A number of Russian retailers, including DNS, Citilink, Yandex.Market, and Wildberries, have begun selling so-called OEM versions of Windows to the public for those involved in assembling computers. When purchasing such software, buyers are not required to provide supporting documents, which, according to Izvestia, is a gross violation of the license agreement.
“The acquisition of such licenses, if the user is not a PC builder, formally violates the permitted limits of use and, in fact, does not give the right to install Windows or any other Microsoft product, since the use of software based on such a license carries the risks of prosecution under Art. 146 of the Criminal Code (“Violation of copyright and related rights”),” Kirill Lyakhmanov, chief legal adviser of the intellectual property practice at the law firm EBR, told reporters.
According to experts, when buying an OEM version of Windows, the user actually receives a technical key to activate the software, and not the right to use copies of the operating system. This OS build has a number of limitations. Firstly, it cannot be transferred to another device – it can only be used on the PC on which it was originally installed, while, say, the Retail assembly can be removed from the computer and reinstalled on another compatible device, for example, on a laptop. Secondly, the license cannot be transferred to another user, unlike some other versions of Windows. Thirdly, the OEM version does not support “downgrade”, that is, a rollback to an earlier version of Windows. And fourthly, the OEM license is “tied” to one language, that is, if it is localized into English, then switching the interface to Russian will no longer work.
At the same time, representatives of domestic retailers confirmed that they do not ask buyers for any additional information when selling software, but the product description indicates that this version of the OS is intended for system builders.
Source: Trash Box
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