Vista to XP downgrade fees under legal threat
With Microsoft heavily restricting the distribution of Windows XP, several manufacturers and retailers now charge a downgrade fee to replace Vista on new machines. If a new legal challenge is successful, Microsoft could wind up footing the bill for those downgrades.
The case comes from Emma Alvarado who bought a Lenovo laptop and paid the manufacturer $59.25 extra to replace the installed Vista Business with Windows XP Professional.
She argues Microsoft’s policies which restrict how firms can offer XP on new machines violates three Washington state laws by artificially increasing prices for both versions of Windows.
Alvarado’s claim itself isn’t a major financial deal: she’s only seeking her legal costs, plus three times her actual damages: in other words $177.75. However, she’s asking both for a ruling that Microsoft be forced to change its behaviour and that the case become a class action suit. If that happened and Microsoft lost, it could have to pay out millions to people who’ve opted for a downgrade option.
The lawsuit makes an interesting claim which unfortunately it fails to support with any specific citation. If the plaintiff is to be believed, “To date, nearly one in three consumers purchasing a new computer has paid to downgrade the operating system from Vista to Windows XP.” Presumably that only covers those buying Vista machines, but is still, if true, an astonishingly high figure.
Microsoft’s defense appears likely to be that it doesn’t directly profit from the restrictions and that it’s retailers which pocket any extra charges. It said in a press statement that “Microsoft does not charge or receive any additional royalty if a customer exercises [downgrade] rights.”
The case has been assigned to US District Court Marsha Pechman who is also handling the ongoing ‘Vista Capable’ lawsuit. While neither case’s verdict should have a direct ruling on the other, it should mean Pechman has a better background knowledge than the average judge.
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February 17th, 2009
Boy oh boy, those consumers are an ornery bunch, aren’t they? Here’s a convicted monopolist simply trying to look like it’s earning an honest dollar, and people just won’t leave it alone.
“If that happened and Microsoft lost, it could have to pay out millions to people who’ve opted for a downgrade option.”
Oops, that could be embarrassing (and costly). No, not really, I’m just kidding – Microsoft’s sense of shame is in inverse proportion to its bank balance. Why, MS will go on forever and ever, because they’ve got $100 billion in cash, no $50 billion, no wait, it’s $30 billion – uh, how much have they got left now?