A friend has acquired a number of microsoft software products (office, visio, project)

Original discs in opened original packages and with license codes, believed to be from company that's gone bust or got rid due to update ( not stolen)

Is there a way to find out if the codes are still in use?

What is the legal position for selling these, for example what happens if the license codes are still being used, do the microsoftwarepolice come knocking on your door?

Advice appreciated.

Oh, another q. Are the ms license codes specific to a product type or not? E.g. can code for ms office activate ms visio?

[Edited on 28/5/15 by 02GF74]

The best way to find out is to use them. Either they work, or the code gets rejected. If it gets rejected them MS's usual approach is to offer you a chance to buy a license. If you don't take up the offer then the code just doesn't work.

Also, I've had a code rejected in totally legit circumstances and ended up phoning their support line. Explained the situation, and they gave me a substitute code that allowed the system to work.

In the end, if you've got the original disk, and the label that has the original code, then they tend to let it go and enable it.

Technically, if they are OEM products, the license dies with the machine they were installed on and cannot be used on any other computer.