If your copy of the 2007 Microsoft Office release came pre-installed on a computer you purchased from a computer reseller (i.e. not directly from the computer manufacturer) or from a local computer manufacturer, you may have a Microsoft Office Ready PC.

A Microsoft Office Ready PC is a personal computer that has a Microsoft Office Ready PC image installed. (An image is a file that contains the complete structure and contents of a disc.) This is a single image that can be converted to one of the following 2007 Microsoft Office suites: Office Basic 2007, Office Small Business 2007, and Office Professional 2007. It is also the only image that can convert to a free 60-day trial of Office Professional 2007. Microsoft Office Ready PCs are sold to customers with a media-less license kit (MLK) for the version of Office they purchase.

Unlike users who bought a copy of Microsoft Office as a boxed product from a store, separate from their computer purchase, your packaging does not include a disc. While you have the option of purchasing a recovery disc, you do not need to have a disc to have a genuine copy of Microsoft Office 2007.

You may choose to take advantage of the trial prior to making a purchase choice. In that case, if you choose to convert to a permanent copy of Microsoft Office, you will need to purchase a Microsoft Office media-less license kit (MLK) either from your computer reseller or online within 90 days of the purchase of your computer.

To check the genuine status of your copy of Microsoft Office acquired through the Office Ready program, you can compare the packaging and Certificates of Authenticity (COA) that you received when you purchased your computer. The Office Ready packaging is printed in black and white, not in full color, as shown in the image above.

Retail COA Attached to the packaging are two COAs. On the outside of the case is a special retail COA. It has the same piracy prevention features as the standard retail COA, but has different language. The COA features the product name printed on the label, as well as a background image created by repeating micro-printed words. These words are blue letters on a white background in a distorted curve. This COA has a rounded lower left corner.

The left side of the COA contains a transparent Port-Hole™ with individual paper fibers visible around the inside edge. Interwoven vertically through this Port-Hole™ is a metallic thread with well defined letters that read "OUR PASSION" in red and "MICROSOFT". One way to check whether your COA is genuine is to gently rip the edge of the COA to determine that the thread is actually interwoven into the fibers of the label rather than printed on top.

OEM COA Inside the case is an OEM COA. Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) versions of Microsoft software are licensed to computer manufacturers through two separate channels - large computer manufacturers and smaller System Builders. Versions of Office that are distributed with computers built by a System Builder will have the words "OEM Product" in big, bold letters towards the upper left corner of the COA. Versions of Office that came from large computer manufacturers will have the name of the computer manufacturer on the COA instead.

The Microsoft Office Ready program is not the only Office trial program. You can learn more about the trial programs or make your trial permanent via the 2007 Microsoft Office Trial Program page.