Office 2013 Licenses Now Transferable To Other PCs

A little while back Redmond revealed that Office 2013 licenses would be locked to just a single PC for the lifetime of the product. What this means is that if a computer broke down, it left users with no choice than to purchase a new license, unless the computer was still in warranty.

Needless to say, intense criticism ensued. Intense criticism, I say.

Now the company has decided to change the license term of the latest version of its Office productivity suite to allow users to transfer the software from one computer to another — under certain conditions, obviously.

The change will apply to Office Home and Student 2013, Office Home and Business 2013, Office Professional 2013 plus standalone Office 2013 applications (Word, PowerPoint, and Excel).

Microsoft announced the revision in the license agreement earlier today in a blog post, effective immediately. The revised EULA for Office 2013 now reads:

“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.”

The company tops it off by some sweet talk saying that this change is based on feedback because it is listening to customers and grateful for the feedback behind this revision.

Grateful for the criticism, you mean. It should not have been this way from the start.

Regardless, all is well that ends well. Office 2013 licenses can now be transferred under the same terms as Office 2010. Meaning consumers are allowed to move their license to another computer once every 90 days — a much more accommodating preposition.