Microsoft Office 2013 vs. Office 365: New License Agreement Could Prevent Software Transfer After Computer Crash or Upgrade

There could be one more reason to buy Microsoft Office 365 over Office 2013 -- the new license agreement for Office 2013 might not let you install the software on a new computer if your old one dies, at least not legally.

"In the push to shift customers to the Office 365 subscription model, Microsoft has rejigged the licensing conditions on retail copies of Office 2013 such as Office Home & Student 2013. People tend not to read this sort of fine print, but this bit is kind of important," writes The Age.

"According to the fine print, retail copies of Office Home & Student 2013 are now single-license, so you can only install them on one computer."

The updated license for Office 2013 says: "You may not transfer the software to another computer or user. You may transfer the software directly to a third party only as installed on the licensed computer, with the Certificate of Authenticity label and this agreement. Before the transfer, that party must agree that this agreement applies to the transfer and use of the software. You may not retain any copies."

So what happens if the single computer you installed Office 2013 on dies? Or what if you upgrade to a fancy new model? Can you install the copy of Office 2013 on your new computer? According to Microsoft, no, even if you uninstall the copy on your old computer.

"Each retail copy of Office 2013 carries a one-device license. Once users install the software on a single PC, it can only ever be used on that one device," said Microsoft PR to The Age.

"The customer cannot transfer the license from one PC to another PC."

Yikes. Of course, if there's an uproar, expect Microsoft to backpedal a bit. They don't want to deal with angry customers who can't install Office 2013 on their new Surface Pros.

More likely, people will just do it anyway, though Microsoft could potentially track those installations in some as yet unknown way. Or maybe it's all a ploy to drive customers toward perpetual Office 365 subscriptions, which don't have this problem at all.