Yes, Licono is trustworthy. Since 2011 we have helped more than 20,000 customers buy genuine, legally resold software licences, each one backed by a VAT invoice and English-language customer support. On this page we explain openly and honestly how that is possible: why our prices are so low, why buying from us is completely legal, how an order works, and what to look out for whenever you buy cheap software online.
We understand the hesitation. Professional software like AutoCAD, Photoshop or Office for a fraction of the official price sounds almost too good to be true, so it is only natural to search for Licono reviews and to ask the honest questions: is Licono legit, is Licono safe, is Licono a scam? That is exactly why we hold nothing back. Below you will find precisely where our licences come from, which European court ruling makes the resale lawful, and why a low price in this particular case is not a red flag at all, but simply a fairer way to buy the software you already need.
Many people assume that reselling software is forbidden. Within the European Union, that is not the case. The resale of an existing, lawfully purchased software licence is expressly permitted, and that permission is exactly what Licono is built on. The foundation for it comes from a decision handed down by the highest court in the EU.
In the case of UsedSoft v Oracle (Court of Justice of the European Union, 3 July 2012, case C-128/11), the Court ruled that the maker of a piece of software cannot object to the resale of a licence that was previously sold within the European Economic Area. This principle is known as exhaustion of rights: once a rights holder has sold a copy of its software inside the EEA, its distribution right over that specific copy is “exhausted”. The maker has already been paid for it and can no longer block its onward sale.
What makes this ruling so significant is that the Court expressly decided it applies to software sold as a download, not only to a physical disc in a box. A downloaded licence and a licence on a DVD are legally equivalent. With that decision, the trade in second-hand software licences across the whole of the EU was placed on a firm legal footing.
There are clear conditions attached to resale, and we follow them strictly. The licence must originally have been sold for an unlimited period (a perpetual licence), the first owner must stop using their own copy, and the licence has to be genuine and complete, never a split volume or a shared account. So we sell no cracks, no stolen keys and no shared logins, only real licences that change ownership lawfully. The VAT invoice you receive from us makes each transaction provable and easy to verify, which is precisely what separates a legitimate purchase from a dubious one.
Want to dig deeper? Read is second-hand software legal? and why legal software matters.
The price difference is what raises the most questions, so let us be completely open about it. Manufacturers such as Autodesk, Microsoft and Adobe have shifted almost entirely to subscriptions over the past few years. You rent the software and pay again every single year. A year of AutoCAD from Autodesk, for example, costs around 2,600 euros, and that bill keeps coming back for as long as you use it. Feel free to check how much AutoCAD costs or how much Revit costs for current guide prices.
Licono does not sell new subscriptions. We sell existing licences that were issued earlier within the EEA and are now being resold lawfully. Because these are already-issued licences rather than a brand-new contract signed directly with the manufacturer, the price sits at a fraction of the official recommended one. On top of that, you pay once instead of every year. That is the whole secret: no trick, just a different origin for the very same licence.
And it is exactly the same software. You download the program straight from the manufacturer itself and activate it with the licence we supply. The features, file formats and updates within that version are identical to a licence bought directly from the manufacturer. The only difference lies in where the licence came from: resold rather than new.
Transparency starts with a clear process. Here is how an order with Licono works:
The fact that you activate on your own account is an important point. With dishonest sellers you are sometimes given access to a shared account that you split with strangers and that can be revoked at any moment. With Licono the licence sits on your own account with the manufacturer. If activation gets stuck anywhere, our support team walks you through it personally.
The shift to expensive subscriptions hits smaller players the hardest. A large company absorbs a yearly licence of a few thousand pounds without blinking, but a freelancer, a young business or a small studio feels it straight away. That is exactly the group we have helped most often since 2011: skilled professionals, freelancers, small firms, students, schools and non-profits for whom the official subscription prices are a genuine barrier, yet who still want to work with legal, professional software.
We believe good software should be affordable for everyone, not only for those with a large IT budget. Legal resale makes that possible, without forcing you to fall back on illegal keys or cracked versions that only put your business at risk.
Take a self-employed architect who has just started out on their own. For their first big commission, the renovation of a family home, they need both AutoCAD and Revit. From Autodesk, those two together quickly add up to more than 5,000 euros a year, money that simply is not there at the very beginning of a business. Without the software they cannot take the job, but with an expensive annual subscription they would be financially cornered before the project is even delivered.
