Microsoft has revealed that it has filed 52 lawsuits in the last six months against resellers who have been caught for allegedly selling counterfeit Microsoft software via online marketplaces.

Six of the lawsuits have been in the UK while 15 of the 52 lawsuits filed involved software that was traced back to the largest-ever commercial counterfeit organisation, which was raided by Chinese authorities, the FBI and Microsoft this year.

David Finn, associate general counsel for worldwide anti-piracy and anti-counterfeiting at Microsoft, said: “The criminal syndicate broken up this past summer by Chinese law enforcement and the FBI was linked to a significant amount of illegitimate internet activity.”

As a result, Microsoft has been working with eBay to educate auction sites users about counterfeit software and has produced the ‘Microsoft Buying Guide,’ which highlights safe practices and resources for purchasing software on online.

“Every day, software pirates around the world put countless consumers at risk by selling defective counterfeit software through internet marketplaces. As part of our ongoing effort to combat software piracy, Microsoft is committed to taking the legal action necessary to protect consumers around the world from the dangers of counterfeit software, and we encourage consumers to look to the legitimate channel - both online and offline - when seeking genuine Microsoft software,” added Finn.

Microsoft is also a member of eBay’s Verified Rights Owner Program (VeRO) which enable rights owners such as Microsoft to report counterfeits to eBay and have them removed form the site.

Matt Halprin, vice president of trust & safety for eBay, said: “EBay applauds Microsoft's actions to stop the abuse of their intellectual property. The sale of counterfeits is an industry-wide problem both offline and online. Counterfeit software is illegal and not welcome on eBay, as it reduces trust between our buyers and sellers.”

He added: “As our business has grown and the challenges of global counterfeiting have become more complex, cooperation with law enforcement and rights owners has become more critical - we need to fight the sale of counterfeit goods together.”
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