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MARKET 2007
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DECEMBER 2007 |
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COMPUTERWOCHE: MARKET FOR USED SOFTWARE IS GETTING MORE AND MORE PROFESSIONAL
According to Computerwoche, the market for used software is attracting more and more market participants, thereby referring to a recently published study of the consultancy firm Experton Group. In this study Experton states that the market has become more professional in general: the suppliers would dispose of skilled know-how about processes and methods. By comparing sales, the company usedSoft would presently be the market leader for used software within Germany and Central Europe. Experton is also focussing its interest on the different business models of the individual suppliers. Compared with mere brokers, the supply availability of dealers like usedSoft which are keeping licences in stock would be much better. In this way, a faster transfer of the software would be ensured.
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NOVEMBER 2007 |
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DIE WELT: A WELL-FORTIFIED SECOND-HAND EXPLOITER
A growing number of customers, increasing sales, international expansion: The trade with used software is booming, as it is summed up by Die Welt, when portraying Peter Schneider, Managing Director of the company usedSoft. Even the displeasedness of major IT-groups including Microsoft or Oracle does not have any negative impact on such consistently positive development: the company usedSoft has won all litigations so far, lastly before the Regional Court of Hamburg. According to the editorial office of Die Welt, the company name usedSoft is presently spread like wildfire in all IT-departments of the German economy. Meanwhile, there are about 600 customers including well-known companies such as Rewe, Edeka and KarstadtQuelle or authorities such as the Bavarian State Capital of Munich which benefit from the savings presented by the second-hand market.
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OCTOBER 2007 |
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SAT.1: USED SOFTWARE ON THE MARCH
SAT.1 reports from the Systems: What's new ? What are the trends for the next years ? Summing up, it may be said that used software is on the march. Instead of buying new licences, more and more companies consider used licences a most interesting alternative due to considerable savings resulting therefrom. 'One but the same product costs less then 25 to 55 percent compared to the new price charged on the market under favourable conditions', emphasizes Thomas Huth during his conversation with the broadcast station.
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OCTOBER 2007 |
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MAKE A CAREER WITH USEDSOFT
JobTV24, the first German television station focussing on subjects like job, career and consultancy for company founders, presents the company usedSoft in an almost four-minutes-long broadcast. According to the tv station, the concept of used software would awaken a great amount of sleeping capital: When buying new licences, the used programmes could simply be given in payment. Thus, a company could benefit from a cost-saving purchase and could simultaneously make some profit when getting rid of their old licences.
This is a profitable business idea: ' This year we will exceed the 10 million Euro sales limit, and we have ambitious expansion plans for the next years', explains Thomas Huth, person responsible for finances. Sales of 50 million Euro are aimed at within the next three years at the latest. In order to generate it, the team presently consisting of 40 staff members is considerably expanding at the moment. 'We are primarily looking for sales support - even within the countries, next to Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy, which we are just about to open up', emphasizes Dr. Reiner Hirschberg.
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OCTOBER 2007 |
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DEUTSCHE WELLE: SAVING COSTS WITH USED SOFTWARE
On the occasion of the Systems, the Deutsche Welle reports about the increasing used software market. Peter Schneider, Managing Director of usedSoft, explains how the trade with licences works: 'We are buying our licences from trustees in insolvency and from well-known German companies, often from DAX-quoted companies, which no longer need such software.' In this way, companies may save costs of up to 50 percent compared to the new price. They often offer their old licences in part exchange: 'This morning, we had been approached by a smaller customer here at the Systems who offered us 370 Windows NT', states Schneider. 'We bought them and sold him 420 Windows XP Professional at the same time. To buy and sell is our business.'
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SEPTEMBER 2007 |
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STATE & IT (SPECIAL PUBLICATION OF THE INFORMATIONWEEK): REDUCE COSTS BY MEANS OF USED SOFTWARE
The Bavarian State Capital of Munich does not see any reason to pay more for software than necessary, declares Chief Mayor Christian Ude. Cost savings of more than 50 percent compared with the price for new goods speaks clearly for itself. With this decision, the Bavarian State Capital is not out on a limb, according to Staat & IT, a trade magazine for persons being responsible for the IT-sector of the German Federal Government, of the German l䮤er and of the district administrations, which reports that: More and more public administration agencies cope with the increased cost pressure by making use of software which had already been used somewhere else before. The second-hand market would not only offer particularly favorable purchase conditions, but would also represent the only alternative to get older versions of a software product as well. These, in most cases, hardware preserving versions would be often fully sufficient with regard to its scope of functions but would regularly not be offered by the developers anymore.
