This has something to do with the First Sale doctrine, a short summary 
of which can be found here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First-sale_doctrine

Excerpts:
The doctrine of first sale allows the purchaser to transfer (i.e. sell, 
rent, or give away) a particular, legally acquired copy of protected 
work without permission once it has been obtained. That means the 
distribution rights of a copyright holder end on that particular copy 
once the copy is sold.
...
As codified in section 117 (Limitations on exclusive rights: Computer 
programs 
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limitations_on_exclusive_rights:_Computer_programs>) 
of US copyright law, consumers cannot make copies of computer programs 
contrary to a license, but may resell what they own.
...
The first-sale doctrine as it relates to computer software is an area of 
legal confusion. Software publishers claim the first-sale doctrine does 
not apply because software is licensed, not sold, under the terms of an 
End User License Agreement (EULA). The courts have issued contrary 
decisions regarding the first-sale rights of consumers.

Two cases are summarized in the article.  One pointing to someone 
unbundling software and reselling the bits (legal since he never agreed 
to the eula) and another ruled for the eula - they had clicked agreed 
and agree so the eula was binding.

A few years ago to OEM license was relaxed slightly (probably to avoid 
some legal fights, and likely due to the software becoming bound to the 
hardware through activation) and one could purchase an OEM copy of 
Windows 'bound' to a mouse.  The deal was that if you weren't a reseller 
(I was, so perhaps I'm mistaken about a regular customer) you have to 
purchase the software in conjunction with a hardware purchase.  
Originally this used to be limited to HDs and CPUs or entire systems.

But all the EULAs of recent (several years old) MS software have 
included clauses that prohibit one from 'relicensing' the software - the 
software was always licensed, never sold.  In fact, if you read 
carefully you will find that some editions prevent sale or relicensing 
as part of the computer.  You sell the computer, and you must wipe the 
software from it and destory the software - the license was with that 
computer and the original purchaser.  Break the two apart and the 
license is no longer valid.

I doubt it was ever enforced, but it was, IIRC, a valid interpretation 
of the EULA.

All in all, a very shady business.  There are efforts legally redefine 
software as non copyrightable.  This presumably would work in the 
industry's favor, since the  GPL would not be enforcable (depends on 
copyright) and all software would be bound by licensing terms 
manufacturers could set.  I doubt it'll happen, but stranger things have 
been done before.

Recently I've had to replace the motherboard and several other major 
components in a computer and called MS to have the software 
reactivated.  They did not balk at reactivating the software even though 
it was essentially a new system with the old software.  It was OEM, but 
the only question they had was, "Is this software running on more than 
this computer?"  and then activated it once I said "no, it was fried by 
lightening."  I suspect they were being nice because the eula doesn't 
make allowances for acts of god (or toddlers).

-Adam

Russell McMahon wrote:

> Terms of Microsoft System Builder licence as of 1 July 2004
> ie OEM licences
>
>        http://www.microsoft.com/oem/sblicense/default.mspx
>
>
> End user licence agreements
> (ie retail packs)
>
>        http://www.microsoft.com/office/eula/en.mspx
>
> ________________________________________________
>
> It may surprise you what it takes to *legally* buy a copy of used 
> Microsoft "end user" (= retail) software from someone else, according 
> to Microsoft. Quite apart from whether these requirements are moral, I 
> wonder if these requirements are legally binding? If so, then most 
> resold Microsoft software is illegal.
>
> System builder (= "OEM") software appears to require that the original 
> hardware that it came with is resold with it. "Came with my PC and I 
> don't need it" doesn't work. Even "was on a PC that I trashed" doesn't 
> work.
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