Oem is an Acronym for Original Equipment Manufacturers. This can be Manufacturers of hardware, like pc's, servers and handhelds. For these types of companies Microsoft created a license program witch allows these companies to bundle their products with Microsoft-software, like Windows Vista, Office 2007 of Windows 2003 Server. Only a small part of the Microsoft catalog is sold under Oem licensing. In general, Oem licenses are the cheapest way to purchase Microsoft licenses.
OEM-license for the end-user
A Microsoft Oem license will only be valid when installed on new hardware! Proof is mandatory in case of an audit by the BSA (Business Software Alliance). For Office 2007 Oem Microsoft regards a computer to be 'new' when the Oem license is purchased within 90 days after purchase of the pc. The Oem software and license is inextricably linked to the specific hardware and may therefore not be transferred to any other system. Installing a copy of the software for home use or on a Laptop is prohibited by the license. When the Microsoft software is pre-installed the End User License Agreement (EULA) needs be be accepted when the PC is booted for the first time. The EULA is an agreement between Microsoft and the end-user. Legitimate and original Microsoft Oem software contains a Certificate of Authenticy (COA). This COA needs to be visibly displayed on the hardware (Server, PC, Laptop, etc) and is in most cases shipped with installation media and manuals.
Microsoft Oem license limitations
In general it can be said that Oem is limited in its terms of use (referred to as the End User License Agreement (EULA)). Below are the most important terms and conditions:
- Oem may only be installed on new hardware (new PC, Laptop, Server, PDA, etc),
- The Oem software and license is inextricably linked to the specific hardware and may therefore not be transferred to any other system,
- No support on Oem software is available through Microsoft.
-
More comparable products, click here