Microsoft sues Comet over OS disk sales

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  1. Posts : 3,427
    Windows 10 Pro x64
       #20

    Solarstarshines said:
    severedsolo said:
    jimbo45 said:

    I think COMET should be applauded in this instance -- they aren't infringing or pirating MS'es intellectual property rights -- but actually supplying a NEED for customers in supplying an OS disk that they've ALREADY PAID FOR.
    Cheers
    jimbo
    Jimbo, while I agree with the sentiment of your statement, the fact is that Comet were selling these disks for £14.99. As far as I can see, Microsoft wouldn't (or couldn't) have had an issue with it, if they had just been giving them away.

    They weren't just saying "oh by the way, here is a backup image, just in case" they were profiteering.

    I agree that the disks should be supplied with the PC, I disagree with making the customer pay extra for them.
    If the recovery Disc was sold at 14.99 a pop it is a small fee for the work of making the Disc in order to satisfy customer needs materiels do cost money

    Ms shouldn't be crying about any of this by doing the right thing in supplying the Disc in the first place you can't blame a company for Fixing a larger companies redundent issues ,Not everyone has the know-how on how to make a recovery cd and OEM copies no matter what should be supplied
    Really, the issue isn't Microsoft's customer service. You buy straight from Microsoft, you DO get a disk. If the OEM's choose not to supply a recovery disk, that's their decision.

    As for £15 being a nominal fee for materials. A blank DVD-R costs 50p at most. I know Comet are struggling financially, but I'm sure they could have absorbed 50p from the profits to supply these disks.

    Admittedly legally they still wouldn't have a leg to stand on, but at least the moral argument would carry a bit more water. Hell if they had given the disks away, I would be applauding them.
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  2. Posts : 7,466
    Windows 10 Home Premium 64bit sp1
       #21

    severedsolo said:
    Solarstarshines said:
    severedsolo said:

    Jimbo, while I agree with the sentiment of your statement, the fact is that Comet were selling these disks for £14.99. As far as I can see, Microsoft wouldn't (or couldn't) have had an issue with it, if they had just been giving them away.

    They weren't just saying "oh by the way, here is a backup image, just in case" they were profiteering.

    I agree that the disks should be supplied with the PC, I disagree with making the customer pay extra for them.
    If the recovery Disc was sold at 14.99 a pop it is a small fee for the work of making the Disc in order to satisfy customer needs materiels do cost money

    Ms shouldn't be crying about any of this by doing the right thing in supplying the Disc in the first place you can't blame a company for Fixing a larger companies redundent issues ,Not everyone has the know-how on how to make a recovery cd and OEM copies no matter what should be supplied
    Really, the issue isn't Microsoft's customer service. You buy straight from Microsoft, you DO get a disk. If the OEM's choose not to supply a recovery disk, that's their decision.

    As for £15 being a nominal fee for materials. A blank DVD-R costs 50p at most. I know Comet are struggling financially, but I'm sure they could have absorbed 50p from the profits to supply these disks.

    Admittedly legally they still wouldn't have a leg to stand on, but at least the moral argument would carry a bit more water. Hell if they had given the disks away, I would be applauding them.
    I fully understand where you going with this but OEM's Manufaturer's are working with MS which tells them what to do with there product ultimatly MS still had a hand in making the recovery Disc available charged or not MS should have supplied such software if they want to continue having consumer interest

    Like I was saying before not everyone will know what to do with the disc or how to install it properly when something goes wrong that is when you have to call MS support for them to charge you and still potentially not have fixed the issue

    It is all about how much we can suck out of someone for leaving simple things out like a recovery disc
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  3. Posts : 6,618
    W7x64 Pro, SuSe 12.1/** W7 x64 Pro, XP MCE
       #22

    I don't know why MS would go after one OEM for this, but not another, but it appears to me that this is a MS ploy to force customers to buy the OS twice, once when they buy the computer, and a second when they find that they need a recovery disc. Glad that build my own rigs.
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  4. Posts : 10,455
    Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Service Pack 1
    Thread Starter
       #23

    seekermeister said:
    I don't know why MS would go after one OEM for this, but not another, but it appears to me that this is a MS ploy to force customers to buy the OS twice, once when they buy the computer, and a second when they find that they need a recovery disc. Glad that build my own rigs.
    Comet is not an OEM it is a retailer.
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  5. Posts : 24,479
    Windows 7 Ultimate X64 SP1
       #24

