Microsoft Goes After One More Windows Pirate

The Redmond-based technology giant Microsoft continues its struggle to stop piracy of its software with a new lawsuit, once again filed against a Chinese company.

Legaldaily.com.cn reports that both Microsoft and Autodesk have sued an unnamed Chinese company because it was using counterfeited copies of the Windows operating system, Windows Server OS, Microsoft Office and Autocad on its workstations.

The Chinese company used pirated software on more than 100 computers and servers, Microsoft and Autodesk claimed in the lawsuit.

Representatives of the Chinese company, however, claim they’re not at fault for the pirated content found on these workstations, as all applications have been installed by the retailer that actually sold them the computers.

Microsoft, on the other hand, says it has found evidence that the accused Chinese company was actually making profit from using the illegal copies of its software, as it published job openings on the Internet for Windows, Office and CAD engineers.

This is actually only one of the company’s attempts to reduce piracy in China, as Microsoft has recently sued Shanghai-based retailer Ruichuang Network Technology for using and selling counterfeited software.

The Chinese company has settled for 36 million yuan ($5.7 million / €4.3 million) in compensation for distributing unlicensed products, with Microsoft’s statistics revealing that a total of 1.3 million physical copies of its software had been sold online.

Back in September, Microsoft has asked the Chinese government to help reduce piracy at four large state-owned corporations, including China National Petroleum Corporation, China Post Group, China Railway Construction Corp., and Travelsky Technology Ltd.

Microsoft’s investigation has proved that, in some cases, 93 percent of these companies’ computers relied on pirated software, including Windows Server and the Office productivity suite.

The investigation is still ongoing at this point, but it’s pretty clear that Microsoft is no longer willing to accept software piracy.