The claim mirrors a similar action that Alexander Wolfson, a former barrister with the Crown Prosecution Service, announced in September. Wolfson is also working on behalf of U.K. organizations and businesses affected by Microsoft’s alleged overpricing practices.
Collective Action and Potential Impact
Stasi’s “opt-out” collective action opens the door for any U.K. business or organization that purchased Windows Server licenses through Amazon AWS, Google Cloud, or Alibaba Cloud to join the lawsuit. If successful, the lawsuit could have far-reaching consequences, not only for Microsoft but for the wider cloud computing sector.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in the U.K. has already raised concerns about Microsoft’s practices, with findings in September 2023 showing that Microsoft commands a substantial market share in the desktop operating system space. The CMA also recently urged a review of the cloud services market after a study revealed that customers face significant barriers when trying to switch providers.
A Long-Standing Debate
This is not the first time Microsoft’s licensing practices have faced scrutiny. In addition to the ongoing class action, the company is locked in a separate, multi-year legal battle with software reseller ValueLicensing. The reseller claims Microsoft has stifled the secondary market for pre-owned software licenses, leading to a separate £270 million lawsuit in the U.K. and European Economic Area.
