Dive Brief:
- Microsoft is suing Phoenix, AZ-based Global Electronics Recycling, alleging that employees stole and sold 70,000 copies of Office 2010 software that was supposed to be destroyed.
- The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court of Western Washington, alleges owners Danny and Gary Kirkpatrick "acted, at a minimum, with willful blindness" to Microsoft’s rights and are therefore liable for copyright damages in the millions of dollars. Microsoft, based in Redmond, WA, believes up to 10 employees actually sold and distributed the stolen software.
- Microsoft earlier this year sued a Tampa recycling company for selling computers with unauthorized copies of Windows 7, and in 2013 sued E-Waste Harvesters of Phoenix for allegedly selling unauthorized copies Windows XP.
Dive Insight:
Microsoft trusts e-waste recyclers to properly dispose of its valuable property, and is right to pursue damages in court from those who don't. Unfortunately, similar issues are not uncommon in the e-waste recycling market. This is partially due to the way that e-waste is disposed — in August, an investigation funded by the European Union was released, reporting that Europeans disposed of only 35% of electronic waste properly in 2012. The other 65% of e-waste ended up in landfills or on the black market, which is a problem happening in the United States as well.
Regardless, recyclers have an obligation to follow contracts and the law. Other sectors of recycling, including bottle recycling and scrap metal recycling, also inhibit crime. In California, three people have been arrested this year for attempting to smuggle more than $7,000 worth of plastic and aluminum beverage containers from Arizona into California. And many scrap metal recyclers have been charged with crimes after buying stolen material.