14 DAY TRIAL // It’s no secret that Windows and Office are two of the most pirated software solutions on the market right now, but Microsoft’s willing to fight this with lawsuits filed whenever it manages to track down a company or individual that’s in any way involved in selling or distributing counterfeited copies of its products.
This time, for instance, Microsoft sued Arizona-based electronic recycling company Global Electronics Recycling, claiming that its employees have stolen 70,000 copies of Office 2010 that eventually reached the black market.
A report by BizJournals reveals that Microsoft claims the sold Office licenses were worth millions of dollars, so the company is now seeking damages in the US District Court of Western Washington.
10 employees selling licenses on the black market
In the lawsuit papers, Microsoft explains that owners of the company, Danny and Gary Kirkpatrick, were supposed to supervise employees and protect licenses of Microsoft software from being stolen. The contract between the two companies has been breached, Microsoft says, so the two are now responsible for approximately 70,000 licenses ending up on the black market.
A total of 10 employees were involved in the property theft, Microsoft claims, but the lawsuit only names the company and its owners.
The software giant hasn’t yet issued a statement on this and it’s very unlikely to provide us with one since legal action has already been started, but it’s pretty clear that Microsoft isn’t willing to accept software piracy anymore, especially when it involves so many licenses.
Software piracy is causing Microsoft billions of dollars losses every year, so suing and asking for damages is pretty much the only thing the company can do for the moment. Windows continues to be the most pirated product of the company, but given that Office is more expensive, the losses caused by selling counterfeited copies of the productivity suite are significantly higher.