Joerg Bauske, chief of computer systems for Berliner Volksbank said he purchased second-hand copies of Microsoft Office and Adobe Photoshop several years ago, reported Bloomberg.com. “We’ve had to be certain that the savings outweigh the legal risks,” Bauske said. “Now there’s less reason to be concerned.”
For now, it appears European organizations will have the thrifty alternative of purchasing second-hand software, but end-user license agreements in the U.S. typically forbid software resale, Bloomberg reported, adding that there have been no major court cases challenging such clauses. But American organizations can legally purchase second-hand software through European subsidiaries. The European decision removed any vendor control of what happens to its software following the initial sale, just as with most other goods.
