FAQ
– YOUR QUESTIONS, OUR ANSWERS–
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
General
Questions
HOW DO I IDENTIFY A REPUTABLE VENDOR?
A reputable vendor discloses the complete chain of ownership from first purchaser to each maintenance renewal up to the sale
without gaps.
Software Broker provides the same level of transparency that the first purchaser himself obtained. Every licence agreement, manufacturer’s confirmation, copyright summary of purchase procedures, upgrade path, chain of ownership and much more.
Before the final purchase you can convince yourself of the quality and legal certainty of our licences in a web session setting.
WHAT IS USED SOFTWARE?
Used software are programs with licences that have been used before. Companies that bought software licences and for example switch to a lease model, can sell their old licences to a second-hand software vendor.
These vendors can then resell the licences that have been freed from use this way to other companies. The benefit of used software is the substantially lower cost compared to a new purchase. It is also possible to purchase older software versions that are no longer sold by the manufacturer himself.
IS THE PROCESSING COMPLIANT WITH THE MANUFACTURER?
Yes! We exclusively sell licences with a completely seamless chain of ownership.
We already provide additional information, more specifically documents that are necessary for a conclusion of contract with the offer.
We then deliver the contract number, licence key, Product Use Rights, complete documentation of previous owners and all statements of deinstallation after the successful conclusion. You receive a complete documentation of the chain of ownership from us and can therefore comfortably face your next licence audit.
If required, we gladly provide additional documents such as:
- Gutachten eines Rechtsexperten bezüglich der Nutzung von gebrauchter Software
- Reports of a legal expert regarding the use of used software
- Certificate of an independent accountant
- The confirmation of a business/ professional liability insurance for unforeseeable risks with a 10 million Euro sum insured
WHAT IS THE SAVING POTENTIAL WITH USED VOLUME LICENCES?
50–70% costs can be saved when buying original software from the secondary market.
ARE THE LICENCES ORIGINAL PRODUCTS?
Yes, we exclusively deal with original products! And we guarantee our customers a seamless chain of ownership for every product purchased from us. An experienced accountant meticulously examines each software sale. That ensures a lawful transaction.
IS THE PURCHASE OF USED SOFTWARE DISADVANTAGEOUS IN ANY WAY WHEN COMPARED TO THE PURCHASE OF NEW SOFTWARE?
No! Used software offers you the same quality as new software. Software is a product that, unlike many other consumer goods, is not subject to wear and tear.
In fact: quite a number of software versions that are still in use in companies and at public authorities are no longer available as new goods. This represents an extremely cost-effective alternative to the purchase of new licences – with a savings potential of up to
50–70%.
DURING WHAT PERIOD OF TIME ARE THE LICENCES DELIVERED TO ME?
Most of our deliveries happen from our warehouse stock. Usually you receive your delivery withing 1–3 working days. You can also individually coordinate the date with our sales team.
Legal
Questions
IN WHICH COUNTRIES MAY USED SOFTWARE BE SOLD?
The right of distribution of the manufacturer is exhausted the moment the software was brought into the market of the European Union, or rather the European Economic Area, with the permission of the manufacturer.
The licences may than be used internationally, according to the Product Use Rights.
MUST THE SOFTWARE PRODUCER AGREE TO THE SALE OF USED SOFTWARE?
No. An approval of the respective manufacturer to the sale of used software is not necessary. The right of distribution of the manufacturers is exhausted with the first sale of his software within the EU. This is stated in the ruling of the European Court of Justice from 2012. The Court of Justices finally ruled that the principle of exhaustion for the copyright law applies to software licences in December 2014.
WHAT EVIDENCE DO I HAVE TO PROVIDE WITHIN THE SCOPE OF AN AUDITING/ PRODUCTION OF A LICENCE BALANCE SHEET?
Every document that you were provided by us, including our commercial documents. This includes: the delivery note, order confirmation, invoice, and contract of sale.
The following evidence should also be presented:
- Contract number of the volume licence agreement
- Amount of bought licences
- Declaration of destruction of software of previous owners
With Software Broker you are on the safe side – we act completely transparent!
You receive a seamless documentation of the chain of ownership that is way beyond the required extent. In case of an audit we are gladly available for your support.
DOES SOFTWARE BROKER ALSO BUY AND SELL FROM/TO PRIVATE INDIVIDUALS?
Unfortunately, not. We only buy and sell used software licences from commercial use. For this reason, the offer is directed solely at commercial enterprises, associations, societies, and authorities, as well as social and health facilities.
Microsoft
IS IT PERMITTED TO INDEPENDENTLY SELL SINGLE SOFTWARE LICENCES FROM VOLUME LICENCE CONTRACTS?
In December 2014, the BGH ruled that is permitted to split and sell volume licences if the first purchaser disables a corresponding amount of copies.
That means, for example:
The first purchaser has purchased 1.000 volume licences with a permanent right of use und permanently does not use 500 of those licences anymore. He sells those 500 licences to a software vendor (i.e. software broker) who may then split these as required if no more than 500 licences are resold in sum. According to the ruling mentioned above, this splitting is legal.
WHAT IS INCLUDED IN THE DELIVERY SCOPE OF MY VOLUME LICENCE?
Software Broker provides the same level of transparency that the first purchaser himself obtained! The original licence agreement, the corresponding contract numbers, licences keys, the Product Use Rights, the complete documentation of precious owners up to all statements of deinstallation, the copyright summary of purchase procedures, upgrade path and much more.
Upon request we gladly provide a downloadable image of the software.
WHERE ARE THE LICENCES FROM?
From volume licence agreements (for example Enterprise Agreements) of the Microsoft Corporation, that have initially been made with middle-size and large corporations.
WHAT KEYS ARE PROVIDED?
The volume licence keys MAK/KMS from the respective volume licence agreements (from the so-called commercial sector).
CAN I ALSO UPDATE USED SOFTWARE?
Yes, in this regard, there is no difference to new software. Even as a second buyer, you can continue to update used software licences from the respective manufacturer.
WHAT DOES INNOVATION SECURITY MEAN IN RELATION TO USED SOFTWARE?
Microsoft releases new software versions to the market in a regular 3-year cycle. You can for example purchase the most current software licences like Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2021 and the
Core CAL Suite per User in the current software version from us.