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California businesses stand to collect handsomely from Microsoft's $1.1 billion class action antitrust settlement, if they can document ownership of eligible products.

The settlement, which received preliminary court approval last week, followed a class action suit alleging that Microsoft overcharged California customers. The case was settled without admission of liability.

Digging Out Records

The plaintiffs' attorneys are finalizing claim forms that will make it possible for individual and enterprise volume license holders to collect. Eugene Crew, whose law firm, Townsend and Townsend and Crew in San Francisco, is the lead counsel in the case, expects 80 percent of the eligible funds to go to businesses, with some collecting many thousands of dollars.

But the issue for IT managers is whether the potential benefit is worth the expense of digging out old records of, say, Windows 3.1 usage.

"It could well be that coming up with the documentation to get the voucher could cost them more than the voucher might be worth," says Rob Enderle, an analyst at Giga Information Group.

Rick Peltz, chief information officer at Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Brokerage in Encino, California, expects the settlement to yield about $18,000 for his company. Peltz says his record keeping is good and he will submit the necessary claim forms. "Times are hard, and budgets are tight," he says.

But Peltz's research into the potential settlement benefits came only after he was contacted for his comments. He says he believes many IT managers are unaware of the settlement.

Microsoft Will Help

"We have thousands of licenses that may be at stake, and we're very interested," says Greg Schueman, chief technology officer at Mercury Insurance Group in Brea, California. Fortunately, his 3500-employee company has used the same desktop supplier for years, so getting the records will be relatively easy, he says.

But Microsoft may end up getting some settlement money back. Schueman says a likely use of the funds will be to buy upgrades of Office and other Microsoft software that may otherwise have been delayed.

According to Crew, business owners will have to provide license identification numbers, but the claim form will include a "help box" that, once checked, obligates Microsoft to search its licensing records.

Jim Desler, a Microsoft spokesperson, confirms the company will provide assistance to the extent possible.

"I can't say our records are completely comprehensive, but we have records, and if (businesses) check the help box, we will respond," he says.

Any of the $1.1 billion that goes unclaimed will be used to buy computer products and services for California public schools that serve a high percentage of students from underprivileged households. Legal costs aren't deducted from the settlement; Microsoft is paying those separately.

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