Microsoft's 'From SA' scheme on trial as license resale row refuses to die
ValueLicensing case rumbles on as Windows giant appeals against copyright judgment
Microsoft's From Software Assurance (SA) program is the subject of a disclosure application as the long-running spat between Microsoft and ValueLicensing over the resale of software licenses rumbles on.
From SA is a maintenance program for biz customers, purchased with volume licenses. It provides upgrades without extra cost, license mobility, training vouchers, virtualization rights and more.
The scheme was launched in 2014, giving customers a way to shift perpetual licenses with Software Assurance to Microsoft's cloud services. It involved a discount and represented a bridge to the company's Microsoft 365 model.
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It also required that the "customer retains the corresponding Qualifying Licenses throughout its From SA license subscription period" (from the company's February 2021 Product Terms [DOCX file]), prohibiting resale of the old perpetual licenses.
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It sounds rather familiar when considering the core of the ValueLicensing allegations: that Microsoft deliberately choked off the supply of perpetual licenses to the secondhand market by persuading customers not to resell their licenses in return for favorable Microsoft 365 rates. The From SA program, which ended in 2024, has loomed large in the case. Now the claimant wants more detail.
Jonathan Horley, boss at reseller ValueLicensing (VL), told The Register: "VL believe the 'From SA' program was designed and intended to keep perpetual Office and Windows licenses off the market at precisely the point Microsoft was shifting everyone to Office/Microsoft 365, stifling competition.
"This affected VL directly and everyone having to buy or sell those products from 2014 to 2024 across the UK and Europe. This is why we are issuing an application for further disclosure on the program and resisting the Stay application which continues a long list of delaying tactics used by Microsoft since 2020."
The case is before the UK's Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) and has taken a few twists and turns since ValueLicensing lodged the original complaint in 2021. The claim for £270 million in damages concerned alleged restrictive licensing practices that prevented Microsoft customers from reselling their perpetual licenses in return for a discount.
Microsoft's latest legal manoeuvre was to claim in November that the resale of secondhand software licenses infringed its copyright and companies selling only a portion of their licenses were not permitted to do so. The CAT disagreed and did not find in favor of the American software and cloud giant.
At the time, Microsoft told The Register it would appeal against the judgment. Microsoft has a lot to lose if proceedings do not go its way. ValueLicensing is not the only company crying foul over alleged sharp licensing practices in the pre-owned software market. Another action that could result in a multibillion-pound payout for UK customers was filed in 2025.
The disclosure application follows Microsoft's request for a stay of proceedings, which The Register understands was intended to allow all appeals to be heard before the case resumes, thus avoiding a significant delay. However, we've also seen paperwork suggesting that a cost factor was involved. Horley called the stay application an example of "delaying tactics" by Microsoft.
While the terms and conditions surrounding the From SA licensing were always a factor in this case, the disclosure request ups the ante. The program was global and helped funnel customers to Microsoft's cloud services.
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Microsoft's switch to a copyright claim might - pending appeal - have backfired, as a subsequent deeper dive into the From SA program could leave the company wishing it had simply gone down the route of a no-fault settlement years ago, before the stakes started getting higher. ®