Microsoft, known for being meticulous about protecting its intellectual property, didn’t pay much attention when using a famous piece of work. The story goes like this: one of the popular wallpapers used for Windows XP was actually borrowed without the owner’s knowledge. Interestingly, the wallpaper’s owner had also taken it from somewhere else without permission. Here are the details…

Microsoft Windows XP wallpaper was used without permission

According to the Windows Aesthetics account on Twitter, one of the wallpapers in the “Royale” theme offered for Windows XP Media Center Edition and XP in 2005 was taken from DeviantArt. This wallpaper was shared by DeviantArt user “Judge” in 2003 under the name “Grassy.”

However, the story doesn’t end here. Judge had created this image inspired by another user’s 2002 work titled “Where Are You Going” by “Americanpsycho.” So, there is a double layer of unauthorized use here. The person who took the wallpaper for Windows XP also took it without permission from someone else, hence no one can claim any rights.

Microsoft’s New Zealand office took this image from DeviantArt and added it to the “Royale” theme. The original landscape shown in the wallpaper is still unknown. It might be somewhere real or entirely fictional. Various edits, reflections, and duplications were made to the image, making the source of the original photo a mystery.

Judge mentioned in a brief discussion on DeviantArt that he tried to reach out to Microsoft but received no response. It must have been hard for him to accept this. What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments below.”