Microsoft deals with piracy of Office suite in NZ
According to this article, which surfaced this morning on the Google news run-down for NZ, Microsoft has been running an anti-piracy bender in the great green down-under since February. What really got my attention, though, was the way that MS had decided to do with those people who were found to be operating counterfeit software… via the “Genuine Advantage” system, users of counterfeit software are given the option of purchasing a legitimate copy, or filling out a form to receive a copy directly from Microsoft for free! An MS marketing manager revealed that around 500 people had opted to purchase replacement software, but it was not known how many people had taken up the “free” offer. In addition, two groups of people selling copies of fake MS software over online auction site TradeMe were pinged – one settled out of court, and the other was ordered to pay $100.000NZD.
Now THAT’S how you deal with piracy, folks! Smack down hard on the people profiting from selling stolen goods, and steer the individual users back to the light without victimising your client base. Somebody from Microsoft ought to go have a chat with the RIAA, and show ‘em how it’s done… eh? 
Tags:microsoft, piracy, software