Owners Of 2003 To 2008 Computers With DVD Drives Can Get Paid $10

DVD drives or any kind of disk drives have become less and less prevalent as computers progress to rely more on digital content. However, in the early to late 2000s, they were all the rage and those who had PCs equipped with units have the chance to get an unexpected payday. Thanks to a lawsuit that was recently concluded, simply owning a computer with a DVD drive between 2003 and 2008 is entitled to receive $10.

Even though it took seven years, the case that the US Department of Justice filed against certain manufacturers of DVD drives has finally come to an end. The lawsuit involves allegations that several companies were actually working together in order to increase the prices of the optical drives so that makers of computers had to pay more for them, CNET reports.

The companies in question include Panasonic, Sony, Hitachi-LG, and NEC. After years of trying to prove their guilt, the DOJ finally got the major tech firms to settle back in December. The PC makers that were named to have been the victims of this collusion are Dell and HP, and every time they would buy optical drives, the conspirators would share their bid amounts with each other in order to keep the prices at a premium.

During the investigation, one executive from Hitachi-LG was sent to serve prison time to last six months. The companies were also ordered to pay $10 to every single customer who bought a computer with a DVD drive a decade past.

Anyone who wishes to make a claim can go to the official website, where they will need to make a legally binding statement that they purchased a computer with a DVD in it during the time period indicated. What’s more, the claimants must be a resident of one of the states on the site’s list.