OEM software licences

Factual Questions
1

Not intended to ask about the morality thereof, just the legality.

If I legally purchase and OEM copy of a piece of software, say for example I buy a new PC with Windows 2000 pro, I later buy Windows XP home and install it instead of 2K. So now I have this OEM copy of 2K which is “only legal for sale with a new PC” blah, blah, blah.

Is there any real legal reason why I cannot sell this to someone else?

Would it make a difference if I never installed the copy of 2K that came with it therefore maybe not incurring any EULA issues having never agreed to anything?

2

IANAL, but I don’t see a problem with your scenario as long as you aren’t using the software AND trying to sell it.

3

IANAL but from a letter-of-the-law standpoint the phrase “only legal for sale with a new PC blah, blah, blah” is part of the T&C’s of the license and I’m not sure why you quoted it then summarily disregarded it in your analysis. I would have to actually read the license but I believe that the license is granted only for use on the computer on which it was installed by the manufacturer.

4

To clarify my question, how am I bound buy a licence for software that was never installed, and I never signed a licencing agreement. I could see how whomever originally purchased the software from Microsoft would be, but the next person down the line would seem to be free to resell it as he sees fit if he is no longer using the software in question.

What inspired this question was the multitude of OEM copies of windows out there sold by internet dealers. If I were to buy 10 copies and go sell them at a swap meet, still sealed and unused, would microsoft have any real recourse against me (chance of being caught disregarded for purposes of the Q) or only against the person who originally purchased it from microsoft under an OEM agreement.

5

It is yours to sell. The sticker belongs to you, the CD belongs to you, you can sell it. No questions about it. Now, interesting question arises if the intended recipient can use it without breaking the TOS. However, that’s not YOUR problem, since the TOS is only in action when you actually use the software and cannot apply to what you do with YOUR stuff, i.e. sell it.