Court tosses Microsoft's appeal in pre-owned software licenses battle
ValueLicensing celebrates while Redmond considers next steps
The UK's Court of Appeal has dismissed Microsoft's appeal against a ruling that ValueLicensing (VL) can resell pre-owned software licences.
The judgment, handed down July 7, follows a ruling by the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) in November that customers could resell their licenses, even if Office contained clipart.
In 2021, VL filed a claim accusing Microsoft of stifling the market for pre-owned on-prem software licenses, alleging the US biz baked restrictive clauses into its contracts – essentially, better subscription deals for customers who didn't resell old licenses. VL sought £270 million in damages; Microsoft denied wrongdoing.
The case took a turnin October 2025, when Microsoft attempted to reframe it as a copyright dispute. VL was leaning on the EU's UsedSoft ruling, which established that secondhand software licenses could legally be resold. Microsoft changed tack and countered that Office's icons and help...
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