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How To Take a Big Vendor To Small Claims and Win

snydeq writes "Gripe Line's Christina Tynan-Wood offers good news for those harboring grievances about faulty software or unfair licensing practices: it is in fact possible to take a big vendor to small claims court and win. But, as one woman's fight against Adobe demonstrates, detailed evidence and a deep understanding of the laws in question are essential to obtaining justice against big vendor lawyers. 'Evidence is the key factor,' explains one legal expert. 'Often the evidence people present does not show what they think it does. And they fail to make themselves aware of the rules of evidence so they can introduce any evidence they do have in court. These companies will have attorneys and those attorneys will use the rules of civil procedure to take advantage of your lack of knowledge.' Moreover, they will spare little expense no matter the magnitude of claims brought against them. 'The lawyer for Adobe tried an "end-user is stupid" argument,' explains the woman who took on Adobe over a software license she never had the privilege of agreeing to. 'But he gave that up when he learned I wasn't a lame-brain home computer user. I have a software engineering background and worked for Sun Microsystems and Fidelity Investments tech group.'"

4 of 171 comments (clear)

  1. Yay Poster! by phantomcircuit · · Score: 4, Funny

    It's a print link. Yay poster!

    1. Re:Yay Poster! by thegarbz · · Score: 4, Funny

      Yes I'm too stubborn for my own comfort too.

  2. Qualifications by Hadlock · · Score: 4, Funny

    But he [the attorney for big corp] gave that up when he learned I wasn't a lame-brain home computer user. I have a software engineering background and worked for Sun Microsystems and Fidelity Investments tech group

    Good to know all you need is a 4 year bachelors in software design and 10 years in the industry to win a $1500 lawsuit! Keep up the good work.

    --
    moox. for a new generation.
  3. Re:What product and OS? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Unfortunately many programmers are problems because they seem to think that since they can program, that means they are good with computers in every way.

    Dead right. Your statement reminded me of a tech writer on a newsgroup I used to follow.

    His sig file read:

    Tell a carpenter he's not an architect and he's OK with it. Tell a programmer he's not a GUI designer and he goes out of his skull.