a new PC, downgrade rights, and who qualifies for upgrades.

I’ve had a chance to inspect the new, radically revised Microsoft license terms in advance of their October release. Earlier this week, I noted the two big surprises: All of the agreements are written in plain language that’s surprisingly easy to understand, and Windows 8 will, for the first time ever, include a new Personal Use License that explicitly permits retail customers to install and run OEM System Builder software. The overpriced full package products will not exist for Windows 8.

The new language in these agreements really is simpler than in previous editions. But there are still areas where confusion can arise. To forestall that confusion, I decided to put together a more comprehensive look at the new license agreements.

Read more at:
How the new Windows 8 license terms affect you | ZDNet

**Vertex** · 22 Aug 2012

Sad to say no more evaluation.

**FSeal** · 23 Aug 2012

Good news on the system builders license. Now if we could just get a striaght pricing answer, people keep saying that the overpriced full versions will not exist and then we hear that Win 8 Pro will cost $199... Isn't that an overpriced full version?

**whs** · 23 Aug 2012

All of the agreements are written in plain language that’s surprisingly easy to understand, and Windows 8 will, for the first time ever, include a new Personal Use License that explicitly permits retail customers to install and run OEM System Builder software. The overpriced full package products will not exist for Windows 8.

How the new Windows 8 license terms affect you | ZDNet

**Phone Man** · 23 Aug 2012

Looks like great news. Both the Upgrade and System Builder can be transferred to another PC.

How the new Windows 8 license terms affect you | ZDNet

If you purchase the software separately, in a package or as a download, the rules are much more liberal. Note that the text for the following rules is identical for retail upgrades and for System Builder software that you install on a PC you build yourself, or in a virtual machine, or on a separate partition. Emphasis in the following sections is in the original:

You may transfer the software to another computer that belongs to you. … You may not transfer the software to share licenses between computers.

In other words, you can remove the Windows 8 upgrade from an original PC and then install it on another PC, assuming the new PC has a license that qualifies it for an upgrade. Likewise, you can completely remove the PUL System Builder software from a self-built PC, a VM, or a partition and then install it in a new physical or virtual PC.

There is no limit on the number of times you may do this type of transfer, providing you follow the rules I describe later in this section. That means hobbyists who like to tinker with PCs can relax. If you buy a System Builder copy, you can move (not share) that license from an old PC to a new one.

Jim

**FSeal** · 23 Aug 2012

That was definitely great news about the System Builder. Now if they would just let fly with official pricing.

**tcman50** · 23 Aug 2012

Originally Posted by FSeal

That was definitely great news about the System Builder. Now if they would just let fly with official pricing.

Patience young grasshopper

A wise man said this once : You can only push a man so far, and then he falls off the cliff

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Microsoft radically overhauls license agreements for Windows 8

Microsoft radically overhauls license agreements for Windows 8

How the new Windows 8 license terms affect you

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