Please confirm

Question

Dear Sir,

My company is a small business, and we purchased a perpetual license for Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2021 English APAC EM NotPuertoRico in 2023.

I would like to ask whether this license is intended for personal use or for business use.

Our company purchased it from an authorized reseller and received a valid VAT invoice. The software has been installed on only one computer in our office for use by one employee.

Under these circumstances, is our company in compliance with Microsoft's licensing terms, or are we in violation of any licensing requirements?

Thank you so much

Le

Answer 1

Hi Nippon,

Thank you for your inquiry. 

Based on the information you provided, Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2021 is generally a business/organization edition of Microsoft Office and is typically distributed through Microsoft's Volume Licensing programs rather than as a consumer product. 

If your company: 

• Purchased the license from an authorized Microsoft reseller; 
• Received a valid purchase invoice; 
• Obtained a genuine, properly assigned license; 
• Installed the software on only one device in accordance with the license granted; and 
• Uses the software within your organization, 

then there is no indication from the facts provided that your company is violating Microsoft's licensing requirements. 

However, whether the deployment is fully compliant ultimately depends on the specific license acquired and the associated Microsoft licensing documentation. Microsoft Volume Licensing products are licensed under particular terms, and compliance is determined by those terms rather than simply by successful activation.  

For complete certainty, I recommend retaining: 

• The reseller invoice and proof of purchase; 
• Any license agreement or licensing confirmation received from the reseller; 
• The product key and activation records. 

If desired, Microsoft or the reseller can verify the licensing channel and entitlement associated with the purchased product. 

Based solely on the circumstances you described, your company's use of Office Professional Plus 2021 on a single office computer for one employee appears consistent with normal business use and does not by itself suggest a licensing violation. 

For more information, please refer to the following links: 

• Microsoft Office | Microsoft Volume Licensing 
• Compare desktop productivity suites available through volume licensing 
• What is difference between office 2021 Professional and office 2021 Professional Plus 

I hope this information is useful. Additionally, as other users have raised similar concerns and may not be aware of where to share their feedback, I hope this response helps clarify the situation and suggests a potential next step. Highlighting this information can make it more visible to others in the community who may be facing the same issue, making it easier for them to find guidance and contribute their feedback as well. 

Thank you again for your time and for raising this important usability concern. If you have any further questions or need additional assistance, please don’t hesitate to reach out. 

I look forward to your thoughts on this. 

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