As a result of a settlement reached in a California antitrust and unfair competition consolidated class action case against Microsoft, you or your business may be able to obtain vouchers redeemable for cash after the purchase of various types of software and computer software products.
The consolidated lawsuit concerned Microsoft products acquired between February 18, 1995 and December 15, 2001 for use in California. Twenty-seven lawsuits had been filed in California claiming that Microsoft violated antitrust and unfair competition laws by overcharging consumers for certain of its operating system, word processing and spreadsheet software. Microsoft denied this allegation. The lawsuits ultimately were consolidated into one in San Francisco.
Under the terms of the settlement of the consolidated case, Microsoft will issue vouchers totaling up to $1.1 billion eligible to California users of Windows, MS-DOS, Office, Excel, Word, Works Suite or Home Essentials 97 or 98 products to be redeemed for cash after the purchase of qualifying computer hardware or software.
The vouchers are worth $16 for each Windows or MS-DOS license claimed, $29 for each Office license claimed, $5 for each Word, Home Essentials or Works Suite license claimed, and $26 for each Excel license claimed. If you acquired multiple versions of the same product, or separately acquired upgrades, you are entitled to the specified amounts for each version or upgrade. Businesses with headquarters outside of California are eligible if they acquired Microsoft software for use at any of their locations in California.
The vouchers can be exchanged for cash by submitting proof of purchases made after July 18, 2003 of the following products: any desktop, laptop, or tablet computer made by any company (not only Microsoft) for any operating system platform, printer, scanner, monitor, keyboard or pointing device. Furthermore, qualifying software includes any non-custom software offered by any software vendor (not just Microsoft) for use on a desktop, laptop or tablet computer. After a proof of purchase is submitted to a Claims Administrator, with either a claims form or a voucher, a check will be issued in the amount of the purchase. The Claims Administrator will keep a record of any remaining value on the voucher for future purchases.
To submit a claim, an official claim form must be used. An earlier deadline for submitting claims has been extended. While an exact final deadline has not been set, the earliest date that claims forms would be due is June 11, 2004. Claims forms are available at microsoftcalsettlement.com. They also can be obtained by calling 1-800-203-9995. A volume license claim for should be used for Microsoft products that were purchased through the "Open," "Select," or "Enterprise" volume license programs. Otherwise, a standard claim form should be used.
To reiterate, to be entitled to the foregoing settlement benefits, you must have purchased a computer between February 18, 1995 and December 15, 2001 that contained certain installed Microsoft products or if you purchased certain Microsoft software from a store, by mail or online during that same time period for use in California. The Microsoft products that are covered by the settlement are Windows, Office, Excel, MS-DOS, Word, Works Suite and Home Essentials 97 or 98.
If less than the $1.1 billion provided by the settlement is claimed by consumers, Microsoft is required under the settlement to provide two-thirds of any unclaimed amount to be distributed as vouchers for hardware, software, and technology services to public schools in California that serve students from low income households. Furthermore, eligible claimants may donate up to $650 of their individual settlement vouchers to schools or charities of their choice, or sell them, or give them as a gift.
The time to act to obtain benefits under the settlement agreement is now. The process may not be entirely self-evident. If you are uncertain, and if your claim potentially is significant (which is more likely the case for businesses), you may wish to retain skilled counsel to help you claim your benefits.
Eric Sinrod is a partner in the San Francisco office of Duane Morris (www.duanemorris.com), where he focuses on litigation matters of various types, including information technology disputes. His column appears Wednesdays at USATODAY.com. His Web site is www.sinrodlaw.com, and he can be reached at ejsinrod@duanemorris.com. To receive a weekly e-mail link to Mr. Sinrod's columns, please send an e-mail with the word Subscribe in the Subject line to ejsinrod@duanemorris.com.