E-waste recycler Eric Lundgren loses appeal on computer restore disks, must serve 15-month prison term

E-waste recycler Eric Lundgren loses appeal on computer restore disks, must serve 15-month prison term

A 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 disks” he made to extend the lives of computers had no financial value, instead ruling that he had infringed Microsoft’s products to the tune of $700,000.
The appeals court upheld a federal district judge’s ruling that the disks made by Eric Lundgren to restore Microsoft operating systems had a value of $25 apiece, even though they could be downloaded free and could be used only on computers with a valid Microsoft license. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit 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…
Glenn Weadock, a former expert witness for the government in its antitrust case against Microsoft, was asked, “In your opinion, without a code, either product key or COA [Certificate of Authenticity], what is the value of these reinstallation disks?”
“Zero or near zero,” Weadock said.
Why would anybody pay for one? Lundgren’s lawyer asked.
“There is a convenience factor associated with them,” Weadock said.
Still, Hurley decided Lundgren’s 28,000 restore disks had a value of $700,000, and that dollar amount qualified Lundgren for a 15-month term and a $50,000 fine. The judge said he disregarded Weadock’s testimony. “I don’t think anybody in that courtroom understood what a restore disk was,” Lundgren said.

Tom Jackman

The Washington Post

April 24, 2018

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By |2018-01-01T00:00:00-08:00January 1st, 2018|Copyright, Intellectual Property, Reference|