DailyTech - Microsoft Sues Resellers for Selling Pirated Software

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IT Microsoft Sues Resellers for Selling Pirated Software
Tuan Nguyen (Blog) - July 18, 2006 10:07 AM

22 comment(s) - last by SGTPan.. on Jul 19 at 3:33 AM

Piracy is not a business model Microsoft says

In an effort to crack down on software piracy, Microsoft this week filed 26 lawsuits against resellers, alleging that many of them sell pirated versions of Windows and other Microsoft software. Microsoft filed the suit across several states and said that it found unlicensed software on many computer systems.

Mary Jo Schrade, a senior attorney at Microsoft said that "our message should be made very clear by today's lawsuits. We are committed to finding the unscrupulous dealers of pirated software and making piracy a business model that doesn't work."

According to reports, Microsoft gathered evidence by purchasing computer systems from various resellers under a secret identity. Microsoft said that it then tests the systems for unlicensed software. Microsoft did not mention which resellers were part of its crackdown.

In recent anti-piracy news, Microsoft was forced to do a double take on its Windows Genuine Advantage program. After its last major release, so many users complained that WGA performed calls back to Microsoft servers without first informing users of its actions. Microsoft was then forced to issue a new version of WGA. Unfortunately, Microsoft ended up receiving lawsuits over WGA anyway.

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RE: This it to obtain revenue

By TomZ on 7/18/2006 1:15:08 PM , Rating: 2

quote:
as if Microsoft needs those profits.. Its like 1cent for the disc and maybe about 30$ per copy of XP they sell that was used in the R&D of it.. the rest of the 250$ is pure profit..

LOL, so you should receive the benefit of Microsoft's investment, instead of Microsoft's shareholders? Please explain your logic behind that.

Just because someone doesn't "need" something doesn't give you any right to deprive them of it.

Parent

"Let's face it, we're not changing the world. We're building a product that helps people buy more crap - and watch porn." -- Seagate CEO Bill Watkins