Microsoft to appeal ruling in favor of reselling perpetual Windows licenses — UK Competition Court says fineprint holds no ground as judges throw out company's 'creative work' argument

Microsoft says it will appeal against a ruling handed down by the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal, which states that the software the company licenses, including Windows and Microsoft Office, can indeed be resold. The court said that Microsoft's crafty but ultimately fruitless argument that reselling perpetual licenses infringed its copyright didn't hold water. As reported by The Register, a Microsoft spokesperson said, "We disagree with the decision and intend to appeal it."

Back in 2021, a UK-based reseller by the name of ValueLicensing sued Microsoft over the legality of redistributing licenses for products like Windows and Office. The Redmont giant's contracts included clauses prohibiting constituents from being able to resell licenses that had already been issued before. In the original claim, ValueLicensing argued this was against the law, costing it millions in lost business. Microsoft initially refuted the case, then eventually concocted a copyright infringement argument instead.

Since Office programs like Word include some graphics and such, it allegedly qualifies as an original work of art, protected by creative work laws. The judges disagreed with Microsoft, making it clear there's nothing in these products that would warrant copyright protection. A customer holding a perpetual license can resell it however they wish, a notion that ValueLicensing already knew had grounds. A decade ago, a similar suit filed in the UK by UsedSoft declared that reselling licenses is valid, so Microsoft's last-ditch effort wasn't exactly calculated. In the UK at least, the ruling, if upheld, will make getting Windows 11 for free (or at least cheap) a lot easier.

"ValueLicensing has always believed it was running a legitimate business underpinned by the principles of the European Software Directive and the UsedSoft judgment at the ECJ," the company's MD said. "This judgment confirms these principles, which legitimately allowed ValueLicensing to save its customers money on used Microsoft software. Now these preliminary issues have been decided, we look forward to continuing the claim against Microsoft."

The case is far from over, however, as the quote above reinforces. The copyright infringement fiasco ultimately served as nothing more than a distraction in the larger scheme of things, as ValueLicensing intends to get back to its original case, for which Microsoft will now have to find a new argument. If the company loses this suit, it will have to pay ValueLicensing at least £270 million in damages, and that's not even the worst payout potentially on the horizon for Microsoft.

The Redmont giant is entangled in another, comically similar class-action lawsuit — alleging abuse of dominance pertaining to licenses — that could put the company on the hook for billions if it goes through. Microsoft and claims of anti-competitiveness, inflated pricing, and contractual red tape are a tale as old as time, with the company seemingly involved in litigation perpetually (no pun intended). But with the AI boom in full effect, leading to record-breaking capitalization, navigating lawsuits is like loose change.

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