Quick Links

Columnists

HAVE YOUR SAY in the ip review poll

Which type of magazine do you read the most to keep up-to-date with Industry news?

Massive counterfeit ring smashed

Full Story

It was announced on 24 July that pirated Microsoft and Symantec software – estimated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to be worth approximately $500 million – has been seized in a raid in the southern province of Guangdong in China.

The two-year joint investigation by the FBI and the Chinese police culminated in 25 arrests. Those arrested are believed to be a part of the largest of all the Chinese pirating syndicates.

‘The co-operation between the US and China is an important development in the fight against transnational criminal groups violating intellectual property rights,’ said Steven Hendershot, FBI legal attache in Beijing.

Microsoft said it played a key role in the investigation as partners and customers turned in more than 55,000 ‘sophisticated copies’ of software. Using this information, the authorities pointed investigations towards Guangdong.

Microsoft has long been an innovator in the fight against piracy. It has a dedicated web site offering information and advice for the victims of software piracy. In 2004 launched a revolutionary pilot scheme to replace counterfeit versions of Windows XP with legal ones. It has also held amnesties in several countries, waiving penalties in the pursuit of confiscating illegal products.

Brad Smith, senior vice president and general counsel at Microsoft, added: ‘This case represents a milestone in the fight against software piracy – governments, law enforcement agencies, and private companies working together with customers and software resellers to break up a massive international counterfeiting ring.’