Hardware-software bundling crumbles in France

IANAL but I noticed a difference between the French and U.S. laws on tying based on their Wikipedia entries.Based on the U.S. Wikipedia article (admittedly suspected of weasel words and other monopolist mischief), illegal tying requires:

(1) two separate products or services are involved; (2) the purchase of the tying product is conditioned on the additional purchase of the tied product; (3) the seller has sufficient market power in the market for the tying product; (4) a notinsubstantial amount of interstate commerce in the tied product market is affected.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tying_(commerce)

Element 3 has been rendered harder to satisfy in recent years by the united states of antitrustican.

Whereas the French judge invoked the clearer-cut French consumer law of tying being illegal.(Lenovo's high-priced lawyer arguing that the hw and sw were part of a whole,like car and AC,while the plaintiff's fsw -savvy lawyer arguing it is more like car and chauffeur,the plaintiff only wanting the hw features which the vendor did not allow him to buy separately. )

If you're in Europe the French libre sw users association AFUL provides a guide on precautions to take to ensure success in getting a refund on tied sw.

Wouldn't be nice to have a similar law in the US!

Outstanding. Unless the sales tax is too offsetting, my next computer will be purchased from France or Majorca, Spain. I have relatives there.

Fettoosh: if your friends/relatives make the right declarations they can get the sales tax back, because sales tax is actually not supposed to be paid by the seller but by the buyer in the home country of the buyer.

however, you may find that even without tax prices are higher in europe. one laptop i bought through contacts in the US several years ago because it was cheaper with US tax and the european tax and shipping alltogether.

greetings, eMBee.

Quoting:however, you may find that even without tax prices are higher in europe.

@eMBee,

Thanks for the information.

Actually, my brother in law lives in Majorca and he has a little computer shop. I haven't talked to him lately about his business, but I recall he said similar to what you said. I am not sure now if it would be cheaper with a special discount and the Windows Tax removed. I will give it a try next time when my wife calls him. Shipping is not an issue since my kids, one at a time, make a summer visit. :-)