The accused is an independent PC recycler and anti-electronic-waste activist of sorts. He observed that non-technical PC owners who ran into problems that require reinstalling Windows, upon realizing they no longer have their restore disc, either throw out their computer and buy a new one, or buy the latest version of Windows at retail pricing.

This is wasteful and unnecessary. Dell is fine with this because uninformed consumers will unnecessarily buy a new PC. Microsoft likes it because they will unnecessarily buy a new copy of Windows, unaware that they already have a valid license.

This seems to be the basis of their claim to “lost profits”. They said that these restore discs, allowing consumers to use a product to which they are already entitled, “displaces potential sales”. Shameful.

The guy being thrown in jail was not selling counterfeit discs in any meaningful sense. He was printing restore discs, without the license, and distributing them for roughly the cost of shipping (25 cents each).

His copies were useless to anybody who didn’t already own them. He did not sell licenses. You could not install the software without buying Windows. Having these does not even make it easier to pirate Windows.

The prosecution apparently originally claimed that each disc was worth $299, showing their total ignorance of how software licenses work.