Microsoft hit by new legal claim over restrictive licensing and overcharging allegations

• Microsoft accused of unfair software licensing practices... again – this time in the UK
• Consumers, businesses, and the public sector are all affected
• Office and Windows licenses are central to the case

Microsoft is facing a multibillion-pound legal claim in the UK over alleged anticompetitive behavior – Redmond has been accused of unfair software licensing practices, a complaint it's all-too familiar with given recent lawsuits and investigations.

The claim accuses the company of abusing its market dominance to restrict competition between new and pre-owned software licenses, inflating prices for both.

In the case of this particular lawsuit in the UK, the focus is on Microsoft Office and Windows licenses sold since October 1, 2015, therefore spanning a period of a decade.

Microsoft is in trouble in the UK over software licensing practices

Stewarts, a UK-based law firm, is leading the litigation, representing UK consumers, businesses and public sector bodies who purchased affected licenses.

Heading the case, Kate Pollock explained (via The Register): "Microsoft's conduct has had a profound and costly impact on millions of individuals and private and public sector organizations that rely on its software for daily business operations."

"This claim seeks to hold Microsoft to account and to secure compensation for the many affected members of the class. With billions of pounds potentially at stake, this case is about ensuring fairness in the digital marketplace and ensuring even the largest tech companies play by the rules," Alex Wolfson, the proposed class representative, added.

It's not the first time Microsoft has been in the news over anticompetitive business practices. A 2020 complaint from Slack was recently resolved when the tech giant unbundled Teams from its software subscriptions. Microsoft was also in trouble in the UK last year over allegedly making it more expensive for Windows Server customers to use the software on rival cloud platforms.

CISPE, representing cloud providers across Europe, also filed a complaint in 2022, but withdrew it after reaching a settlement with the Windows maker.

TechRadar Pro has asked Microsoft for a comment on the open UK case – any update will be posted here.

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