Microsoft has heard the uproar from customers over the draconian Office 2013 licensing limitations, and it has relented. Today, Microsoft announced an update to Office 2013 retail licensing agreement that should quell the uprising and force customers to put away the torches and pitchforks.

Effective immediately, customers who purchase (or have already purchased) the Office Home and Student 2013, Office Home and Business 2013, Office Professional 2013 suites, or any of the standalone Office 2013 applications can move the software to another computer once every 90 days.

A couple weeks ago, Microsoft explained the Office 2013 licensing to specify that it is non-transferrable. In a nutshell, if you bought Office 2013 and installed it on a PC, and then that PC was stolen next week, Microsoft would expect you to buy a brand new copy of Office 2013 to install on your new replacement PC.

When I asked for further clarification, a Microsoft spokesperson told me, “Office 2013 has the same licensing provisions around transferability as the equivalent Office 2010 package, which was the package purchased by most Office 2010 customers.”

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