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Microsoft has teamed up with eBay to clamp down on illegal software being bought online.
The vendor, which claims the move will benefit the channel, has joined eBay's VeRO programme, which scans the site for suspicious sales and puts a stop to the auction.
"In the past six months, we have been scanning eBay for counterfeit or mis-sold software and have come up with a whole raft of organisations offering illegal software," said Alex Hilton, licensing compliance group manager at Microsoft.
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According to Hilton, mis-selling software to SMEs devalues it and causes a knock-on effect to VARs. "We hope this partnership is going to be positive [for resellers]. I think they will applaud it," he claimed.
Hilton added that the vendor's channel clampdown has received a positive reaction from resellers. Last month, the firm sent letters to 1,000 VARs informing them they had bought illegal software and offering training on how to avoid it in future.
"All the letters have been sent and we have had a good response. About 300 attended a meeting on how to avoid buying illegal software," he said.
Microsoft will come down hard on repeat offenders, but will be lenient with one-off cases, Hilton added. "As others are investigated there could be more letters sent to resellers," he warned.
Mike Lawrence, managing director at VAR Bentpenny, was one of the 1,000 who received a letter. He supports Microsoft's softer approach on first-time offenders.
"It can be down to anything such as a member of staff making a mistake," he said. "If you are warned politely you will make sure it does not happen again."
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