Microsoft has stunned some in the British reseller community by allowing a discount dealer to sell secondhand volume licenses, opening the floodgates for a used-software market. Disclic this week began offering secondhand software licenses from insolvent or downsizing companies to other businesses with Microsoft"s blessing. "Yes, we are doing that," said Jonathan Horley, a director at Disclic. "It"s been in planning for a year and a half. Previously, a lot of companies didn"t see software licenses as an asset, but this helps them see that."
A loophole in British insolvency laws and a clause within many Microsoft licenses that permits disused or unwanted volume licenses to be transferred enables Disclic to sell the licenses legally. The licenses are offered at a discount of around 20 to 50 percent below prices of any other authorised Microsoft reseller. A Microsoft representative confirmed on Thursday in the UK that Disclic"s resale of licenses "does meet Microsoft"s terms and conditions."