Microsoft Software License Terms
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Last updated July 2015
MICROSOFT SOFTWARE LICENSE TERMS
WINDOWS OPERATING SYSTEM
IF YOU LIVE IN (OR IF YOUR PRINCIPAL PLACE OF BUSINESS IS IN) THE
UNITED STATES, PLEASE READ THE BINDING ARBITRATION CLAUSE AND CLASS
ACTION WAIVER IN SECTION 10. IT AFFECTS HOW DISPUTES ARE RESOLVED.
Thank you for choosing Microsoft!
Depending on how you obtained the Windows software, this is a
license agreement between (i) you and the device manufacturer or
software installer that distributes the software with your device;
or (ii) you and Microsoft Corporation (or, based on where you live
or if a business where your principal place of business is located,
one of its affiliates) if you acquired the software from a retailer.
Microsoft is the device manufacturer for devices produced by
Microsoft or one of its affiliates, and Microsoft is the retailer if
you acquired the software directly from Microsoft.
This agreement describes your rights and the conditions upon which
you may use the Windows software. You should review the entire
agreement, including any supplemental license terms that accompany
the software and any linked terms, because all of the terms are
important and together create this agreement that applies to you.
You can review linked terms by pasting the (aka.ms/) link into a
browser window.
By accepting this agreement or using the software, you agree to all
of these terms, and consent to the transmission of certain
information during activation and during your use of the software as
per the privacy statement described in Section 3. If you do not
accept and comply with these terms, you may not use the software or
its features. You may contact the device manufacturer or installer,
or your retailer if you purchased the software directly, to
determine its return policy and return the software or device for a
refund or credit under that policy. You must comply with that
policy, which might require you to return the software with the
entire device on which the software is installed for a refund or
credit, if any.
1. Overview.
a. Applicability. This agreement applies to the Windows software
that is preinstalled on your device, or acquired from a retailer and
installed by you, the media on which you received the software (if
any), any fonts, icons, images or sound files included with the
software, and also any Microsoft updates, upgrades, supplements or
services for the software, unless other terms come with them. It
also applies to Windows apps developed by Microsoft that provide
functionality such as contacts, music, photos and news that are
included with and are a part of Windows. If this agreement contains
terms regarding a feature or service not available on your device,
then those terms do not apply.
b. Additional terms. Additional Microsoft and third party terms may
apply to your use of certain features, services and apps, depending
on your device’s capabilities, how it is configured, and how you use
it. Please be sure to read them.
(i) Some Windows apps provide an access point to, or rely on, online
services, and the use of those services is sometimes governed by
separate terms and privacy policies, such as the Microsoft Services
Agreement at (aka.ms/msa). You can view these terms and policies by
looking at the service terms of use or the app’s settings, as
applicable. The services may not be available in all regions.
(ii) Microsoft, the manufacturer or installer may include additional
apps, which will be subject to separate license terms and privacy
policies.
(iii) The software includes Adobe Flash Player that is licensed
under terms from Adobe Systems Incorporated at (aka.ms/adobeflash).
Adobe and Flash are either registered trademarks or trademarks of
Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other
countries.
(iv) The software may include third party programs that are licensed
to you under this agreement, or under their own terms. License
terms, notices and acknowledgements, if any, for the third party
programs can be viewed at (aka.ms/thirdpartynotices).
(v) To the extent included with Windows, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and
OneNote are licensed for your personal, non-commercial use, unless
you have commercial use rights under a separate agreement.
2. Installation and Use Rights.
a. License. The software is licensed, not sold. Under this
agreement, we grant you the right to install and run one instance of
the software on your device (the licensed device), for use by one
person at a time, so long as you comply with all the terms of this
agreement. Updating or upgrading from non-genuine software with
software from Microsoft or authorized sources does not make your
original version or the updated/upgraded version genuine, and in
that situation, you do not have a license to use the software.
b. Device. In this agreement, “device” means a hardware system
(whether physical or virtual) with an internal storage device
capable of running the software. A hardware partition or blade is
considered to be a device.
c. Restrictions. The manufacturer or installer and Microsoft reserve
all rights (such as rights under intellectual property laws) not
expressly granted in this agreement. For example, this license does
not give you any right to, and you may not:
(i) use or virtualize features of the software separately;
(ii) publish, copy (other than the permitted backup copy), rent,
lease, or lend the software;
(iii) transfer the software (except as permitted by this agreement);
(iv) work around any technical restrictions or limitations in the
software;
(v) use the software as server software, for commercial hosting,
make the software available for simultaneous use by multiple users
over a network, install the software on a server and allow users to
access it remotely, or install the software on a device for use only
by remote users;
(vi) reverse engineer, decompile, or disassemble the software, or
attempt to do so, except and only to the extent that the foregoing
restriction is permitted by applicable law or by licensing terms
governing the use of open-source components that may be included
with the software; and
(vii) when using Internet-based features you may not use those
features in any way that could interfere with anyone else’s use of
them, or to try to gain access to or use any service, data, account,
or network, in an unauthorized manner.
d. Multi use scenarios.
