DIY device tinkerer iFixit weighs in on 15-month jail term for PC recycler DIY repair outfit iFixit has weighed in on the fate of PC reseller Eric Lundgren, who is due to spend up to 15 months in the clink following copyright infringement charges. iFixit is no stranger to repair and recycling legal issues, being a vocal supporter of Right to Repair legislation. "We tried to broker a peace before …
Dual boot with elementary os (ubuntu) or manjaro (arch) using rEFInd. Doesn't take long before you forget why and when you last booted into windows... until you boot into windows. Do I want to waste another hour or two waiting for that 4gb-ish borked update loop to fail again?
He appeared to be going to extreme lengths to produce authentic looking counterfit disks (setting up a manufacturing line in line in China) - my impression was he was aiming to profit by selling disks to refurbishers at a lower cost than the $25 per machine that Microsoft currently charge.
"I thought he was using them with the original product keys though"
Doesn't matter, you put a company logo on something it's counterfeit.
I can't go and buy brake pads in China slap a Mercedes logo on them and sell them (or Ben give them away) what makes it different because it's software/MS
As I understood the original arguments, he was neithere selling the software nor was it counterfeit. He had downloaded the software from Microsoft themselves and had only facilitated the counterfeiting of the labels and packaging.
"Unlike most e-recyclers, Mr Lundgren sought out counterfeit software which he disguised as legitimate and sold to other refurbishers. This counterfeit software exposes people who purchase recycled PCs to malware and other forms of cybercrime, which puts their security at risk and ultimately hurts the market for recycled products."
Of course the software exposes users to malware and cybercrime, it's f**king Windows.
He downloaded legitimate ISO images of installation media and had them manufactured into discs to give away with recycled machines to use with the machines legitimate OEM keys for those less fortunate people who can't afford an internet connection.
Microsoft are bloody scumbags on this one
He however *resold* the discs to other resellers to use.
Even if that was just to defray his costs, the fact he *sold* them makes him a purveyor of fake goods (they were *not* printed by/for Microsoft, which makes them fake), even if they came off the official ISOs. The law is very clear.
And yes, Microsoft didn't bring this lawsuit, the feds did. Microsoft was just tapped as witness for the prosecution.
If he and his fellow resellers had clubbed together with costs and then had them printed, the whole thing would've been a bit more of a grey area, although the feds would've still made a case for copyright infringement and passing off.
If he and his fellow resellers had clubbed together with costs and then had them printed, the whole thing would've been a bit more of a grey area, although the feds would've still made a case for copyright infringement and passing off.
the only thing that breached copyright was the use of the logos.... if they had just used a plain disk without Microsoft of the DELL logo there would be nothing to answer in court.
"Microsoft are bloody scumbags on this one"
Except:
1. Microsoft didn't bring about the case it was US customs.
2. There was nothing stopping him putting the iso on the pc and providing instructions for burning the disk (he could even supply a blank disk if required)
3. He could have provided an actual restore disk for the machine rather than a generic windows CD.
4. MS provide several FREE ways for resellers to get restore media to the end user Taht he could have used.
What he did was order legitimate LOOKING disks from China to make his operation look more professional.. no other industry/company would allow you to brand your products with their logo and get away with it, why is this different?
What he did was order legitimate LOOKING disks from China to make his operation look more professional.. no other industry/company would allow you to brand your products with their logo and get away with it, why is this different?
its different because all he did was use a couple of logos which is just a civil matter for Microsoft to chase for unauthorised use. They claimed each disk deprived them of a sale of a windows licence, even though the computers already had a licence.
he should not have used the respective logos...
"its different because all he did was use a couple of logos which is just a civil matter for Microsoft to chase for unauthorised use. They claimed each disk deprived them of a sale of a windows licence, even though the computers already had a licence"
Nope, If you're not going to read the bloody articles I'm not going to engage with you.
This has nothing to do with the hardware, he was using counterfeit Windows recovery disks,
This has nothing to do with counterfeit recovery disks. its about copyright infringement on a logo.
The software on the disks was and still is freely available to download at no cost. the problem was that he made the disks look like the originals that would have been distributed with the hardware. It had the Microsoft and Dell logos on them.
If he just produced a plain disk with restore disk in a permanent marker on it then there would have been nothing to answer to in court.
Microsoft outright lied in court and made out that it was counterfeit software and gave it a value of the software to that of a windows licence instead of a value of £0 for a freely available download. They said that a restore disk and a software licence is the same thing.
