3 March 2008
by Alex Scroxton
In a move with implications for resellers and PC vendors in the worldwide channel, a California judge last week ruled that Microsoft was open to a class-action lawsuit over its Vista-compatible marketing campaign.
American consumers accused the vendor over XP PCs marketed with a ‘Designed for XP: Windows Vista Capable’ sticker in the run-up to the release of Vista. The plaintiffs claimed that PCs sporting these badges were only able to run a stripped-down basic edition of Vista, lacking functionality including the signature ‘Aero’ desktop, Windows DVD and Movie Maker and compatibility with Windows Media Center.
If the outcome goes against Microsoft, it could have ramifications for the vendor beyond the US, as the same campaign was conducted in the UK.
However, Ian Jenner, Microsoft business manager at Enta, said he could not envisage the case not going Microsoft’s way. "It looks like someone is trying to make money off them," he remarked.
The case was unlikely to have legs, Jenner thought, as the campaign included a second ‘Certified for Windows Vista’ label for machines that could support the OS’ full capabilities.
Mike Lawrence, managing director at Bentpenny, thought the furore reflected the fact that Microsoft had "consistently underestimated the system requirements of its software".
However, he didn’t believe a similar lawsuit was likely in the UK, mainly due to differences between the legal systems: "The scale of financial penalties in the US, as opposed to those in the UK, makes it unlikely, so I don’t think it will happen here. However it will have severe ramifications on how Microsoft markets itself globally."
"Their marketing has been superb, but it is a bit like a steamroller," Lawrence added.
Microsoft also had a tough week in the courts on this side of the Atlantic after the EU fined it over £680m for failing to comply with a previous ruling, the first time in its 50-year history the Competition Commission has been forced to act over a case of non-compliance.
Microsoft was unavailable for comment.
