Microsoft banks more illegal software settlements

The imminent launch of Windows 7 makes this the perfect time to step up the fight against piracy

Software giant Microsoft has snagged 11 more resellers, after they were caught selling illegal software across the UK.

The resellers include Griffithstown Pontypool-based The Little Computer Shop, Hartlepool-based Platinum Computers, Worcester-based PC Support, Redcar-based Eazy PC, Bolton-based Computer Clinic, Walsall-based Computer Port, Oldham-based PC Assist, Portsmouth-based Personal Touch Computers Ltd, Litherland Liverpool-based Spacebar Computers and Stockton-on-Tees-based Matrix Computers and Goldcast Computers.

Settlements have been reached with all 11 resellers, which all admitted to hard disk loading and selling software illegally.

David Evans from Matrix Computers said: “We recognise that we were not installing Microsoft software correctly, and that is something we take seriously. We will be working with Microsoft over the next few weeks to make sure what we do falls within their software rules from now on.

“It is good to see Microsoft working with small computer traders like us to ensure we are up to speed on the right way to use and sell its software. Getting it right is important to us and to our customers – the lifeblood of a business like ours.”

These cases take the total number of hard disk loaders that Microsoft has taken legal action against since January 2008 to 103.

Simon Aldous, SMB and distribution director at Microsoft UK, said: “There is a real opportunity here for everyone in the channel to pull revenue lost to pirates back into the authorised channel. We will continue to support honest resellers by taking action against illegal traders, but it’s in our partners’ interest to proactively prevent piracy.

“Given the scale of the problem and the corresponding opportunity, I doubt there are many resellers out there who can afford to ignore piracy altogether. I would encourage anyone who would like to establish new revenue streams to integrate customer education and legalisation initiatives into their strategic business plans.”

Graham Arthur, anti-piracy attorney at Microsoft UK, said: “Every day, over a million people activate and validate their PCs to check if their copy of Windows is genuine. In the UK, the Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) failure rate is 13 per cent. With Windows 7, we are bolstering the operating system’s anti-piracy capabilities with Windows Activation Technologies.

“The failure rate for UK validations of Microsoft Office is much higher at 45 per cent. We also see 45 leads a week coming into our UK reporting piracy alias – a clear indication that our customers are dissatisfied when they don’t get what they paid for: quality, genuine software. The high demand we are seeing for Windows 7 is not for counterfeit or illegal software, but for a reliable product that comes without unwanted extras that could put customers’ data or identity at risk.”

Arthur said many of Microsoft’s partners are surprised to learn that the vendor discovers counterfeit software in one in three corporate UK customers when software licensing reviews are carried out.

“This is not just a problem confined to the consumer and SoHo marketplace. The channel has a pivotal role in differentiating the benefits of fully supported genuine software from the very real risks of unlicensed or fake products.

“The pay-off for educating customers in this way is the potential to win new business by preventing piracy – through initiatives such as Office Ready PC or through legalisation programmes, like the Get Genuine Windows Agreement.”

Aldous added: “The imminent launch of Windows 7 makes this the perfect time to step up the fight against piracy. Not just from the defensive standpoint of being undercut by unfair competition, but because the prevalence of illegal and counterfeit software in the UK presents a huge opportunity to convert customers to genuine products.

“Taking a proactive approach to piracy helps reduce the threat and make the most of the opportunity – the best of both worlds,” he said.