A French consumer group has filed three lawsuits against Hewlett-Packard (HP) and two electronics retailers concerning the sale of computers with preloaded software.HP’s consumer PC offerings are sold with Microsoft’s Windows OS, said Alain Spitzmuller, legal affairs director for HP France. The group, the Union Federale des Consommateurs-Que Choisir (UFC), alleged consumers frequently lack the option of buying “bare” computers without software. UFC said it wants consumers to be able to choose the software for their machine and get reimbursed for purchasing an OS they did not want.UFC contends the packaging of both hardware and software together violates a French law that prohibits linking the functionality of a product to another product. HP, which this year overtook Dell as the world’s top PC maker, disputes the claim. The company is not in violation of the law because the OS is an integral part of the PC, Spitzmuller said.“The PC without an OS is not a product because it doesn’t work,” Spitzmuller said. “We believe the market is for products that work.” French courts have rejected two civil suits filed by individuals against HP that were founded on the same claim as UFC, Spitzmuller said.Included in the complaints are retailers Auchan and Darty. The complaints were filed Thursday in courts in Paris, Bobigny and Nanterre, said Gaelle Patetta, UFC legal director.Spitzmuller said the judicial process will take months. -Jeremy Kirk, IDG News Service (London Bureau)Related Link: HP Overtakes Dell in Global PC SpaceCheck out our CIO News Alerts and Tech Informer pages for more updated news coverage. Related content feature Expedia poised to take flight with generative AI CTO Rathi Murthy sees the online travel service’s vast troves of data and AI expertise fueling a two-pronged transformation strategy aimed at growing the company by bringing more of the travel industry online. By Paula Rooney Jun 02, 2023 7 mins Travel and Hospitality Industry Digital Transformation Artificial Intelligence case study Deoleo doubles down on sustainability through digital transformation The Spanish multinational olive oil processing company is immersed in a digital transformation journey to achieve operational efficiency and contribute to the company's sustainability strategy. By Nuria Cordon Jun 02, 2023 6 mins CIO Supply Chain Digital Transformation brandpost Resilient data backup and recovery is critical to enterprise success As global data volumes rise, business must prioritize their resiliency strategies. By Neal Weinberg Jun 01, 2023 4 mins Security brandpost Democratizing HPC with multicloud to accelerate engineering innovations Cloud for HPC is facilitating broader access to high performance computing and accelerating innovations and opportunities for all types of organizations. By Tanya O'Hara Jun 01, 2023 6 mins Multi Cloud Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe