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Four Charged In Microsoft Thefts | |
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| Time: 06:50 EST/11:50 GMT | News Source: Associated Press | Posted By: Robert Stein | ||
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Four former Microsoft Corp. employees were charged with stealing $32.4 million worth of software and selling it on the side. According to the complaint filed Monday, the employees ordered software available to Microsoft employees for free to use for business purposes, then sold it to online software retailers. The complaint said the employees blocked managers from getting routine e-mail notification that the workers were ordering the software. | ||
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| #1 By 8556 (12.217.161.186) at 11/12/2004 10:11:37 AM |
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They should and must be prosecuted.
However, while not relevant, I wonder about the dollar value given for the software. Is it retail value? If the software is normally given to employees does that indicate that there was little real value, of maybe fifty cents per copy? In that case the value might be in five figures rather than eight. I’d like to see the real cost of producing MS software come out of this case. Still, a crime was allegedly committed. If convicted they should serve time, not be given probation, to discourage copycats. |
| #2 By 6253 (24.1.239.191) at 11/12/2004 11:30:03 AM |
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bobsireno, the software is not simply "given" to employees; it is given to them "to use for business purposes." In other words, Microsoft is not sending the message that it's a throwaway cost to be treated trivially; it's treated as a business expense.
I don't know if Washington state law is the same, but in Texas, it's normal practice in ALL criminal theft prosecution (regardless of the victim or the type of theft) to value damages using the largest amount which can conceivably be justifiable. For example, if a copy of Halo 2 were stolen before its release, it could be valued at the full retail price that it eventually went on sale for, but it would be a stretch to value it at a premium just because it might fetch a premium on eBay before the official release. On the other hand, you wouldn't get very far with a court if you tried to argue that the damages should be minimized based on the absolute lowest "street price" available from a discounter somewhere. Furthermore, why do you think the "real cost of producing MS software" has anything to do with this case? The "real cost" is NOT the cost of materials for the box and CD. The cost of producing a Microsoft product may include tens of millions of dollars worth of research, development, promotion, licensing, etc. Sure, Microsoft makes a ton of profit AFTER they've sold a hundred million copies, but stolen products are typically the newest stuff. What's the cost if someone steals the very first copy of a product which cost $5M to create? If you can't predict for certain that the product will eventually sell 50 million copies, then the cost is $5M for that one CD. A fundamental concept in capitalism is opportunity cost. Have you ever thought about the McDonald's french fries or apple pies which are left under the warmers at closing time? Why can't you walk into a McDonald's at 5 seconds before closing time and ask them to give you everything for free which they would otherwise throw away in 5 seconds? What if you simply take it? Is your theft a non-issue, simply because it doesn't "cost" McDonald's any real money? What about movie/music/software pirates who say they wouldn't have bought the pirated material if they hadn't pirated it? Yet they are enjoying the same value as someone who paid $X for it. This post was edited by holedup on Friday, November 12, 2004 at 11:30. |
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