E-waste recycler gets 15 month prison sentence for creating worthless backup discs

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A must-read story from thenextweb.com declares an interesting story.
You may recognize Eric Lundgren’s name. In 2017, he easily earned Tesla with news of more than 380 miles for creating a $ 13,000 DIY electric car. Today, he is entering prison.
Lundgren has been a mechanic. His Los Angeles-based company specializes in managing e-waste of common electronic devices, such as cell phones and PCs. He spent thousands of hours recycling batteries, motors, and circuits to avoid reusing waste products in wheelchairs, vehicles and even other personal computers. At the age of 19, he founded a company that refurbished and sold his computers to corporate clients such as Dell, Asus, and Lenovo.
When the PC is sold (or scrapped), the included Windows license is legally assigned to the new owner, restoring a nonworking PC and resell it to a relatively simple process. With a real Windows license, simply install the operating system from the restore disc and insert a license key to prove that it is a legitimate installation. The license key is usually displayed on shiny stickers on the side (or bottom) of the PC. Simply get a working copy of Windows on a non-operating device for a genuine certificate and license key.
Those without stickers, Lundgren, told the Los Angeles Times that he scrapped and sold parts for other machines.
But here, Lundgren has trouble. After about 28,000 recovery discs have been compiled the same discs used with the purchased PC, at least until the manufacturer begins to deactivate the optical drive-Lundgren attempts to deliver them to his partners to recover devices that do not work properly.
After Microsoft and Dell got involved in the program, Lundgren received 21 indictments seeking $ 420,000 in sales.
Microsoft calculates the value of each disc is 20 US dollars, the average profit of 75%.
Lundgren made the following statement:
In essence, I hampered Microsoft’s profits, so they pushed it into federal court on a false note.
[Microsoft project manager Jonathan McGloin] confirmed that the free recovery CD costs the same price as a licensed new Windows operating system. … This is evidence of false and inaccurate Microsoft offers and it tries to set a precedent that will deter future recyclers and refurbishers from reusing the computer without having to pay another license to Microsoft again. … Anyone who succeeds in extending the life cycle of a computer or relocating those computers from landfills to the community will basically hinder Microsoft’s profits.
It is worth mentioning that, although the number of CDs makes people surprise, every CD is worthless. Without a valid license key, the CD cannot install the working version of Windows on any refurbished machine.
Lundgren said expert witness Glenn Weadock, a software expert who testified on behalf of the U.S. government against antitrust protests in Microsoft, explained the matter to the court. Weadock was asked: “In your opinion, there is no password, whether it be a product key or a COA [Certificate of Authenticity], what is the value of these reinstallation disks?
“Zero or near zero,” he replied.
Nonetheless, the judge in the case found Lundgren’s recovery disc worth $ 700,000, then sentenced him to 15 months’ imprisonment and ordered him to pay a fine of $ 50,000.
Lundgren is currently appealing the decision.
This story raises many questions because of big companies suing for their rights.
Remember the Original owner surrenders the property. Does this apply to salvage laws?
What do you think? Is this unfair?
Read more…
You may recognize the name Eric Lundgren. In 2017, he was all over the news for creating a $13,000 DIY electric car with a 380-plus mile range, easily besting a Tesla. Today he’s on his way to jail. Lundgren has always been a tinkerer. His LA-based company specialized in managing e-waste from common electronic devices like mobile phones and PCs. He’s devoted thousands of hours to recovering batteries, motors, and circuits from discarded items reuse in wheelchairs, vehicles, or even other PCs. At 19, he started a company to refurbish and sell computers given to him by corporate clients like Dell, Asus, This story continues at The Next Web Engaging post, Read More…
thumbnail courtesy of thenextweb.com.

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