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JULY 2007 |
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COMPUTERWOCHE: THE CAMPAIGNS AGAINST USED SOFTWARE MISS THE TARGET
All the strategies of the major software developers to torpedo the trade with used licences have failed, states Axel Oppermann, a consultant working for the consultancy firm Experton Group. This particularly applies to the juristic skirmish used by some software developers when making the attempt to cause the courts to render fast decisions in their favor which were rather contra-productive: Only after having drawn the medias attention to it, was a major public interest focused on such subject. The result: Today, the interest in the second-hand market is greater than ever before.
However, whats the reason for the developers to mobilize legions of lawyers and squads of marketing and public relations forces, asks Oppermann. On the whole, the second-hand market would not be bigger then a rounding-off difference in the business plan of a well-established software supplier despite its very dynamic growing. Oppermann draws a clear conclusion: The goal would not be to safeguard any intellectual property, as it is often represented, but only to secure well-established structures and licence models.
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JUNE 2007 |
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RT RETAIL TECHNOLOGY: MONEY SAVING WITHOUT ANY RISK
The trade with used software turns out to be a vivid business, states the EHI-magazine rt retail technology: According to a study of the Experton Group, the market volume could increase to 400 million Euro within the next few years. Different well-known trading firms, such as Edeka, one of usedSofts customers, has been working with used software for years and, to some extent, has benefited from savings of more than 50 percent. Meanwhile, threatening gestures made by Microsoft are considerably criticized by the retail market: Attempts to criminalize the trade with used software are more than dubious and not comprehensible from the buyers perspective, emphasizes Dr. Reinhard Managing Director of the IT and Organization Department of the Dohle Trading Group. Clear words are also spoken by Henry Taubald, Managing Director being responsible for the Purchase Department of KarstadtQuelle: The software developers want to frighten customers and traders at used software by telling them that they were doing something illegal. This way of criminalizing customers and used software traders is an impudence. This is particularly true when considering the recent ruling of the Regional Court of Hamburg: The sale of individual Microsoft licences which had been provided within the scope of volume licence contracts, is possible in an effective way even without Microsoft's consent.
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MAY 2007 |
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FTD: DISPUTE IS PROGRAMMED?
The FTD is astonished at the fact that Microsoft uses to avoid any direct legal confrontation with its business rival until now. The risk to establish facts against oneself seems to be too high, as it is assumed by the business paper. The judgments rendered by the courts rather had a second-hand-trade-friendly tendency. Instead of suffering another severe set-back before court again, they prefer to operate with the fear and uncertainty of the customers. Being an own goal, as it is shown, for instance, by focusing on usedSoft's customer KarstadtQuelle.
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MAY 2007 |
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JOBTV24: “MY WAY” – USEDSOFT ON JOBTV24
JobTV24 is the first television station in Germany which is exclusively concerned with subjects like job, career, and consultancy for business founders. In the program “My way”,successful entrepreneurs are telling their stories. Such as Peter Schneider and Thomas Huth: In a ten-minutes-long interview, both usedSoft founders are reporting about the very beginning of the business idea of “used software”, from the ups and downs of trying to find an investor, the competition caused by Indian horoscopes on mobile phones, and the successful defense against a Doberman-attack. If you want to hear more about how a simple idea at the beginning has turned to become not only an intensively growing company, but also an outrider for an entire business sector, please click here.
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MAY 2007 |
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COMPUTERWORLD: SWITZERLAND IN OCCASION FEVER
On the occasion of the Zurich IT-Trade Fair Orbit-iEX, the "Computerworld" reports about the growing market for used software in Switzerland. More and more Swiss companies prefer to buy used software licences instead of buying new licences. Under legal aspects, this would be unobjectionable. Thus, the editor?s office is referring to article 12 of the Swiss Copyright Law which explicitly states: ?If a creator sells a computer program or gives its consent to such sale, such program can be used or can be resold. However, in order to be on the legally safe side, the editor?s office recommends that a professional supplier should be chosen. usedSoft would exclusively offer a notarial certificate to its customers in which the seller would give evidence of being the lawful holder of the licence in the past and of not using such licence in the future anymore.
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MAY 2007 |
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CASH-DAILY: SECOND-HAND SOFTWARE COMES INTO FASHION?
The trade with used software licences is booming?, reports the Swiss Magazine for Economics CASH. In this regard, the Swiss usedSoft branch could gain 60 new customers since its foundation in autumn of last year. With tendency of growing numbers. Even the consultancy house Experton Group has confirmed this trend: For the German speaking area, Experton is forecasting an increase of the market for used software of 30 to 40 percent a year. Brilliant future prospects for the market leader usedSoft: ?In five years we will break through the 100 million Euro limit?, Managing Director Peter Schneider is convinced.
