OK -





But that does not explain why their systems do not alert the user that they are blocking their key, nor why they do not de-activate the product when it checks for updates - which I still get currently on my present install.



Looks like it's going to be LibreOffice when I re-install windows.

Firstly, MS does not know or need to know who the users are. All MS needs to know is whether a valid key is supplied at the time or registration, not what the key was. As for MS Update, you're assuming it needs to check the product key, but there's no basis for such an assumption. All MS update needs to know is that the product is installed - even during a trial period, for which no key is required.

__________________
Cheers,
Paul Edstein
[Fmr MS MVP - Word]