This entry was posted by admin on March 4, 2010 at 10:01 pm under IT News.

Tech titan Microsoft claimed victory in a year-long legal case this week, as U.S. District Court Judge Marsha Pechman dismissed allegations that the company had violated antitrust regulations over downgrade policies under which users were charged fees for substituting Windows XP for Vista in new computers.

Microsoft successfully argued that the fees were not put in place by them, but rather by computer manufacturers like Dell and Lenovo, and that they had not profited from the downgrades. A Microsoft representative told Ars Technica that "we’re pleased the court agreed that plaintiff’s complaint failed to state a viable claim and dismissed it in its entirety."

Computer World reported that another Microsoft spokesperson had said last year that "Microsoft does not charge or receive any additional royalty if a customer exercises those [downgrade] rights."

Downgrading became an issue in the Windows Vista era, as poor performance and compatibility issues with numerous programs spurred a widespread move back to the more stable XP. SAP data management customers successfully argued for a similar downgrade in that company’s support plans last year.