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MAY 2007 |
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DIE PRESSE: SECOND-HAND SOFTWARE
Whoever wants to buy software licences at a favorable price may purchase them from resellers as well, states the Austrian daily paper 'Die Presse'. The high prices for licences of the big software developers, but also the successes made against pirate copiers would be the reason for such new trend: After the booming of the business of used cars, now the business of used software is booming. According to the IT-market research company LSZ Consulting, more and more heads of EDP-departments are getting attracted by this German innovation which provided a saving potential of up to 60 percent to the companies. And this happened by rights: According to the precedence constituting judgment rendered by the Regional Court of Hamburg, the trade with used Microsoft volume licences is lawful without any restrictions. And this also applies, as it is explicitly stated, even ?without the consent of the US concern.
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APRIL 2007 |
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MÜNCHNER MERKUR: HOW A DWARF WANTS TO RUIN BILL GATES?
"Midge against elephant", a comparison made by the M?r Merkur when referring to the litigation between usedSoft and Microsoft. And it is true that the small Munich company with its successful business model makes the concern see red. Even to such an extent that last year the US giant wrenched a search warrant issued for the suspicion of fraud committed on a commercial basis from the Department of Public Prosecution. A waste of time. As: A few weeks after the search, the Public Prosecutors manifested on eleven pages that this action had been unnecessary. The proceedings were quashed, ?suspicion untenable. Meanwhile, the dwarf is continuously growing, the sales will probably exceed the 10 million limit in 2007. According to Merkur, this all happens with continuously splendid perspectives: Independent experts estimate that the market for used software presently amounts to approximately 30 million Euro. Tendency: Exploding.
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MARCH 2007 |
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USEDSOFT AT THE CEBIT: THE NDR 1 “FAIR – RADIO REPORTS
In its CeBIT-report, the NDR 1 appeared to be impressed about the fact that in the fast-moving high-tech world there are still companies existing which are able to earn quite a lot of money with used things on the computer sector: The radio station informed its audience that companies could benefit from considerable cost savings when buying used software. As this software would not only be fully functioning, but also, above all, much more favorable with respect to prices. The consequence: Meanwhile, many banking institutes, insurance companies and car suppliers prefer to buy used software instead of new software.
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MARCH 2007 |
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SÜDDEUTSCHE ZEITUNG: USED SOFTWARE A MILLION BUSINESS?
The Süddeutsche Zeitung reports about the million business with used software: More and more companies and authorities would save costs by buying used licences. Based on the outcome of the principal proceedings of the Oracle litigation, it is true that the trade with Oracle licences transmitted online is prohibited, but, according to the author Ekkehard Jentsch, only a few developers supply software to their customers online. The most wanted products such as products made by Microsoft, Adobe and SAP are still delivered on CDs or DVDs, so that you can take hold of them. And the trade with such products is admissible. Therefore, the Bavarian State Capital of Munich would be on the safe side, after having bought a number of 2,000 used Window licences from usedSoft.
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MARCH 2007 |
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EURO AM SONNTAG: THE DAVID FOR MICROSOFT
According to the well-known Magazine for Economics and Financial Matters "Euro am Sonntag", the Managing Director of usedSoft, Peter Schneider, is the "head of the week". In view of the litigation between the Munich company and the software giant Microsoft, the editor?s office feels being attracted by drawing biblical comparisons: Schneider would be "David for Microsoft" and would have become the "favorite enemy of the Gates concern" meanwhile. However, the latter would not succeed in overcoming this little opponent, as it is put by the Magazine. After all, Schneider would have the justice on his side: It has already been confirmed by several judgments that usedSoft's business model would not be vulnerable under legal aspects.
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JANUARY 2007 |
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IKB AKTUELL: 'WHAT DOES USED SOFTWARE ACTUALLY MEAN'?
"The more extensive and more often a program is used, the greater its benefit for the company will be", states the "IKB AKTUELL". Thus, used software would not only be as much worth as a new one, but would be worth even more than a new one: The enhancement in value would also be based on the fact that the difficulties to get familiar with a known software would be minimal, that the data standards would be known, and, as a result, that the exchange of data would not cause any problems. Moreover, the program would be well-tried in practice and unexpected sources of mistakes would be almost excluded. Prof. Dr. Alexander Wurzer, author of the article, makes the following conclusion: ? We are on the cusp of an economy of intellectual property, and the used software market is another interesting development.?
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Top 5 Articles
Computerwoche Online
Edition 10/2006
"Court Decision confirms Resale of Microsoft Volume Licences"
Zeitschrift für Urheber und Medienrecht
Edition 04/2006
"Used software and exhaustion rule: Frame conditions of a second-hand market for software"
Computer Zeitung
Edition 26/2006
"Companies want Second-Hand licences"
Computer Zeitung
Edition 6/2006
"An artificial differentiation"
Deutscher Vertriebs- und Verkaufs-Anzeiger
Edition April 2006
"Why does software have to be expensive? No wearout guaranteed: " Used" software"
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