Microsoft mis-targeted by XP downgrade suit?

Stephen Withers
Monday, 16 February 2009 04:04

IT Industry - Market

Los Angeles resident Emma Alvarado alleges that when she purchased a Lenovo PC in June 2008 she was required to pay $US59.25 extra to downgrade from Vista Business to XP Professional.

So she's launched a class action covering US residents who purchased a computer with Vista during the last four years and who paid to downgrade to XP.

The filing asserts that "Since the introduction of Vista, Microsoft has effectively eliminated competition in the operating system PC market and created a monopoly position for itself in that market."

Wasn't Microsoft held to have a monopoly in the PC operating system market long before Vista arrived?

Next, "Plaintiff and other members of the Class have suffered injury to their property as a result of Defendants' monopoly power and anti-competitive activities because they have been, and continue to be, forced to purchase Vista rather than alternative operating systems software."

Isn't that like claiming that having decided to buy a new Ford Mustang, you can only buy a 2009 ponycar and not the 2004 model?

And "Plaintiff and other members of the Class also have suffered injury to their business and property as a result of Defendants' monopoly power and anti-competitive activities because they have been, and continue to be, forced to pay supra-competitive prices for Windows XP: that is, they have been forced to pay substantially more to acquire the Windows XP operating system than they would have to pay in a competitive marketplace in which there were available alternative operating systems."

Who is Alvarado suing? See page 3.