Electronics-recycling innovator is going to prison - Sensationalist Headlines

http://www.latimes.com/resizer/N8g2xcO5NE50Y58z-ottTHX1kjU=/1400x0/arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-tronc.s3.amazonaws.com/public/7YMAYKFJ3NCONHQKWZOLTO36PQ.jpg Electronics A Southern California man who built a sizable business out of recycling electronic waste is headed to federal prison for 15 months after a federal appeals court in Miami rejected his claim that the "restore discs" he made to extend computers' lives had no financial value, instead ruling that he had infringed on Microsoft Corp. to the tune of $700,000. The appeals court upheld a federal district judge's ruling that the discs Eric Lundgren made to restore Microsoft operating systems had a value of $25 apiece, even though the software they contained could be downloaded free and the discs could only be used on computers that already had a valid Microsoft license. The U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals initially granted Lundgren an emergency stay of his prison sentence, shortly before he was to surrender, but then affirmed his original 15-month sentence and $50,000 fine without hearing oral argument in a ruling issued April 11.

Totally disgusting. He's right that without the codes they're basically worthless. There's a reason people buy and sell CD keys for games.

Can't you download the ISO files from microsofts own website anyway nowadays?

alleged he had cost Microsoft $8.3 million in lost sales This isn't a real thing, please stop pretending like it is.

He fucked up when he used trademarks on the CDs, but jailtime over this is Absolute overkill and to reach that they built their case on top of lies after lies. Absolutely disgusting

shouldn't have printed the disks with microsoft's logos and shit but he absolutely should not be going to federal prison for this.

Seems like this should be civil action handled with fines. Meanwhile a Fortune 500 can fuck over your livley hood and get a slap on the wrist, that's the justice system for ya I guess.

Can't you use a system restore/repair disk to actually reinstall/install windows on a machine?

Yes a lot of them can provide the OEM image with a pre activated key and correct drivers.

Wow, if he was selling these then no wonder he got fucked up. Are you kidding me?

You have no sympathy for someone going to jail over a logo mistake that wouldn't have actually cost Microsoft any money? You just lack sympathy as a concept I guess? This is life destroying for the sake of a corporations profits, which again, were not actually impinged at any point in time.

I’m assuming the 25 cents covered the cost of the disks themselves. They were otherwise going to be given out to people for free.

Well, sure, but even then he'd still be distributing free copies of Windows. If he was charging full retail for the value of the software (in this case, windows), he'd be getting much a much stiffer fine than $25 per disk.

Except as the article points out these were the recovery disks which require you to have a alid version of windows already installed. The dell ones for instance only work on dell computers and run a hardware and loscense check and only work on specific dell computers. This is the same recovery software that microsoft already lets owners download

People like you get on my fuckin' nerves. So willing to bend over and let corporations fuck you or other people over. It's super obvious that this guy is going to jail over something that is totally bullshit, but nah you put a logo on something you deserve to have your life ruined!

Prison time for this is ridiculous even if the charges weren't complete bullshit. I think prison should be reserved for more serious offences. It seems pretty clear that no one on the prosecution or overseeing this case understood what the discs were.

yes hi: Microsoft didn't bring this case against him, this was brought by the federal government after being caught by CBP once before and warned “There are tricks for bypassing customs with container’s & LTL but currently this is how I get these products without invoices past customs.” “If they call you just play stupid and tell them you ordered from an asset management broker overseas.” this is a man who knows he is doing wrong and continuing to do it

This is Illogical, It's like "Right to Repair" with Tractors. And the other thing is they are implying that their sales are guaranteed by saying they've made a lost of $8.3 million in sales.

Except Windows itself (I.E the data) doesn't cost anything, and can be downloaded directly from Microsoft (or, in this case, from the manufacturers websites) free of charge, it's the actual license you pay for when you buy Windows. If he'd been selling legit counterfeit licenses you'd be in the right, but all he did now was burn out software that's already provided for free for machines that already have valid licenses, which he then essentially handed out for free, only charging enough to cover the cost of the physical DVD. The only thing he did that I'd consider stupid and wrong is making the DVD's look like the official restore discs with the logos and everything, but it's still a more or less completely victimless "crime" that should've resulted in a small fine and a slap on the wrist tops, certainly not prison time. Not only is the guy now going to spend 15 months of his life together with murderers and rapists, his business will be hurt significantly, and it's your tax money funding it, all for the glorious purpose of making Microsoft's boner slightly harder

yeah but he got a slap on the wrist via a warning by CBP and then continued to do it

Mr. Lundgren set up a large counterfeit operation in China and intended to profit from his actions tbh play stupid games win stupid prizes