Microsoft declares anti-piracy day

Software giant Microsoft has declared today Global Anti-Piracy Day, with the launch of education initiatives and enforcement actions in 49 countries to combat the trading of illegal software.

Spread across six continents, the programmes include intellectual property awareness campaigns, engagements with partner businesses, educational forums, local law enforcement training, and new legal actions against alleged software counterfeiters and pirates.

David Finn, associate general counsel for worldwide anti-piracy and anti-counterfeiting at Microsoft, said: “In partnership with national governments, local law enforcement agencies, and our customer and partner communities, Microsoft is driving anti-piracy efforts across countries and continents through an equally sophisticated system of business intelligence, forensics and education.”

Guy Sebban, secretary general of the International Chamber of Commerce, said: “It will only be possible to halt counterfeiting and piracy on a global scale through this kind of collaboration between governments and the private sector - both to educate people about the value of intellectual property and to take action against trade in illicit products.”

Microsoft claims more than one third of PCs globally contain unlicensed, pirated or counterfeit software, which in 2007 resulted in a global economic loss of nearly $50bn.

John Newton, of the Intellectual Property Rights Project, financial and high-tech crime subdirectorate and Interpol general secretariat, said: “Microsoft and Interpol are now cooperating with police and customs agencies around the world to use all available intelligence to ensure that our joint investigations lead to arrests and convictions of criminal counterfeiters.”