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posted by janrinok on Sunday April 29 2018, @10:14PM   Printer-friendly
from the another-life-ruined dept.

Microsoft's corporate vice president of communication Frank X. Shaw has given the company's take on the conviction of Eric Lundgren for allegedly ordering unauthorized copies of Windows:

In the last few days there have been several stories about the sentencing of Eric Lundgren in a case that began in 2012, and we have received a number of questions about this case and our role in it. Although the case was not one that we brought, the questions raised recently have caused us to carefully review the publicly available court documents. All of the information we are sharing in this blog is drawn from those documents. We are sharing this information now and responding publicly because we believe both Microsoft's role in the case and the facts themselves are being misrepresented.

  • Microsoft did not bring this case: U.S. Customs referred the case to federal prosecutors after intercepting shipments of counterfeit software imported from China by Mr. Lundgren.
  • Lundgren established an elaborate counterfeit supply chain in China: Mr. Lundgren traveled extensively in China to set up a production line and designed counterfeit molds for Microsoft software in order to unlawfully manufacture counterfeit discs in significant volumes.
  • Lundgren failed to stop after being warned: Mr. Lundgren was even warned by a customs seizure notice that his conduct was illegal and given the opportunity to stop before he was prosecuted.
  • Lundgren pleaded guilty: The counterfeit discs obtained by Mr. Lundgren were sold to refurbishers in the United States for his personal profit and Mr. Lundgren and his codefendant both pleaded guilty to federal felony crimes.
  • Lundgren went to great lengths to mislead people: His own emails submitted as evidence in the case show the lengths to which Mr. Lundgren went in an attempt to make his counterfeit software look like genuine software. They also show him directing his co-defendant to find less discerning customers who would be more easily deceived if people objected to the counterfeits.
  • Lundgren intended to profit from his actions: His own emails submitted as evidence before the court make clear that Mr. Lundgren's motivation was to sell counterfeit software to generate income for himself.
  • Microsoft has a strong program to support legitimate refurbishers and recyclers: Our program supports hundreds of legitimate recyclers, while protecting customers.

TechCrunch calls Microsoft's blog post "spin" for misrepresenting recovery discs as equivalent to entire licensed operating systems, hyping the "elaborate counterfeit supply chain", etc. Frank Shaw also defends the company in the comments for that article.

Also at The Verge.

Previously: 'E-Waste' Recycling Innovator Faces Prison for Trying to Extend Life Span of PCs


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 29 2018, @11:01PM (2 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 29 2018, @11:01PM (#673513)

    MS knew these were just worthless recovery disks

    On the other hand, a license code or a keygen are also worthless without the recovery disk...

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 30 2018, @03:44AM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 30 2018, @03:44AM (#673592)

    So you're saying a Windows license is worthless.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 30 2018, @06:41AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 30 2018, @06:41AM (#673616)

      Bingo! And not just worthless, less than worthless, since it ties you to a master who will rape you, fuck you over, stab you in the back, and give you blue screens of death. And all that before NT. And after, the involuntary colonscopy, the sharing of you contacts and friends and people you have shared biological matter with. . . Oh, dear. Well, fuck Bill Gates, and I hope his herpes flare ups are as bad as mine. I hope the rat-lung-worm infection that is Microsoft code produces the same ringing in the head, the inability to thing logically, the tendency to vote Republican, . . . OH, wait a minute! It all makes sense now. Kanye West is Microsoft Bob. How could I not have seen that before . . . . . .