On 14 May 2025, Alexander Wolfson, a veteran barrister, launched an opt-out class action lawsuit against the technology powerhouse Microsoft. The claim is being filed on behalf of all individuals and legal entities based in the UK, including public institutions, who have acquired licenses for specific Microsoft software products, such as Microsoft Office and Windows.

The allegations assert that Microsoft has exploited its dominant market position and engaged in practices that hindered competition between its new licenses and pre-owned licenses for its products, resulting in inflated prices for both categories of licenses.

Wolfson has enlisted the expertise of Kate Pollock, the Head of Competition at Stewarts, along with partners Stuart Carson and Marc Jones, among others, and is coordinating with counsel teams from both Monckton and Matrix Chambers, as well as a group of experts to provide economic testimony for the case. The lawsuit is being financed by Harbour.

The Cloud Infrastructure Providers in Europe organization (CISPE) previously took similar action regarding Microsoft’s licensing practices when it lodged a complaint against Microsoft with the European Commission. In July 2024, Microsoft and CISPE reached a provisional settlement.

Under the terms of the settlement agreement, Microsoft agreed to implement specific changes to address the issues raised by CISPE members, prompting CISPE to retract its formal complaint. However, significant service providers such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud Platform, and AliCloud were not included in the settlement.