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No, this is an unabashedly sinister misinformation campaign by someone who didn't read the article or understand what this guy was doing. He wasn't distributin

No, this is an unabashedly sinister misinformation campaign by someone who didn't read the article or understand what this guy was doing. He wasn't distributing restore disks with refurbished PCs. He manufactured 28000 Restore Disks containing Microsoft Windows and was selling them. He justified his actions by saying they were only to be used on licensed machines. That's like me selling a backup copy of your Book and "you're only allowed to read this if you bought the book legitimately."

unethical_ban 9y ago
Correct me if I'm wrong, but those restore disks only work if the machine is already licensed. You can go download Windows 10 ISOs from microsoft.com right now, but you can't install it without a key. To use your analogy, it would be like you redistributing an encrypted book file that the publisher had emailed me when I bought my hard copy, but I couldn't open it anyway unless I had the key from the back cover.
- cptskippy 9y ago
  Windows can be installed without a license but must be activated online using a valid license within a certain time frame (128 days?). Windows 10 activation is done by device fingerprinting to match a license which is different from how windows was activated in the past. With previous versions of Windows you activated by providing a product key. Restore and Recovery discs are different form standard installation media, the kind you can download for free from Microsoft. R/R discs are custom builds from the OEM, who is required to have a software distribution license from Microsoft, and don't usually prompt for license activation. They circumvent the need for the user to input a key by either storing it on a recovery partition, in the BIOS, or hardcoding it on the media. > To use your analogy, it would be like you redistributing an encrypted book file that the publisher had emailed me when I bought my hard copy, but I couldn't open it anyway unless I had the key from the back cover. Not just distributing, selling without permission of the publisher and decryption keys are widely available online.
kickopotomus 9y ago
No, not at all. It is more akin to you selling a backup copy of the book that is bound by a lock. The people that buy your version of the book must either already have the key to unlock it or buy it separately.
- cptskippy 9y ago
  Or do a quick google search for a copy of the key. The point is, he doesn't have permission to distribute the software. If I was selling "recovery" Kindle eBooks but only to people who pinkie swore they already purchased the book, do you think Amazon or the Publishers would mind? How is this different?
  - pritambaral 9y ago
    > The point is, he doesn't have permission to distribute the software. This is not the point of contention. He pled guilty to this. The point of contention is the amount of damages Microsoft argued and the court agreed on. Microsoft argued these disks were worth the full-price of a Microsoft-sold disk+license, but these disks did not contain the license. It's like being sued by Amazon for thousands of dollars (instead of a more reasonably number) because you resold physical copies of ebooks they already sold for free on their website.
    - cptskippy 9y ago
      Going back and reading the original WP article sheds some light on the whole case. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/true-crime/wp/2018/04/24/recycling-innovator-eric-lundgren-loses-appeal-on-computer-restore-discs-must-serve-15-month-prison-term/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.1f9995f93567 https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/true-crime/wp/2018/04/24... He wasn't actually convicted of distributing software illegally and the arguments for the cost of the licenses is moot. That being said, initially Federal Prosecutors tried to say the discs were valued at $299 a piece but Microsoft intervened and said that they sold refurbishers licenses for $25 and his were at most worth $20. He was convicted of counterfeiting and copyright infringement for distributing media that had Dell and Microsoft logos and looked like legitimate media. > The discs had labels nearly identical to the discs provided by Dell for its computers and had the Windows and Dell logos. “If I had just written ‘Eric’s Restore Disc’ on there, it would have been fine,” Lundgren said. So why didn't he?
NiceGuy_Ty 9y ago
You can't just use a windows restore disk to get a new windows installation. When installed, it will ask you for your license key, and will not function fully until you have done so. The only thing this guy was doing was making it so customers don't have to download the iso on a USB or CD themselves, and recycling e-waste in the process.
- cptskippy 9y ago
  > You can't just use a windows restore disk to get a new windows installation. When installed, it will ask you for your license key, and will not function fully until you have done so. The restore discs usually don't prompt for a key. It's either stored on a recovery partition on your disk, in the bios, or hardcoded in the disc media. It doesn't say how his disc worked but at a minimum he was still acting as an unlicensed distributor. Microsoft grants end users the right to download and create media. It requires distributors to be licensed.
  - defen 9y ago
    I'm ok with saying that this guy violated Microsoft's copyright by redistributing Windows binaries, but the punishment seems egregious. 15 months in jail and a $50,000 fine? At most he should have been fined the $3,400 and given a suspended sentence.
    - cptskippy 9y ago
      The convictions were actually for counterfeiting and copyright violation of the Dell and Windows Logos. Federal prosecutors initially tried to nail him with $299 per disc but Microsoft intervened and said they sold refurbishers a $25 license and at most his disc should be valued at $20. I think he should have been notified that his actions were potentially illegal and been given the option to just destroy the media.
      - defen 9y ago
        > Microsoft intervened and said they sold refurbishers a $25 license and at most his disc should be valued at $20. So the fake logos increased the value of the discs from $0.25 to $20 or $25? If he had labeled them "Eric's Restore Discs" he'd have been totally in the clear?

