[UCI-Linux] Re: UCI plans for Microsoft-CA legal settlement

Stephen D. Franklin franklin@uci.edu
Sat, 25 Oct 2003 19:04:28 -0700


UC Office of the President is looking into whether UC is actually
eligible to receive these rebates.  The issue is whether UC is part
of the class covered by the settlement.

Townsend and Townsend and Crew, the law firm that pursued the case
has a web site on it:
   http://www.townsend.com/media/microsoft.html

The first question on that page is
  "How do I know if I am a member of the class who is entitled 
  to share in these benefits?"
The answer ends
  "Government entities are not members of the class."
And the question UCOP is trying to decide is whether UC is a
"government entity" in the legal sense used in the class action.
On the one hand, a "yes" answer would be good in this context;
on the other, the answer probably has larger implications.

By the way, the official settlement site is
  http://www.microsoftcalsettlement.com/

It is run by Rust Consulting, "a class act in claims administration"
(their words, not mine):
  http://www.rustconsulting.com/

The official settlement site includes information and forms for
filing claims as well as the settlement agreement 
  http://www.microsoftcalsettlement.com/PDF/SettlementAgreement.pdf
and various legal notices.

-- sdf
Stephen D. Franklin  --  franklin@uci.edu  --  949/824-5154


> ---I am resending some messages that may not have been delivered in the
> past week. Not sure why. Apologies for any duplicates. CZ----
> 
> Hi Steve,
> 
> Last week I sent in my rebate claim under the Microsoft-CA class
> action lawsuit settlement. If the cash settlement is
> not-oversubscribed, I will get $100-$200 in rebate coupons good for
> hardware/software.
> This is all for MS software purchased with UCI/federal research $.
> The settlement PR is here
> 
> http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2003/jan03/01-10CAClassActionPR.asp
> 
> (I tried unsuccessfully to find the website for filing claims.
> Claims are handled by some law-firm in the midwest.
> They sent me the claim form last week, either because I was
> a registered Windows user, or because I had previously filed a claim,
> I can't remember which. Anyway, they shouldn't be too hard to find.
> Will someone please post it to uci-linux?).
> 
> If I understand the settlement terms correctly, UCI could recoup tens
> of thousands of dollars from this settlement. I would like to know:
> 1. How will UCI exercise it rights under this settlement?
> 2. Is someone in charge of this here at UCI? Or is UCOP handling it?
> 3. Does UCI plan to claim rebates for the SW purchased through TRC?
> 4. If so, what is the status of our claim? If not, why not?
> I would also like to encourage UCI agressively inform UCI users of
> their rights to rebates under this settlement.
> 
> Finally, I would like to suggest that any rebates received by UCI
> (e.g., through TRC purchases) that cannot, for whatever reason, be
> returned to the original purchaser, be used instead to fund transition
> training programs to open source software/open document formats.
> This is a _great opportunity_ to help the OSS/ODF transition policy
> presently under consideration by the Academic Senate:
> 
> http://dust.ess.uci.edu/uci/uci_oss.pdf
> 
> Thanks!
> Charlie
> -- 
> Charlie Zender, zender at uci dot edu, (949) 824-2987, Department of
> Earth System Science, University of California, Irvine CA 92697-3100
> 
> 
>