virtualbox.org

Hello,
when I clone a Windows 7 machine with an activated license, the cloned machine has a Windows 7 not activated license. Is it a matter of licensing policy?
Best regards;

It's a different PC with a different hardware signature. This is what the Windows' activation check was designed to detect.

By the Windows 7 era Microsoft was perfectly aware that PC disks can be imaged and the image transferred to new hardware (that the new hardware might be virtual isn't relevant), so the activation check certainly wouldn't fail to detect that. Also I believe the Win7 written license for the first time had explicit mention that VMs require their own license even on the same physical hardware: however questions about Windows licensing are best directed at Microsoft, as nothing anyone says here can be definitive.

Ok, Thank you very much.