Threatens to Seize His 2002 Ford Escort Over $143.50 In eBay Profit
This is too much. Kent State undergrad David Zamos enrolled in a course at the University of Akron and bought Microsoft Windows and Office XP Pro for $60 at UA's bookstore with his student discount.
But when he got home, "he realized that he'd have to reformat his hard drive to install it. Rather than lose years of term papers and mp3s, he decided to stick with his old operating system."
When the store wouldn't take it back, he decided to sell the unopened software he'd bought at UA on eBay.
Microsoft found out, and came after him with both guns blazing, filing an 18-page complaint against Zamos, accusing him of unfair competition and "irreparable injury to its business reputation and goodwill."
Unable to afford an intellectual property lawyer, and convinced that he was in the right, Zamos went to the law library and went to work.
Although he ultimately got no money from Microsoft, Zamos did get them to drop their suit and apologize. And Microsoft got some really bad PR, including what you're reading now.
The entertaining details are here from the Cleveland Scene. (via The Obscure Store)