(i) Multiple versions. If when acquiring the software you were
provided with multiple versions (such as 32-bit and 64-bit
versions), you may install and activate only one of those versions
at a time.
(ii) Multiple or pooled connections. Hardware or software you use to
multiplex or pool connections, or reduce the number of devices or
users that access or use the software, does not reduce the number of
licenses you need. You may only use such hardware or software if you
have a license for each instance of the software you are using.
(iii) Device connections. You may allow up to 20 other devices to
access the software installed on the licensed device for the purpose
of using the following software features: file services, print
services, Internet information services, and Internet connection
sharing and telephony services on the licensed device. You may allow
any number of devices to access the software on the licensed device
to synchronize data between devices. This section does not mean,
however, that you have the right to install the software, or use the
primary function of the software (other than the features listed in
this section), on any of these other devices.
(iv) Use in a virtualized environment. This license allows you to
install only one instance of the software for use on one device,
whether that device is physical or virtual. If you want to use the
software on more than one virtual device, you must obtain a separate
license for each instance.
(v) Remote access. No more than once every 90 days, you may
designate a single user who physically uses the licensed device as
the licensed user. The licensed user may access the licensed device
from another device using remote access technologies. Other users,
at different times, may access the licensed device from another
device using remote access technologies, but only on devices
separately licensed to run the same or higher edition of this
software.
(vi) Remote assistance. You may use remote assistance technologies
to share an active session without obtaining any additional licenses
for the software. Remote assistance allows one user to connect
directly to another user’s computer, usually to correct problems.
e. Backup copy. You may make a single copy of the software for
backup purposes, and may also use that backup copy to transfer the
software if it was acquired as stand-alone software, as described in
Section 4 below.
3. Privacy; Consent to Use of Data. Your privacy is important to us.
Some of the software features send or receive information when using
those features. Many of these features can be switched off in the
user interface, or you can choose not to use them. By accepting this
agreement and using the software you agree that Microsoft may
collect, use, and disclose the information as described in the
Microsoft Privacy Statement (aka.ms/privacy), and as may be
described in the user interface associated with the software
features.
4. Transfer. The provisions of this section do not apply if you
acquired the software as a consumer in Germany or in any of the
countries listed on this site (aka.ms/transfer), in which case any
transfer of the software to a third party, and the right to use it,
must comply with applicable law.
a. Software preinstalled on device. If you acquired the software
preinstalled on a device (and also if you upgraded from software
preinstalled on a device), you may transfer the license to use the
software directly to another user, only with the licensed device.
The transfer must include the software and, if provided with the
device, an authentic Windows label including the product key. Before
any permitted transfer, the other party must agree that this
agreement applies to the transfer and use of the software.
b. Stand-alone software. If you acquired the software as stand-alone
software (and also if you upgraded from software you acquired as
stand-alone software), you may transfer the software to another
device that belongs to you. You may also transfer the software to a
device owned by someone else if (i) you are the first licensed user
of the software and (ii) the new user agrees to the terms of this
agreement. You may use the backup copy we allow you to make or the
media that the software came on to transfer the software. Every time
you transfer the software to a new device, you must remove the
software from the prior device. You may not transfer the software to
share licenses between devices.
5. Authorized Software and Activation. You are authorized to use
this software only if you are properly licensed and the software has
been properly activated with a genuine product key or by other
authorized method. When you connect to the Internet while using the
software, the software will automatically contact Microsoft or its
affiliate to confirm the software is genuine and the license is
associated with the licensed device. You can also activate the
software manually by Internet or telephone. In either case,
transmission of certain information will occur, and Internet,
telephone and SMS service charges may apply. During activation (or
reactivation that may be triggered by changes to your device’s
components), the software may determine that the installed instance
of the software is counterfeit, improperly licensed or includes
unauthorized changes. If activation fails the software will attempt
to repair itself by replacing any tampered Microsoft software with
genuine Microsoft software. You may also receive reminders to obtain
a proper license for the software. You may not bypass or circumvent
activation. To help determine if your software is genuine and
whether you are properly licensed, see (aka.ms/genuine). Certain
updates, support, and other services might only be offered to users
of genuine Microsoft software.
6. Updates. The software periodically checks for system and app
updates, and downloads and installs them for you. You may obtain
updates only from Microsoft or authorized sources, and Microsoft may
need to update your system to provide you with those updates. By
accepting this agreement, you agree to receive these types of
automatic updates without any additional notice.
7. Downgrade Rights. If you acquired a device from a manufacturer or
installer with a Professional version of Windows preinstalled on it,
you may use either a Windows 8.1 Pro or Windows 7 Professional
version, but only for so long as Microsoft provides support for that
earlier version as set forth in (aka.ms/windowslifecycle). This
agreement applies to your use of the earlier versions. If the
earlier version includes different components, any terms for those
components in the agreement that comes with the earlier version
apply to your use of such components. Neither the manufacturer or
installer, nor Microsoft, is obligated to supply earlier versions to
you. You must obtain the earlier version separately, for which you
may be charged a fee. At any time, you may replace an earlier
version with the version you originally acquired.