CRN.de: „Preo Obtains Permanent Injunction Against Microsoft“

The permanent injunction against Microsoft of the District Court Hamburg is finally a judgement which strengthens the rights of the users. preo Software AG, a trader for pre-owned software from Hamburg, filed a lawsuit and has been proven right.

The trade with pre-owned software is basically allowed, if some conditions are kept. Especially important: transparency. „Especially Microsoft asks permanently and loudly for transparent licence transfers. preo reveals the whole ‚chain of rights’ and informs the software vendors about the transfer details“, explains Boris Vöge, executive of preo Software AG. This revealing was utilized by Microsoft to write letters to the customers in which the transfer process is second-guessed.

preo found the behavior of the giant software company incongruous and filed a lawsuit because of restraint of trade. The District Court Hamburg judged that preo is right and prohibited the „unobjective cover letters concerning the licence transfers“ on the part of Microsoft.

crn.de reports that these cover letters convey the wrong impression that the transfer processes have not occured in a proper way; actually this is a restraint of trade. Microsoft is not allowed to overrule a software transfer for formal reasons.

 

Click on the following link to read the whole article (in German): CRN.de

---