How Oracle's 2012 court defeat became the heart of £270 million lawsuit against Microsoft
Oracle's 2012 UsedSoft ruling lets perpetual software licences be resold; Microsoft faces a £270m UK lawsuit for blocking resale to push subscriptions.Summary
In 2012, Oracle lost a case in the European Court of Justice (UsedSoft) that established that once a perpetual software licence is sold, the seller cannot control its resale. Fourteen years later, UK reseller ValueLicensing sued Microsoft for £270 million, alleging that Microsoft inserted contractual terms to steer customers toward its Microsoft 365 subscription service while blocking the resale of existing perpetual licences. Microsoft initially denied the claims but later argued that reselling and subdividing its on-premise licences constituted copyright infringement. Both the Competition Appeal Tribunal (2025) and the Court of Appeal (July 2026) rejected this argument, ruling that resale does not infringe copyright and criticizing Microsoft's position as logically inconsistent. Microsoft has now appealed to the UK Supreme Court for permission to continue the fight, while a partial stay on the case remains. The outcome is significant because it tests whether Microsoft's broader strategy to curb the used licence market—protecting its subscription‑based revenue—can withstand judicial scrutiny, with a related class action potentially exposing the company to billions in liability.
(Source：The Economic Times)