[letsgetphysITal]

You misunderstand. He was convicted of copyright infringement for selling unlicensed copies of Windows. He didn't do this, as copies of Windows aren't sold; they're licensed. As the article states, he didn't sell licenses. He sold recovery media which is available for free from the Microsoft website, and from OEM suppliers.

He did admit to trademark infringement by reusing the protected Dell artwork on the disks, but he wasn't convicted of that. If he was, it would have been a slap on the wrist and a fine. This was unjust and totally unreasonable.

[skate22]

Did he have the rights to distribute the recovery media?

Im guessing the terms and conditions on the official downloads include language preventing an individual from cracking the copy. I doubt he included that language with his distribution.