Microsoft has announced that a series of raids have taken place in the past month in an attempt to crackdown on software piracy in the country.
The Nigerian Copyright Commission, in conjunction with the Nigerian Police Department, has conducted raids on four computer resellers suspected of selling counterfeit software to consumers in Nigeria since 3 November 2009.
Mystery shopper investigations revealed that two of the resellers deal in counterfeit software with high quality packaging, difficult to differentiate from genuine software even to the most experienced computer user.
In addition to these enforcement activities, Microsoft also hosted piracy training in Nigeria for law enforcement agents. These trainings are designed to ensure that law enforcement officials in Nigeria are armed with the necessary technical knowledge and awareness of the importance of intellectual property to ensure software piracy is tackled head on.
This announcement forms part of Microsoft’s “Consumer Action Day,” a simultaneous launch of education initiatives and enforcement actions in more than 70 countries worldwide to protect consumers and increase awareness of the risks of using counterfeit software.
The company also announced a surge of voluntary reports of more than 150,000 in the past two years from people who unknowingly purchased counterfeit software that was often riddled with viruses or malware. This increase, more than double the amount of previous records, reflects growing concern for the harm caused by counterfeit software and Microsoft’s efforts to give people a voice in the fight against software counterfeiting.
In addition to the actions and initiatives taking place in Nigeria, other global activities include an intellectual property rights education program in schools across China, an “originals club” for software resellers in Germany, a risk-of-counterfeit training course for the consumer protection authority in Mexico, a children’s online safety program in Greece, and a study of piracy’s impact on small and medium businesses in Argentina.
An interactive map detailing these efforts around the world today can be found at www.howtotell.com.
“Consumers want action,” said Emmanuel Onyeje, country manager for Microsoft in Nigeria. “Consumers who are duped by fraudulent software encounter viruses, lose personal information, risk having their identities stolen and waste valuable time and money. Today’s announcement demonstrates Microsoft’s commitment to working with others, including our partners and government agencies, to protect people from the ill effects of counterfeit software.”
The software industry has long studied the black market for pirated software and its effects on consumers. One study by the International Data Corporation (IDC) in 2006 showed that one in four Web sites offering counterfeit software attempted to install unwanted or malicious code upon downloading. The IDC report also described a review of counterfeit Microsoft software purchased at resellers in 17 countries: one-third of the disks could not be installed due to malware and other vulnerabilities. And, just two months ago, the October 2009 Internet Piracy Report from the Business Software Alliance (BSA) showed countries with high piracy rates often have high malware infection rates.
The effects of malware can range from annoying advertisements to a severe breach of information security. Moreover, most people simply find themselves without the software they thought they were paying for. Unable to get a refund from the dealer, consumers end up having to purchase the product all over again.
“The bottom line is that software piracy is a crime that has far-reaching consequences,” said Mr. Orlando Odejide of GV4, a Microsoft partner operating in Nigeria and Ghana.
“Using the various tools and websites on the Internet to find a quick and cheap way to steal software can turn out to be detrimental and dangerous to your personal information and your business. Is this really a risk that you’re willing to take?” asks Mr. Odejide.
Today’s actions around the world including Nigeria emphasize Microsoft’s growing commitment to protect consumers.
On the engineering front, Microsoft has improved the product activation and validation process with Windows 7. Windows Activation Technologies in Windows 7 are built off our Software Protection Platform introduced with Windows Vista, which enables Windows to protect itself by detecting when attempts have been made to circumvent or tamper with built-in product activation technology and helps customers to easily activate the product and resolve potential issues.
Windows 7 includes the latest generation of this technology, including changes we have made so users will see more informative notification messages and be able to more easily complete the steps in the process.
Tips from customers and partners are vital in helping Microsoft address piracy. Microsoft encourages anyone who receives suspicious software to contact their local Microsoft office. More information about genuine Microsoft products, licensing and labels is available at http://www.howtotell.com suspected piracy can also be reported via this site.