The OEM EULA mystery unravelled

Mike Halsey | Nov 16, 2009 | Comments

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Ed Bott at ZD NET has recently decoded the mystery of the Windows 7 End User Licence Agreement with regards to whether people can buy copies of the cheap OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) copies of Windows 7 for their own PCs.

Microsoft has come under fire with Windows 7 for the licence agreement.  The Redmond giant say they’ve made efforts to make it clearer and easier to understand, however there are still large chunks of it written in legalese.  This has led to calls for much clearer licensing for Windows 8.

OEM copies of Windows are the cheaper copies that Microsoft sells to system builders.  Many of these copies find there way into computer fairs and internet computer parts sites.  The only difference between an OEM edition of Windows 7 and a full one is that the OEM copy doesn’t come with any support from Microsoft.  The PC system builder is supposed to provide that support themselves.

Many people wouldn’t bother about breaking the Windows 7 licence agreement when buying a cheaper copy of Windows.  Problems can potentially arise however when activation comes around.  If Automatic activation fails and you’re put through to a person in a call centre, they’ll know you have an OEM product key and will ask if you bought the copy of Windows yourself, or if it cam installed on your own PC.

OEM licensing used to be much clearer,  The Windows 7 EULA stated…

OEM system builder software packs are intended for PC and server manufacturers or assemblers ONLY.  They are not intended for distribution to end users.

But then goes on to say…

Unless the end use is actually assembling his/her own PC, in which case, that end user is considered a system builder as well.

However this language is now gone and has been replaced by a vacuous space where there is now none.

Ed Bott says that a Microsoft spokesmen told him that the company’s policy towards OEM copies hasn’t changed.  But does this mean their old policy, their new one of both?

In reality I cannot see a time when Microsoft will ever block activation on a PC.  There could still be stormy times ahead though for Windows 7 purchasers.

We’d be interested at Windows 7 News if you’ve installed and activated an OEM copy of Windows 7 on your own PC.

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About the Author: The author of the new Windows 7 Power Users Guide, a how-to guide for non-technical Windows users on how to get the best out of Microsoft's new operating system, with step-by-step and quick guides. You can follow Mike on Twitter or on his own website The Long Climb

  • Post as Guest
    I have, oh wait that was an offline activation crack :)
  • JonS
    I don't see any mystery unravelled here. This article only states that the policy has not changed, but the wording has and then it goes on to question if it is the new policy or old. To me it sounds like it only added to the speculation and did not really provide any answers.
  • Felix
    I find it quite difficult to find the retail version of windows 7 in Indonesia. Most of shops here shamelessly sell OEM. The complete opposite applies when I am in UK. So, I guess most people in Indonesia have already activated their "OEM" copy of Windows 7. I for one, differs from the common crowd and choose Full Packaged Product (aka retail). One of my family's computer uses OEM licence too, but legally it is fine, since I consider myself a system builder, while my family is the end-user.
  • Stephen
    The reason why the document is written in "legalese" is that it is a legally binding document. If one can't understand the EULA, then that is a pretty good indicator that they shouldn't be buying the OEM version. The non-OEM EULA is also written in "legalese" but it is pretty easy for a consumer to follow since it is targeted at consumers. Of course, very few people read the EULA but that is a different subject. BTW, there is absolutely in this article that demonstrates anything has been "unravelled" by anyone - just a couple observations by one person and meaningless speculation by another....

    Stephen
  • Jonathan
    I read somewhere that EULA aren't enforcible as there is no way to prove exactly who clicked the agree button. Like I could have installed my neighbors OS but there wouldn't necessarily be a way to prove it.
  • Harry
    Very true. To my knowledge, there hasn't been a case where the legality of the EULA has been confirmed. Still, if MS decided to stop activating OEMs, people would most likely return the software to the retailer rather than seek court action against MS's EULA.
  • kapilharesh
    i did install windows 7 with an oem license, no problems with activation!
  • Jake
    If it's merely a matter of if Windows activated, it did so without complaints. Once installed it asked if I wanted to automatically activate in three days, where it had a countdown in the Computer properties until it silently did its activation. Maybe there was a balloon notification too.

    It was a System Builder's license with an OEM product key. The most restrictive thing about the license as I read it was that it had to be purchased/provided with a new computer including a HD/SSD, CPU, MB, PSU, etc. That and the already known bit where the System Builder had to provide tech support. I believe that the license is probably non-transferable to another computer. Some of the wording made is sound like it wanted you to create a ghost image CD once activated so it never had to be installed from media again. So there may be issues with activating another clean install; who knows. More likely activating that license key on a computer with a different hardware configuration would be more troublesome and would require a phone call, if at all possible.
  • Sonic
    Microsoft doesn't prevent end user to activate the OEM version of Windows 7. Anyone (regardless of whether if you are system builder or end user) can activate the OEM version of Windows 7 on only a single PC. How can Microsoft know who (system builder or end user) is activating the Windows? The point here is the product key can only be used once for a single machine. You can activate at same machine (without changing motherboard) for limitless time. If the product key has been used before, then you are out of luck.
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