Microsoft sues counterfeit Office 2007 seller on Trade Me

Microsoft has successfully sued a seller of counterfeit Microsoft Office 2007 software on Trade Me.

In the District Court at Manukau, the seller, trading as ‘ShaahilAli‘, admitted he was liable for Copyright Infringement through his sale of counterfeit copies of Microsoft programs over the Internet.

The proceedings come as the Seventh Global Software Piracy Study conducted by IDC for the Business Software Alliance (BSA) is released, showing New Zealand piracy rates have held steady in 2009 at 22 per cent.

Microsoft is pleased with the judgment and the results of the IDC Piracy Study which shows New Zealand has maintained one of the lowest levels of piracy in the world, according to Mark Rees, Microsoft New Zealand’s National Technology Officer.

“Microsoft is doing everything in its power to stamp out piracy, and educating New Zealand businesses and Kiwi consumers about the risks of getting software from suspicious sources plays a major part of this. Pirated software hurts everyone from software developers to retail store owners, and ultimately all software users. Purchasing from known and trusted sources and avoiding ‘too good to be true’ deals are the best ways to avoid wasting valuable time and money on counterfeit or infringing software.”

Chris Budge, Trade Me’s Trust & Safety manager, said Trade Me was also delighted at the successful case: “We have zero tolerance for intellectual property theft and this Microsoft case sends a strong message that if you try to flog off counterfeit items you will be seen and caught – and you will pay a hefty price for your actions.”

According to the IDC Piracy Study, worldwide piracy rates in 2009 have increased slightly, up two percent to 43 per cent, over 2008 figures.

“In light of this, the New Zealand figures can be seen to represent a significant decrease in piracy, bucking the global trend,” added Mr Rees.

In other countries, piracy levels varied across 2008 - 2009 with Australia experiencing a decrease from 26 per cent to 25 per cent and China from 80 per cent to 79 per cent. The UK stayed the same at 27 per cent, so too the US at 20 per cent, the lowest percentage recorded in the study.