When Microsoft rolled out Office 2013, one provision caught the eye of people who take the time to read software terms and conditions: Office would only be licensed to one computer. Ever. Unless it breaks down under warranty, at which point you can move Office 2013 to another computer, but otherwise you're out of luck.
So many people have responded negatively to this move that Microsoft changed its policy on Thursday.
At first, the move seemed to be pushing users to sign up for Office 365 instead, a subscription-based service that was more costly, but cloud-based and flexible (although it would only have been worth it for families or larger groups of people). Thursday, Jevon Fark posted about changes to the license agreement, which have not yet been updated, but the activation servers are undergoing changes already.
The new provision limits a change to once every 90 days, except in case of hardware failure, and requires that when the software changes computers, the version on the previous computer must be removed, regulations that are in line with ones from Office 2010. This applies to all versions of MS Office, including Home and Business, Professional, Home and Student.
If you cannot change computers because the activation servers have not been updated yet, Fark advises calling customer service, whose representatives are all supposedly aware of the changes to be made and will help to implement the changes.
The text in Office 2013's new license agreement will read:
Updated transferability provision to the Retail License Terms of the Software License Agreement for Microsoft Office 2013 Desktop Application Software:
Can I transfer the software to another computer or user? You may transfer the software to another computer that belongs to you, but not more than one time every 90 days (except due to hardware failure, in which case you may transfer sooner). If you transfer the software to another computer, that other computer becomes the "licensed computer." You may also transfer the software (together with the license) to a computer owned by someone else if a) you are the first licensed user of the software and b) the new user agrees to the terms of this agreement before the transfer. Any time you transfer the software to a new computer, you must remove the software from the prior computer and you may not retain any copies.
