Microsoft is speaking out following the sentencing of Eric Lundgren. Lundgren was sentenced to 15 months in prison for selling "counterfeit software."
The Blog Post
On Friday, April 27, Frank X. Shaw, Microsoft's corporate vice president of communications, wrote a blog post on the company's website. Shaw outlined Microsoft's responses in several parts. He reiterated the company's principles, which include its support of recycling Microsoft products through company-approved programs. Shaw also mentioned that while Microsoft has reduced its piracy cases, the company does keep a tab of fraudulent activity.
The Case Against Lundgren
Shaw mentioned explicitly that the computer software company did not bring Lundgren to court. The U.S. Attorney's Office in Miami, Florida filed a lawsuit against the 33-year-old e-recycling entrepreneur and the company was called on by prosecutors near the end of Lundgren's trial. Microsoft also revealed that Lundgren not only set up a significant counterfeit operation in China, he also took advantage of the e-recycling community by selling knockoffs of Microsoft software.
Microsoft continued to build its case by mentioning that Lundgren pled guilty to creating the counterfeit software items. The company also attained several of Lundgren's e-mails showing that the e-recycling entrepreneur was seriously interested in making a profit from the software. The e-mails contained information on how Lundgren was able to make his material resemble official Microsoft software.
Lundgren's Take
Before Microsoft posted the blog, Lundgren opened up about his side of the story. While the e-recycler pled guilty regarding his actions, he stated that there was no monetary value in his software. He also mentioned that the discs that were in his position were restore CDs.
"It restores your computer back to your settings when you bought your computer, back when it was fast and back when everything worked right, and there weren't any glitches, and there are no missing DLL files, and there was no viruses and all that," said Lundgren to The Verge.
Lundgren stated that both Microsoft and the U.S. government unfairly compared his material to an infringed licensed product. However, the e-recycler noted that the disc was used to help rejuvenate computers.
Microsoft In The News
As Lundgren prepares to serve his 15-month sentence, Microsoft continues to make headlines with its product announcements. It quietly added iTunes into the Microsoft Store on April 26. Users should be able to experience iTunes if their computers run on the Windows 10 operating system. Also, Microsoft's version of iTunes will consume 476.7 MB of the computer's hard drive.
Qihoo 360, a security firm, recently revealed that Microsoft's Internet Explorer is vulnerable to a computer virus known the zero-day bug. Reports have indicated that the zero-day bug could be a piece of malware disguised as a Microsoft Office document. If users open the document while on Internet Explorer, they will be sent to a malicious website where they could be infected with the virus.
Microsoft recently revealed that it was ending production on the desktop version of OneNote. The company stated that it would be focusing on the Windows 10 version of the app. This move came as a surprise for users as Microsoft spent the past year tweaking different parts of the app, such as recording audio that synchronized with note-taking.
