IP: Ruling lets Iowans seek Microsoft refunds

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

------ Forwarded Message
From: Richard Forno <rforno () infowarrior org>
Date: Thu, 13 Jun 2002 16:45:50 -0400
To: <farber () cis upenn edu>
Subject: Ruling lets Iowans seek Microsoft refunds

Dave - FYI and IP if you want......now if only more states would follow
suit.......rf


Ruling lets Iowans seek Microsoft refunds
By FRANK SANTIAGO
Register Staff Writer

06/13/2002 Thousands of Windows 98 users in Iowa could get $40 refunds from
Microsoft Corp. after the Iowa Supreme Court reinstated a lawsuit Wednesday
that alleges price fixing.

Des Moines lawyer Roxanne Conlin, who represented Iowa consumers in the
lawsuit, said the 5-2 opinion was the first antitrust ruling in any state
that favored "indirect purchasers," in this case, consumers who bought the
Windows 98 operating system or bought computers with Windows 98 installed.

"What's most important here is that consumers have a direct remedy against
violators of Iowa's antitrust law, when in most states they do not," Conlin
said. "In capitalism, everybody has to follow the rules, and one of the
rules is that you don't fix prices and you don't create a monopoly."

<snip>

http://www.dmregister.com/news/stories/c4788993/18439267.html


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