It is a cheering thought that the art of letter-writing will never be dead while IBM Corp is still around, and the company has put toner to paper on both sides of the Atlantic on the thorny issue of what it regards as counterfeiting. In a slightly embarrassing development, given that the company said last year that it had no evidence of counterfeit memory in any 3090s in Europe, it has now had to write to European users to say We wish to inform you that IBM Europe has discovered memory, originally manufactured by IBM for use in its 3090 family of products, that has been altered and refabricated by some third parties and misrepresented as genuine IBM parts. The same activities have occurred in the US and are currently the subject of litigation initiated by IBM to stop this misrepresentation. Inspection of of samples of these cards shows that they have been fabricated using processes that do not conform to IBM’s manufacturing and quality standards. As a result, these cards and modules may contain defects which could affect the reliability and performance of IBM equipment… These refabricated cards are not genuine IBM manufactured products and therefore the provisions of the IBM Maintenance Agreement, related to altered equipment, and the IBM Multiple Supplier System Bulletin apply. We will continue to maintain IBM equipment although if, as a result of a repair action, we discover that the failing components have been refabricated, you will be billed for the time and materials involved. In addition, parts returned to IBM (for example in connection with an upgrade or a trade-in) must be genuine IBM parts. The company assures worried customers that it will inspect their machines to check the parts – for a fee.The American letter, out of the Central Response Office in Chicago, warns We have discovered some AS/400 9406 model B processors which have duplicate serail numbers of valid IBM AS/400 9406 processors. Some of these model B processors have surfaced in customer and third party locations, and in some instances, have been presented as genuine IBM machines. Although some or all of the parts used to create these machines may have been originally manufactured by IBM, these fabricated machines are not genuine, IBM manufactured processors. The company goes on to list its stipulations. IBM’s logo or serial number may not be used and no representation may be made to suggest the machine is a genuine IBM AS/400. No licence to use the AS/400 Model Unique Licensed Internal Code has been provided for these machines – and its use may be a violation of IBM’s copyright and the Customer Agreement. And IBM will not provide any maintenance services on such machines Notice of termination of such services will be rendered for any machine which has been inadvertantly placed under the IBM service agreement. And IBM will not provide any upgrades, RPQs or licensed code for the machine. Third parties that are concerned that their AS/400 may not be legitimate are advised to contact the Central Response Office with the processor serial number and a copy of the bill of sale, the US letter concludes.
