Tech Shout!

Microsoft has filed 52 lawsuits and the referral of 22 cases to local law enforcement in 22 countries against resellers who apparently sold counterfeit Microsoft software on several online marketplaces. Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Turkey, South Africa, the United Kingdom, the US are amongst the 22 nations. This step has been taken by the software giant to primarily safeguard customers and back legal online business.

David Finn, associate general counsel, worldwide anti-piracy and anti-counterfeiting, Microsoft stated, “Every day, software pirates around the world put countless consumers at risk by selling defective counterfeit software through Internet marketplaces.” Adding, “As part of our ongoing effort to combat software piracy, Microsoft is committed to taking the legal action necessary to protect consumers around the world from the dangers of counterfeit software, and we encourage consumers to look to the legitimate channel - both online and offline - when seeking original Microsoft software.”

Out of the 52 lawsuits filed, 15 dealt with softwares that found their links with the largest commercial counterfeit syndicate until now that was broken up in July 2007 by China’s Public Security Bureau along with Microsoft and the FBI. Raids in the southern region of China revealed the existence of a 2 billion dollar global software piracy syndicate.

“The criminal syndicate broken up this past summer by Chinese law enforcement and the FBI was linked to a significant amount of illegitimate Internet activity,” mentioned Finn. “We took note of that fact and followed up globally, since we have a responsibility to help combat cyber-pirates who operate without borders and attempt to deceive unsuspecting software consumers around the world.”

In addition, Microsoft has also organized a “Microsoft Buying Guide” on online auction site eBay to assist users to buy legitimate software along with listing ways that will help one to differentiate between genuine and illegal software.