Microsoft's new 'œGlobal Anti-Piracy Day' must have Linux users laughing

Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Tuesday, 21 October 2008 11:07

Opinion and Analysis

Ahoy there me timbers, if ye be piratin’ Microsoft software, then ye better start shiverin’ and be warned: Microsoft is comin’ out to make software pirates walk the plank, in a co-ordinated global effort across 49 countries in six continents to “combat the sophisticated, illegal trade of pirated and counterfeit software”.

Although Linux lovers will rightly say that an anti-piracy initiative isn’t necessary in the FOSS world, free and open source software has overtaken the world yet, and the piracy of commercial software is still a crime that Microsoft is most definitely investigating, chasing and prosecuting.

Today, the 21st of October 2008 is the inaugural “Global Anti-Piracy Awareness Day”, and it’s a simultaneous launch of both education and enforcement actions across 49 countries to combat the piracy trade.

The programs include: “intellectual property awareness campaigns, engagement with partner businesses, educational forums, local law enforcement training and new legal actions against alleged software counterfeiters and pirates.”

It was only last week on the 14th of October that Microsoft Australia took some pirates to court, filing proceedings “in the Federal Magistrates Court for copyright infringement against three individuals trading online.”

Microsoft has amped up its anti-piracy effort on every front, but in this case specifically targeting “online counterfeit sales”, with its actions “aimed at reducing the impact of the growing trend of high-quality counterfeit products being sold directly to unsuspecting consumers online.”

But online traders aren’t the only ones under the Microsoft microscope, with over 400 IT businesses and three South Australian resellers also being caught in the latest “blitz”.

Two businesses thus far reached a settlement on October 13, while the others must have decided to try their luck with the legal system.

But it’s not just catching pirates after the fact, Microsoft is also working closely with industry bodies such as the Business Software Alliance (BSA) to “achieve a coordinated and holistic approach to the protection of intellectual property.”

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