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College kid wants apology before dropping microsoft lawsuit Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/news/11079238.htmhttp://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/news/11079238.htm
Posted on Tue, Mar. 08, 2005
After Microsoft is finished suing David Zamos, it might want to consider hiring him
By David Giffels
After Microsoft is finished suing David Zamos, it might want to consider hiring him.
In a legal chess game over $60 worth of computer software, Zamos appears to have the corporate king in checkmate.
He's a 21-year-old college student with no legal training, who has managed to hold off a team of Microsoft's high-powered lawyers in a federal lawsuit. Not only hold them off, but reduce the voluminous legal case to a game of ``uncle.''
Who wouldn't want to hire a guy like that?
As Phil Trexler reported in Monday's Beacon Journal, Zamos found himself the target of a federal suit last fall after he tried to sell some Microsoft software on eBay. Zamos, a University of Akron chemistry major at the time, had bought two programs at UA's bookstore; the $60 he paid reflects a substantial discount Microsoft offers to students.
But when Zamos got home, he discovered that installing the Windows software would require reformatting his hard drive -- more than he was willing to take on. When he tried to get a refund from the bookstore for the still-unopened packages, he was told they are not returnable.
Zamos is a typically penniless college student; his income last year from a job in the UA chemistry department was about $3,500. (Microsoft had sales of $38 billion in the same period.) He couldn't afford to eat the cost of the software, so he listed the items on eBay. That's where Microsoft got wind of him.
The company tried to stop the sale, claiming copyright infringement, but Zamos scrutinized the fine print and could find no policy on resale. So he went ahead, selling the two products for a total of $203.
The federal lawsuit hit in December. Microsoft came hard at Zamos, claiming his profit of about $150 represents ``substantial and irreparable damage to its business reputation and goodwill, as well as losses in an amount not yet ascertained.''
To anyone who knew the extent of Zamos' legal training (he has none), his countersuit must have come as a surprise. He researched case law and figured out how to file motions. Lots of them -- so many the judge in the case has ordered a paperwork moratorium until a hearing later this month.
Lest he come across as mature beyond his years, it should be noted that Zamos had another, less flattering legal incident last fall. He was arrested after sneaking across a lawn in Hudson with a can of spray paint, heading toward the notoriously large Bush/Cheney sign in the yard of Summit County Republican Chairman Alex Arshinkoff. Zamos was convicted of misdemeanor trespassing and criminal mischief.
None of this has anything to do with the Microsoft case, but it is a reminder that Zamos is still basically a kid. Even some of his research on the Microsoft case seems uniquely the work of a college student. Check out the citations for ``Carson v. Here's Johnny Portable Toilets Inc.'' and a New Kids on the Block lawsuit.
Meanwhile, Zamos, who now attends Kent State University, appears to have Microsoft over a barrel. He has asked for an apology, which Microsoft has not given. Microsoft has offered to drop its case, but says it can't do so until Zamos drops his countersuit.
Zamos isn't willing to relinquish the upper hand. He still wants an apology, as well as reimbursement for the $40 he spent making copies at Kinko's and for the time he has spent on legal research.
It's understandable that Microsoft would aggressively defend its policies. Any weakening of a copyright can become a slippery slope.
What's not so understandable is why, when it became clear that Zamos had a strong defense and only wanted an apology, the company did not soften. Now Microsoft is in the uncomfortable position of seeming like a bully.
They should give the kid some credit for standing his ground. He may not be so good with software, but he knows how to play hardball.
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