unethical_ban 9y ago

Correct me if I'm wrong, but those restore disks only work if the machine is already licensed. You can go download Windows 10 ISOs from microsoft.com right now, but you can't install it without a key. To use your analogy, it would be like you redistributing an encrypted book file that the publisher had emailed me when I bought my hard copy, but I couldn't open it anyway unless I had the key from the back cover.

cptskippy 9y ago
Windows can be installed without a license but must be activated online using a valid license within a certain time frame (128 days?). Windows 10 activation is done by device fingerprinting to match a license which is different from how windows was activated in the past. With previous versions of Windows you activated by providing a product key. Restore and Recovery discs are different form standard installation media, the kind you can download for free from Microsoft. R/R discs are custom builds from the OEM, who is required to have a software distribution license from Microsoft, and don't usually prompt for license activation. They circumvent the need for the user to input a key by either storing it on a recovery partition, in the BIOS, or hardcoding it on the media. > To use your analogy, it would be like you redistributing an encrypted book file that the publisher had emailed me when I bought my hard copy, but I couldn't open it anyway unless I had the key from the back cover. Not just distributing, selling without permission of the publisher and decryption keys are widely available online.

kickopotomus 9y ago

No, not at all. It is more akin to you selling a backup copy of the book that is bound by a lock. The people that buy your version of the book must either already have the key to unlock it or buy it separately.

cptskippy 9y ago
Or do a quick google search for a copy of the key. The point is, he doesn't have permission to distribute the software. If I was selling "recovery" Kindle eBooks but only to people who pinkie swore they already purchased the book, do you think Amazon or the Publishers would mind? How is this different?
- pritambaral 9y ago
  > The point is, he doesn't have permission to distribute the software. This is not the point of contention. He pled guilty to this. The point of contention is the amount of damages Microsoft argued and the court agreed on. Microsoft argued these disks were worth the full-price of a Microsoft-sold disk+license, but these disks did not contain the license. It's like being sued by Amazon for thousands of dollars (instead of a more reasonably number) because you resold physical copies of ebooks they already sold for free on their website.
  - cptskippy 9y ago
    Going back and reading the original WP article sheds some light on the whole case. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/true-crime/wp/2018/04/24/recycling-innovator-eric-lundgren-loses-appeal-on-computer-restore-discs-must-serve-15-month-prison-term/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.1f9995f93567 https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/true-crime/wp/2018/04/24... He wasn't actually convicted of distributing software illegally and the arguments for the cost of the licenses is moot. That being said, initially Federal Prosecutors tried to say the discs were valued at $299 a piece but Microsoft intervened and said that they sold refurbishers licenses for $25 and his were at most worth $20. He was convicted of counterfeiting and copyright infringement for distributing media that had Dell and Microsoft logos and looked like legitimate media. > The discs had labels nearly identical to the discs provided by Dell for its computers and had the Windows and Dell logos. “If I had just written ‘Eric’s Restore Disc’ on there, it would have been fine,” Lundgren said. So why didn't he?

NiceGuy_Ty 9y ago

You can't just use a windows restore disk to get a new windows installation. When installed, it will ask you for your license key, and will not function fully until you have done so. The only thing this guy was doing was making it so customers don't have to download the iso on a USB or CD themselves, and recycling e-waste in the process.

cptskippy 9y ago
> You can't just use a windows restore disk to get a new windows installation. When installed, it will ask you for your license key, and will not function fully until you have done so. The restore discs usually don't prompt for a key. It's either stored on a recovery partition on your disk, in the bios, or hardcoded in the disc media. It doesn't say how his disc worked but at a minimum he was still acting as an unlicensed distributor. Microsoft grants end users the right to download and create media. It requires distributors to be licensed.
- defen 9y ago
  I'm ok with saying that this guy violated Microsoft's copyright by redistributing Windows binaries, but the punishment seems egregious. 15 months in jail and a $50,000 fine? At most he should have been fined the $3,400 and given a suspended sentence.
  - cptskippy 9y ago
    The convictions were actually for counterfeiting and copyright violation of the Dell and Windows Logos. Federal prosecutors initially tried to nail him with $299 per disc but Microsoft intervened and said they sold refurbishers a $25 license and at most his disc should be valued at $20. I think he should have been notified that his actions were potentially illegal and been given the option to just destroy the media.
    - defen 9y ago
      > Microsoft intervened and said they sold refurbishers a $25 license and at most his disc should be valued at $20. So the fake logos increased the value of the discs from $0.25 to $20 or $25? If he had labeled them "Eric's Restore Discs" he'd have been totally in the clear?