AmCham Serbia - Microsoft EMEA

Software Piracy Enforcement - Cases and Strategy

This conference brought many interesting case studies and anti-piracy strategies. We present you the most important parts from Thomas Limouzin-Lamothe's presentation. He is Anti-Piracy Attorney - Central & Eastern Europe from Microsoft EMEA


By WAVE Team


Size of the Software Piracy Problem:

- Piracy up on a global basis: the worldwide PC software piracy rate rose for the second year in a row, from 38 percent to 41 percent,

- Worldwide losses grew by 11 percent to $53.0 billion. Excluding the effect of exchange rates, lossesgrew by 5 percent to $50.2 billion.

Piracy Types

- Corporate Copying
- Hard Disk Loading
- Online Piracy
- Counterfeit

High Quality Counterfeits

- Sophisticated counterfeits manufactured in Asia are virtually indistinguishable from genuine and can easily fool customers

- The counterfeit mylar labels are very deceptive, particularly when viewed through the transparent window of a CD sleeve

Low Quality Counterfeits

Massed produced low quality CD-R counterfeits are primarily found in emerging markets, however, worldwide counterfeiting syndicates are increasingly offering low priced/low quality counterfeit goods to developed markets via the internet

Online Piracy

Professional looking websites often fool customers into thinking they are purchasing cheap genuine software - often these advertisements are sent by sophisticated spam networks but the shipments originating primarily from Russia don't match the professional look of the website and the product is clearly counterfeit, even to the untrained eye

Risk of Obtaining and Using Pirated Software: The IDC White Paper

- 25% of Web sites offered counterfeit product keys, pirated software, key generators or crack tools that attempted to install either malicious or potentially unwanted software.

- 59% of the key generators and crack tools downloaded from peer-to-peer networks contained either malicious or potentially unwanted software.

- Counterfeit MS software found in 17 countries littered with extraneous code -1/3 wouldn't install, and 43% had spyware, malware or additional code

Risk resulting in:

- reducing the software user's security
- thus putting confidential, personal, and business information at risk
- and triggering a risk of reputation and financial consequences due to loss of data

A high impact on local economy

IDC studies of the economic impact of lowering piracy since 2002: reducing the piracy rate by 10% in 4 years would result in:

- $141 billion contribution to WW Growth Product
- 600,000 new jobs
- $24 billion additional tax revenue

Microsoft's anti-piracy effort:

- Intelligence collection and analysis
- Civil enforcement
- Partnering with law enforcement on criminal cases
- Support Government in strengthening IP protection laws where appropriate
- PR and marketing to deter pirates and support honest technology partners
- Consumer education and awareness about IPR and risk of counterfeit


(Published: 11.11.2009.)