French court orders Windows refund - The INQUIRER

I've been hearing about patent law, open source and anti-monopoly trends in Europe for a while, where it appears the anti-monopoly laws are far stricter than in the US. In my IT experience, I have not heard of a case where a software company had to face extraordinary regulatory compliance beyond the scope of the US. If it happened at all, as it surely must have, it was rote, a matter of procedure, and very straightforward.

Now, though, companies that thrive in US markets and have had success in the world have a higher standard to meet. Microsoft's infamously popular use of Bundling (getting hardware makers and/or retailers to install a Microsoft OS on a machine, and forcing them to to pay a license even if another OS is installed) gets attacked here. Very interesting turn.....

French court orders Windows refund - The INQUIRER: "The facts of the case, m'learned fiends, are these: one of my estemeed countrymen wrote to Asus - after having bought an Asus machine which came with XP pre-installed - requesting a refund for the price of the software, given his predeliction to open sauce. The manufacturer told the consumer that the refund procedure it would apply would end up costing more than the actual value of the refund - a not-so-paltry €130. Understandably, the fellow was a little miffed and took his case to court, where UFC stepped in to lend a helping hand.

"In France, it is illegal to bundle software and to refuse to reimburse the customer for unwanted licences, under Article L.122-1 of the French Consumer Code."