4 ms·

Those are the exact pirated copies I was referring to. Or do you really believe that a copy that costs 3 euro can be legit?

aunty_helen 5y ago
It’s ‘possible’ maybe unlikely at 3€ However there is a license recycling market that buy up unused or reassignable licenses from say software shops that have gone under and still have 100 visual studio licenses etc
- NikolaeVarius 5y ago
  Yes, i want to go legit by paying pirates for, checks notes, buying grey market license keys that could be disabled at any moment
  - aunty_helen 5y ago
    These aren't pirates, they buy the licenses from defunct business in the same way you would buy an office chair. Checks notes to be arogant And it says here they're entitled to do so.
  - novok 5y ago
    Microsoft never bothers, and at 3 euro the risk you have that "activate windows" might have a low chance of popping up again is well worth it. Just make sure its not a volume license key and your pretty much good to go. Is it really pirating when all you get is a key and a legal inactivated copy of windows from MSFT's servers says it's legit? I bought an OEM pro key for $15-20, and it works great. Research it a bit more and if you call MSFT support, they go into a loop about how if you typed it in and windows says it's good, it's a legit key from their perspective.
xrd 5y ago
I've been researching this and the sellers of this assert they are selling licenses that are left over and entirely legitimate. It's a secondary market, not unlike used cars or anything else that is more tangible. I think there might be precedent for this to be legal even if Microsoft wouldn't like it be so.
- bitwize 5y ago
  It's illegal. Software is licensed, not sold; and software licenses are usually nontransferable. This was a point of contention in Vernor v. Autodesk wherein the 9th Circuit found for Autodesk.
  - howinteresting 5y ago
    If Microsoft really cares about this it is welcome to price Windows Pro competitively. (Microsoft only really cares about licensing for business customers, enforced through audits anyway.)
  - Tuna-Fish 5y ago
    In the United States, you are right. In the EU, that is wrong. See for example: [0] The reason you can get entirely legal windows licenses for so cheap is that there are many institutional buyers who get the licenses they actually use separately but still purchase a lot of computers that have OEM licenses bundled [1], and now they all unload those licenses at whatever price the market will bear. Last year, that was ~6€, this year it's down to ~3€. The fact that the prices is now so low is probably a part of why it keeps going down. A lot of people in this thread express suprise that a legit key could be so cheap so they obviously must be illegal, which drives away sales. [0] https://www.computerworld.com/article/2505356/eu-court-rules-resale-of-used-software-licenses-is-legal----even-online.html https://www.computerworld.com/article/2505356/eu-court-rules... [1] And do note that tying the OEM license to hardware is also entirely illegal inside the EU.
    - lupire 5y ago
      Has the EU market converted to annual subscription licenses? I expect it would.
skinkestek 5y ago
I bought Pro at around $45 and activated through Microsofts own activation service so while $3 sounds unreasonably low, unless Microsoft has started activating unlicensed keys it is possible to get actual legal keys at a fraction of the list price.
- breakingcups 5y ago
  These are likely licenses given to Microsoft Partners which are only to be used for developing/testing software. They activate identically to regular keys and there is no indication once activated that that's the only licensed purpose of that key.
benhurmarcel 5y ago
They send you a license key that you can use with a legit Windows installer, that you get on Microsoft’s website. You can even link all that to your Microsoft’s account. If that’s pirated software, Microsoft doesn’t try to detect it very much.

aunty_helen 5y ago

It’s ‘possible’ maybe unlikely at 3€ However there is a license recycling market that buy up unused or reassignable licenses from say software shops that have gone under and still have 100 visual studio licenses etc

NikolaeVarius 5y ago
Yes, i want to go legit by paying pirates for, checks notes, buying grey market license keys that could be disabled at any moment
- aunty_helen 5y ago
  These aren't pirates, they buy the licenses from defunct business in the same way you would buy an office chair. Checks notes to be arogant And it says here they're entitled to do so.
- novok 5y ago
  Microsoft never bothers, and at 3 euro the risk you have that "activate windows" might have a low chance of popping up again is well worth it. Just make sure its not a volume license key and your pretty much good to go. Is it really pirating when all you get is a key and a legal inactivated copy of windows from MSFT's servers says it's legit? I bought an OEM pro key for $15-20, and it works great. Research it a bit more and if you call MSFT support, they go into a loop about how if you typed it in and windows says it's good, it's a legit key from their perspective.

xrd 5y ago

I've been researching this and the sellers of this assert they are selling licenses that are left over and entirely legitimate. It's a secondary market, not unlike used cars or anything else that is more tangible. I think there might be precedent for this to be legal even if Microsoft wouldn't like it be so.

bitwize 5y ago
It's illegal. Software is licensed, not sold; and software licenses are usually nontransferable. This was a point of contention in Vernor v. Autodesk wherein the 9th Circuit found for Autodesk.
- howinteresting 5y ago
  If Microsoft really cares about this it is welcome to price Windows Pro competitively. (Microsoft only really cares about licensing for business customers, enforced through audits anyway.)
- Tuna-Fish 5y ago
  In the United States, you are right. In the EU, that is wrong. See for example: [0] The reason you can get entirely legal windows licenses for so cheap is that there are many institutional buyers who get the licenses they actually use separately but still purchase a lot of computers that have OEM licenses bundled [1], and now they all unload those licenses at whatever price the market will bear. Last year, that was ~6€, this year it's down to ~3€. The fact that the prices is now so low is probably a part of why it keeps going down. A lot of people in this thread express suprise that a legit key could be so cheap so they obviously must be illegal, which drives away sales. [0] https://www.computerworld.com/article/2505356/eu-court-rules-resale-of-used-software-licenses-is-legal----even-online.html https://www.computerworld.com/article/2505356/eu-court-rules... [1] And do note that tying the OEM license to hardware is also entirely illegal inside the EU.
  - lupire 5y ago
    Has the EU market converted to annual subscription licenses? I expect it would.

skinkestek 5y ago

I bought Pro at around $45 and activated through Microsofts own activation service so while $3 sounds unreasonably low, unless Microsoft has started activating unlicensed keys it is possible to get actual legal keys at a fraction of the list price.

breakingcups 5y ago
These are likely licenses given to Microsoft Partners which are only to be used for developing/testing software. They activate identically to regular keys and there is no indication once activated that that's the only licensed purpose of that key.

benhurmarcel 5y ago

They send you a license key that you can use with a legit Windows installer, that you get on Microsoft’s website. You can even link all that to your Microsoft’s account. If that’s pirated software, Microsoft doesn’t try to detect it very much.