Through Licono they chose a genuine, legally resold licence for a fraction of that amount, paid once rather than as a yearly recurring cost. They activated the software on their own Autodesk account, received a VAT invoice for their bookkeeping, and were able to take on the commission and deliver it on time. This is exactly the kind of business owner we meet most often: someone with the skills and the work in hand, but with a software bill that makes getting started almost impossible.
Or picture a graphic designer just starting out who needs Photoshop and Illustrator to serve their first clients, or a small engineering firm that wants to set up one extra workstation without immediately committing to another annual subscription. The pattern is always the same: legal software that would otherwise be out of reach becomes affordable again through resale. (These examples are illustrative and describe the type of customer we help every day, not named testimonials.)
Not every cheap supplier can be trusted, and we would rather tell you that ourselves than have you find out the hard way. Anyone worried that a bargain might be a scam should run through this checklist with every seller of low-cost software, including with us:
Licono meets every one of these points. We supply genuine licences with an invoice, activate on your own account, point openly to the legal basis, and remain reachable long after your purchase. If you are still asking whether Licono is a scam, run us through the list above and judge for yourself.
Cheap should never mean unsafe. That is precisely why it matters to know the difference between legally resold licences, like the ones Licono supplies, and the illegal alternatives floating around online. Cracked software, key generators and shared accounts look free or dirt cheap, but the real price is one you pay later.
Legally resold licences combine the best of both worlds: a fair, low price and the certainty of genuine, valid software on your own account. So you never have to choose between affordable and safe.
“This cheap? It must be illegal.” Not necessarily. The price tells you nothing about legality; what counts is where the licence came from. A legally resold licence with an invoice is just as legal as a new one, only cheaper.
“I will probably get a stripped-down or fake version.” No. You download exactly the same software from the manufacturer itself. Only the licence is resold, not the program.
“Surely reselling software is not allowed at all?” Within the EU it certainly is, thanks to the UsedSoft ruling. That is a decision from the highest European court, not a grey area.
“If something goes wrong, I am on my own.” Not with Licono. You have a real point of contact with English-language customer support and a does-not-work-money-back guarantee.
A low price should never come at the cost of certainty. That is why we stand behind what we deliver:
A frequent question is whether a developer can switch off your licence later on. With illegal keys or shared accounts that is a real risk. With a genuine, legally resold licence like the ones Licono supplies, it simply does not apply: it is a valid licence sitting on your own account. That is exactly why the origin of your licence matters so much, and why we never work with dubious keys.
Licono has been supplying legal, affordable software licences with English-language customer support since 2011. Over those years we have helped more than 20,000 customers, from freelancers and small businesses to students and schools. Transparency is part of trust, so we are open about who we are:
You can reach us by email and WhatsApp, including after you have bought something, and we are always happy to help you work out which licence suits you best. You can read our customer reviews on Trustpilot, among other places, so you can see for yourself what real Licono customers say. There is more about our story on the About Licono page.
Yes. Licono has been trading since 2011, has helped more than 20,000 customers, and supplies genuine, legally resold licences with a VAT invoice and English-language customer support. You activate the software on your own account with the manufacturer.
Yes. The resale of existing software licences issued within the EEA is permitted under the UsedSoft ruling of the Court of Justice of the EU (case C-128/11). We sell genuine licences, not cracks or shared accounts, so buying from Licono is both legit and legal.
A genuine, complete licence that you activate on your own account with Microsoft, Autodesk or Adobe. You share nothing with anyone else and keep control of your software yourself.
Yes, you receive a VAT invoice with every order. That makes your purchase provably legal and easy to enter neatly into your records.
Then our customer support helps you personally. If it turns out that it cannot be made to work at all, our does-not-work-money-back guarantee applies.
In most cases you buy a licence once rather than a recurring subscription. Each product page states clearly what you get and for which period.
With a genuine, legally resold licence on your own account, that does not apply. This risk mainly affects illegal keys and shared accounts, which are exactly the things we never work with.
Yes. Licono is the trading name of Licono Ltd (Company No. 16494958), based at Bradford Court 123-131, B12 0NS Birmingham, United Kingdom. We have been trading since 2011 and offer English-language customer support by email (info@licono.com) and WhatsApp.
Browse our range of legal, affordable licences for Windows, Office and Autodesk, or simply put your question to our customer support team. We are glad to help you find the right licence, at a fair price and with complete peace of mind.
