Microsoft gets sued over Windows XP downgrade fees
By Donald Melanson 
posted February 16th 2009 2:38PM
posted February 16th 2009 2:38PM
Microsoft may be doing its best to move past Windows XP once and for all, but a Los Angeles woman is alleging that the company is all too happy to bank some extra change on the OS in the meantime, and that it's essentially trying to have it both ways. As a result, she's now suing Microsoft over its XP "downgrade" fees, and requesting that the lawsuit be granted class-action certification so others can get a piece of the action. Apparently, Emma Alvarado bought a Lenovo PC last June and had to pay an additional $59.25 to downgrade to XP, which she claims is simply a case of Microsoft taking advantage of consumer demand for XP to pad its profits. The suit further alleges that the seemingly endless extensions of the XP deadline were "likely due to the tremendous profits that Microsoft has reaped from its 'downgrade' option." For Microsoft's part, it insists that the company itself "does not have a downgrade program," and that it doesn't get any of the money from the Vista-to-XP downgrade options.[Thanks, Cargojack]
Fucking Microsoft.. Such an evil corperation. I mean, Apple, and Nintendo would never use consumer demand to make profit
There are some pretty good points and an awful lot more bad points in this comment thread.
Mostly because people don't really know what the deal is between MS and the OEMs.
A friend of mine is the CEO of a large computer OEM that builds systems for the military, labs, and schools. I asked him how tier 1 OEMs like Dell, HP, and the like handle an XP downgrade. He has a similar license from MS as a Gold Partner.
Microsoft stopped shipping XP back in July 2008. The OEMs already owned copies of XP and an MS provided software package to generate CD-Keys on the fly. There is no clause in the OEM contract with MS that says an OEM can not downgrade to a previous version of an OS. Therefore, MS can not currently object to them doing this until the current contract expires.
Oh, one more thing. The OEM contract says that if you buy a computer from an OEM with Windows on it, all tech Windows support comes from the OEM. Not MS. Unless you are willing to pay MS for it. And, the license is not transferable.
Only the retail boxed version of Windows gets MS support and is transferable.
The OEMs have used this opportunity to market their product and keep machines going out the door. It's not an MS decision to keep XP selling.
MS really doesn't want them to downgrade to XP. But, the OEMs are in a winning position for their bottom line at the moment. Selling XP from the same CD over and over, generating their own CD-Keys, and charging a fee for THEIR services.
This whole downgrade thing was invented by the OEMs and is their responsibility. That is exactly what my CEO friend says is happening.
This woman doesn't have a leg to stand on. When it comes out that MS gets no money from the downgrade and has nothing to do with the downgrade marketing, the judge will toss her out on her ear.
Then she will sue the OEM. Watch.
Mike
http://savemybutt.com
Wow this post has 127 comments. Just goes to show how controversial this is. I find the fact that you have to pay more for an older OS lame, but that's the way life is. It would have been much nicer for Microsoft to put direct X 10 on XP but they didn't because they wanted people to get Vista so they could earn profits. Imagine spending hundreds or thousands of hours making a new OS and finding out people prefer the older one you had before. =) Personally im waiting for google to make an OS, maybe their own version of Linux?
GIVING XP OUT FOR FREE? "it insists that the company itself "does not have a downgrade program," and that it doesn't get any of the money from the Vista-to-XP downgrade options." That sentence tells me that they're giving OEMs XP for free and the OEMs are reaping in huge profits. Anyone else notice this?
Thats utterly impossible, and I'm not even gonna get started.
Again, there nothing wrong with downgrading. I agree completely that you could be using 3.1 and there's really nothing wrong with that. BUT WHY must MS lie so much!
Stupid people!
My ISP charges me for downgrading my plan...should I sue them too?
I'm not going to defend Vista because it's the worst OS that I've EVER used. But that aside, Microsoft is truly free to charge whatever the hell it wants for its product. If it watns to charge you more for an older version, TOUGH SHIT FOR YOU. They are completely free to do that. I don't agree with it, but that doesn't make it illegal.
That lady is a moron. Why should anyone expect Microsoft to give anyone a free license to their software? She might be downgrading, but I bet she also has a license for a copy of Vista as well. Microsoft has no obligation to give two operating systems to someone for the price of one. She should be thankful that she didn't have to pay the full license free for the full version of the OS.
If I were Emma I will do the same ....like what happend at http://www.earlyblogger.com
Read more also about Gadgets at http://www.gadgetbites.com
Regards
Julius- http://www.kidtechguru.com
So should NVidia or ATI get sued when a customer doesn't want a Nvidia card and downgrades to an ATI card and ends up paying more?
It's always from California....
Guys this is not how it works! If you are getting Microsoft Licences of any kind you are foreced to by the latest version and then have the right to downgrade to anything you want...The only other way you can do this is if you find an OEM disc of the oder operating system. Also you can only licence the pro software. There is no home licening program. So you cant go from vista home back to xp home as it can not be done from licencing. They had to upgrade to vista business in order to back to xp pro. You cannot do home if its not OEM.
@big J
E30 M3.
This is awesome... with the new Genuine Windows crap that they install with Windows Update, they are marking XP Pro installations with a valid Vista Business license key as invalid / pirated. Great, thanks, guys! Now I can't update Windows anymore.