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Microsoft Pummels Education Software Thieves
David Utter
Staff Writer
2007-04-03
 Insider Reports RSS Feed
Heavily discounted software intended for the education market had been redirected to the consumer market by international smugglers.
Companies dealing in that software have found themselves on the receiving end of legal action from Microsoft. The company announced today it had filed nine lawsuits and dispensed over 50 cease and desist letters to merchants reselling media marked for the education market only to retail consumers.
Microsoft named Jordan as one country where illicit operations took place reselling Windows and Office software they obtained at heavy discounts to other Internet retailers. Those retailers made a tidy profit by selling the discounted software to consumers.
"Jordan has invested heavily in transforming itself into a full-fledged knowledge economy," said His Excellency Eng. Basem Rousan, Jordan's minister of Information and Communications Technology. "Companies that break Jordan's intellectual property laws will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law."
One company has already settled with Microsoft. EDirectSoftware will give up over $1 million in cash and property to settle the court case against it. A Microsoft spokesperson called EDirectSoftware "one of the largest offenders."
Companies received software marked as Student Media from Jordan and other countries, where investigations will continue to proceed. Despite stipulations that the software not be sold in the retail market, those sales happened frequently.
"The defendants in these lawsuits and others are charged with profiting from selling clearly marked educational software to unsuspecting retail customers who were not licensed to use it," said Bonnie MacNaughton, senior attorney at Microsoft.
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Tags: Microsoft, Software, Piracy
About the Author:
David Utter is a business and technology writer for SecurityProNews and WebProNews.
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