About Licensing

Frequently Asked Questions About Improved Product Use Rights Design

Microsoft now has a new design for the Product Use Rights (PUR) to improve its use and readability. The latest PUR also has a new layout, organized by product, to make it easier to find license terms for specific products all in one place and to cross-reference related products.

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Why redesign the PUR?

In past years, adding new products and including exceptions to specific use rights have made the PUR very difficult to understand. Customers and partners told us that it was also difficult to find information on product use rights for a specific product. The new PUR design has several benefits, including the following:

  • Navigability: Is organized the way you need to use it for simple navigation.

  • Readability: Is easier than before to find and understand specific product use rights.

  • Consistency: Has improved structure, same layout for each product, and a glossary for defined terms.

License terms for existing products have not changed except as specifically noted for new versions that Microsoft introduces as part of the regular update cycle.

What’s new in the PUR?

We have reorganized some of the content and updated the formatting in the PUR to make it easier to find license terms for individual products and to navigate through the document. These changes are based on customer and partner input and include the following:

  • Product-specific license terms are now organized by product rather than together with other products under the same licensing model.

  • Certain attributes, such as available license types (Client Access Licenses [CALs], External Connector [EC] licenses, Management Licenses [MLs], and Select Licenses [SLs]), applicable notices, and Software Assurance benefits are easily identified in the product-specific license terms.

  • Items in the table of contents (TOC) and throughout the product-specific sections are clickable links.

  • Common licensing terminology is clearly defined.

  • Notices and additional software lists have been isolated and addressed in separate appendices.

Did Microsoft add any new use rights in the redesign?

No. Only the design has changed. License terms for existing products have not changed except as specifically noted in the “Clarifications and Summary of Changes” section of the PUR. These changes are for new versions of the PUR that we introduce as part of the regular update cycle.

In addition, we have consolidated, reorganized, and simplified content to improve readability. However, these changes do not affect use rights.

When is the new PUR design available?

The improved PUR is accessible now in all available languages, and the new design will be used for all subsequent versions.

Download the new PUR

What does the new PUR look like?
Image of new PUR. Click for full-sized view.

Click for full-sized image

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