If you're a pirate, your license remains "non-genuine"—what does that even mean?



From ArsTechnica:

That statement had one very confusing sentence: "If a device was considered non-genuine or mislicensed prior to the upgrade, that device will continue to be considered non-genuine or mislicensed after the upgrade." We reached out to Microsoft for clarification, to find out what it actually means to have a non-genuine copy of Windows 10. "We don’t have anything further to share outside of the statement at the moment."

Where does that leave us? Clearly, if you're running a pirated version of Windows 7 or 8.1, you will get a free upgrade to Windows 10—but it will still be considered "non-genuine or mislicensed." Does this mean that you'll get a nag screen every time you boot up? Does it mean that you can only use your PC for a few weeks before it locks you out and forces you to buy a license?

  The Windows 10 free upgrade for pirates: More confusing than it seems