    The root issue here is that Comet was charging for a product that is free to download from MS. Comet is not a OEM but a vendor and has no right to do so. Each end-user can make backup copies of software but is forbidden by EULA to transfer or sell the copy. Comet is not an end-user.
    I do however give them credit for trying. It is the OEMs saving, what, 10-12 cents per PC sold that is to blame.
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  6. Posts : 4,466
    Windows 10 Education 64 bit
       #25

    Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the whole issue that Comet is selling recovery disks for PC's it didn't originally sell to the customer? What I mean to say is, whats to stop somebody from buying a Windows 7 Ultimate recovery disk for a PC that only came with Starter or Home Premium installed. If commit is just taking you on your word you get a upgrade for a very small fee compared to what Microsoft would charge you. If thats whats going on I can see why Microsoft would want to stop it.

    EDIT: oops I guess I should have read that article before posting, looks like I got it all wrong. From what was posted in that article they only sold the recovery disks to people who bought PC's from them.
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  7. Posts : 617
    Windows 7 64Bit Ultimate Edition SP1
       #26

    kado897 said:
    Microsoft is to sue UK electronics retailer Comet for making tens of thousands of allegedly unauthorised CDs for its Windows operating system and selling them to customers.

    The US computing giant has issued proceedings against Comet for allegedly creating more than 94,000 counterfeit "recovery discs" for its Windows Vista and Windows XP operating systems and selling them to customers.

    But the retailer says it will contest Microsoft's claim, saying that it acted in the interests of consumers because Microsoft had stopped supplying the recovery discs with new computers.

    The CDs were sold to Comet customers who had bought PCs and laptops that come pre-loaded with Windows, allowing them to rebuild the operating system in the event of a serious crash.
    More here. Microsoft to sue Comet over 'fake' Windows discs | Technology | guardian.co.uk
    More info: Is UK retail giant Comet really a Windows pirate? | ZDNet

    I do agree that recovery discs should be packaged with OEM machines.

    Comet should not have been selling recovery disks, there job is to sell products and advise properly, not brake rules.
    Last edited by YTBOY83; 05 Jan 2012 at 20:35.
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  8. Posts : 4,466
    Windows 10 Education 64 bit
       #27

    OK, so they are selling Acer, HP, Compaq, ASUS, Sony, etc, PC's and then selling recovery disks for those OEM PC's. The disks you should be buying/ordering from Acer, HP, Compaq, ASUS, or Sony, and not from Comet. One has to wonder, are they making there own disks or just copying the originals and putting their logo on them.

    EDIT: Looks like I shot myself in the foot twice tonight. Reading a little further after making this post I see that they were making their own copies. All I can say is the pain killers I'm taking for my chronic back pain are making me a little slow on the draw tonight.
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  9. Posts : 3,960
    W7 x64
       #28

    Well, whatever the legal arguments, and whoever prevails... Comet are in a bad way... this could scupper the cash injection they need from new investment to stay afloat. If Microsoft pursue a legal action against them, and regardless of whose right or wrong, should they go into administration as a result of scare-mongering scuppering their refinancing, then Microsoft will find the only assets to seize are the leasehold premises of the merchant, their liabilities, and their stock.

    They two parties should make a gentlemans arrangement to shake hands. Redmond is aware Comet are going to fold if they persist. The only winners are going to be the parasitic lawyers.
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  10. Posts : 2,528
    Windows 10 Pro x64
       #29

    If they indeed *sold* recovery media (rather than telling these folks to go to the OEM that actually made the PC itself), they'll be in trouble here. Making and selling reproductions of Microsoft's software, or another OEMs (which isn't theirs to license - that still belongs to Microsoft and can be produced by the OEM only under license agreement with the vendor) isn't legal in either the US or the UK under copyright laws. There isn't gonna be wiggle room here, unless a judge determines that somehow them selling the discs (at a profit, no less) and in leiu of another company that actually had the rights to produce such media was somehow OK. I can't see that happening, and although anything's possible (like getting hit by lightning or winning the lottery twice), Comet is likely gonna get whacked here. How hard on the wrist or other virtual body parts will probably be irrelevant when this is over, as this could potentially sink them in it's own right if it lasts awhile.
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