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We'll never stop pirates: Microsoft

Started by dhilipkumar, Oct 22, 2008, 03:35 PM

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dhilipkumar


Microsoft has conceded it will never be able to stop people from obtaining pirated versions of its software as it launches a global crackdown including legal action against sellers of counterfeit versions of Windows and Office.

The blitz encompasses 49 countries and has already led to legal action against Australian online and bricks-and-mortar sellers.

But Microsoft's local director of intellectual property, Vanessa Hutley, conceded in an interview that Microsoft would never be able to stop people who want pirated copies of its software from obtaining them for free via illegal download sites.

Instead, Hutley said Microsoft would focus on shutting down resellers who deceive people by selling pirated versions of Windows and Office that look and feel like the genuine article.

"Are we able to solve absolutely every problem? No ... there are some people who will always not want to pay for something and there are always people who will want to exploit," she said.

The Business Software Alliance, which represents software makers around the world, said a recent global piracy study by analyst firm IDC found 28 per cent of software in use in Australia was pirated.Microsoft has traditionally targeted bricks-and-mortar sellers of pirated software but it is now turning its focus to the internet.Staff at the company now regularly log on to eBay and make "trap purchases" of Microsoft Windows and Office products before analysing them to determine if they're genuine.As part of that strategy - which began in July - Microsoft this month commenced legal action in the Federal Magistrates Court against three eBay sellers who pedalled pirated versions of Windows XP and Office 2003.

"We are continuing to trawl [eBay] as we speak, we are looking at the power sellers ... and we will make trap purchases in order to secure the evidence," Hutley said.

In the past, Microsoft has targeted computer sellers operating out of physical shop fronts who offer to load a bonus copy of Office or Windows free of charge to tempt people into making a purchase. These are almost always counterfeit versions.Hutley said the practice was now rare following several blitzes by Microsoft. The company recently posed as a genuine customer and called up 400 Australian IT businesses and found only three of those offered to load pirated Microsoft software.The company has now filed proceedings against two of those in the Federal Magistrates Court after reaching a confidential settlement with the third last week.