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…