It is indeed a grey area. That is probably why none of the major software
companies have gone after an end user yet. If the wrong precedent was set
they would be up the proverbial creek with the whole licensing thing.

Kerry

Jeff Richards wrote:
> I believe your analysis is the correct one. The claim that the sale
> is 'illegal' is a shorthand, and inaccurate, way of describing the
> issues you mention. AFAIK you can also add to the issues that the
> purchaser may not have acquired a legal license. In other words, the
> manufacturer cannot actually prevent the wholesaler from selling the
> CD, but they can declare that the purchaser has not obtained a valid
> license to use the software, as the wholesaler lost the legal right
> to transfer the license when they broke their re-seller agreement. That
> claim may be enforceable against the purchaser. So in theory,
> the manufacturer could stop the purchaser from using the software.
>> GregRo wrote:
>>> snip <
>>
>> I don't think very many people would question the legality of the
>> sale. What is being broken is an agreement between Microsoft and an
>> OEM partner. The buyer is doing nothing illegal. The seller is most
>> likely not doing anything illegal either. The OEM who originally
>> purchased the product isn't living up to their agreement with
>> Microsoft. Microsoft can cancel the agreement and forbid further
>> sales to them. They may even be able to sue them for breach of
>> contract. The end user who purchases the product also can't expect
>> any support from Microsoft as with all OEM product support is from
>> the OEM (whomever first installs the product) which in this case is
>> the end user. In other words there is no support. This is usually
>> not disclosed to the end user and is the cause of a lot of problems.
>>
>> Kerry