This post has been deleted by its author
If you find yourself in need of a so-called ‘Oxford comma’ it’s because you need to rephrase your poorly constructed sentence properly in the first place, not bodge it up with some half-arsed attempt to polish a turd.
In fact, here’s a clue: S …E …MI … CO … LON!
Exactly.
I notice that iFixit also neglected to mention that you can punch in your Windows license number and download the ISO directly from Microsoft.
The issue was his copying the DVDs and plastering Microsoft, Windows and AFAIK Dell logos on them.
This case has absolutely nothing to do with recycling. It seems like iFixit is using any excuse to push their agenda.
What does somebody infringing IP rights have to do with the recyclability of Microsoft products?
I agree with iFixit, in general, about the state of modern products and their lack of reparability. I can remember in my childhood that we would grab a soldering iron and swap out defective components and that the family TV lasted over 20 years. Heck, my mother received a mixer when she married, it was still working 40 years later, and she used it regularly. The replacement only lasted about 3 years...
But I think they are doing themselves a disservice in this case by blurring the facts to fit their own agenda.
" I can remember in my childhood that we would grab a soldering iron and swap out defective components"
A soldering iron? You were lucky. We had to swap out defective components with a piece of hot coal plucked from fire and our TV is still going strong after half a century.
You don't know you're born. We had to run two sticks together on the PCB and hope that the solder gave out before our fingers!
YOU HAD SOLDER.....
YOU DONT KNOW YOU WERE BORN.....
we had to go down a tin mine and a lead mine.... then using a bit of broken glass focused it on the ore to extract the metal,,, and we had to use tree sap as flux !!!!
What rights are infringed? The OEM makes the restore tools available to everyone for free. You download them and burn them onto DVD. If you have a product key and are using it with the right OEM computer they work, if you don't they don't.
This case has absolutely nothing to do with recycling. It seems like iFixit is using any excuse to push their agenda.
You refurbish a computer or get yours ready for sale - do you leave the data on there or reset to a clean install?
You change the hard drive - you need a clean install.
This is about your right to do stuff with your hardware, that includes reuse and second hand. There was no piracy. Nobody lost out.
And MS, the disingenuous bastards, didn't bring the case but were called as a witness and told a pack of lies. The value of the freely available software is in the licence and the OEM computer, not the downloading of it and burning it onto DVD.
@Dan 55
What rights are infringed? The OEM makes the restore tools available to everyone for free. You download them and burn them onto DVD. If you have a product key and are using it with the right OEM computer they work, if you don't they don't.
Not quite. Yes, individuals can download and burn their own DVD. No problem.
A "company" downloads it, burns it onto a DVD and puts labels on the DVD that make it look like an official Microsoft / Dell DVD and then sells it. Bad. They are infringing MS intellectual property and, under US law, Microsoft have to take action, if they know about it, or they lose the IP.
So what we have here is a case of someone putting the word Microsoft Windows or Dell on a DVD in the same font style that Microsoft or Dell use, is that right? And that's why this man should go to jail for 15 months.
Are you really arguing that if one man refurbishing computers and supplying the restore DVD with it were not put away then MS would lose their IP worldwide? MS didn't even take action themselves against the man, they were just called as a witness. That's how scared of losing their IP they were.
He was having the DVDs professionally printed, with proper MS, Windows and Dell logos and selling them to other refurbishers. That is counterfeit.
Whether it is perfume, a pair of sneakers or a software DVD doesn't matter, it is illegal and he was profiting from it.
The law is clear and Microsoft's hands are tied in such a case, the law is very specific.
The DVDs didn't work without the computer. What he was guilty of at most was selling Nike shoeboxes without the shoes inside.
The law is clear and Microsoft's hands are tied in such a case, the law is very specific.
No, the judge wasn't obliged to take heed of MS' $700,000 damages figure used to determine the severity of the crime and the sentence. For a start, the damage to MS and the OEMs was $0. Another witness argued as such.
How Microsoft helped imprison a man for ‘counterfeiting’ software it gives away for free
In fact an expert witness, Glenn Weadock, who had previously been involved in a 2001 government antitrust case against Microsoft, appeared in court to argue these very points.
Weadock was asked what the value of the discs is without a license or COA. “Zero or near zero,” he said. The value is a “convenience factor,” he said, in that someone can use a pre-made disc instead of burning their own or having the manufacturer provide it.
"Are you really arguing that if one man refurbishing computers and supplying the restore DVD with it were not put away then MS would lose their IP worldwide?"
Wasn't the shipment (one of many) a batch of around 10k disks?
Hardly a guy fixing up a few pics for ebay...
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