12.27.09
Microsoft Restricts the Use of Its Products in India
Summary: Microsoft, the “pirate”, has decided to put an end to copies of its products that do not bring direct income (purchase price); this involves aggressive action and arrests that would only encourage use of GNU/Linux by sellers
A couple of weeks ago we saw Microsoft engaging in illegal activities in order to fine counterfeiters of its products in India. Microsoft — not the counterfeiters — was fined for trial abuse, which was not too surprising given the i4i trial misconduct. Microsoft plays dirty even in the courtroom.
News from India suggests that Microsoft is up for it again.
- Software firm chief arrested for forging Microsoft products
- CBI arrests two persons for making counterfeit software
- Software firm chief arrested for forging Microsoft products
- CBI arrests MD of software company for piracy
The CBI on Friday arrested the managing director of a software firm for allegedly carrying out piracy of Microsoft products. The accused, Kamlesh Jha, who heads a Dwarka-based firm, K K Solutions, was a gold certified partner of Microsoft, the complainant in the case.
Yes, Microsoft is sending to jail its gold-certified partners, too. So typical. Also see:
A managing director of a city based software firm, a gold certified partner of Microsoft, and his associate have been arrested for cheating and forgery of Microsoft products, officials of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said Friday.
Only weeks ago, Microsoft publicly said that counterfeiting was not a problem to its business. Prior to that, Microsoft even said that counterfeiting was beneficial to its business. We wrote about this before, e.g. in:
- Microsoft’s Crocodile Tears
- When a Convicted Criminal Accuses Others of Crime
- Microsoft Contradicts the BSA While the BSA Attacks Users of Proprietary Software
- Microsoft Makes Even the MPAA/RIAA Look Good by Starting a War on Customers, Vendors
- Microsoft Uses Propaganda to Acquire ICT in Nigeria and Abu Dhabi
- Antitrust Complaint About Microsoft, a So-called ‘Pirate’
- Microsoft Insults the People of China, Oman, the Newly-elected President
- Microsoft Crimes Emit Another $4,415,258 in Arizona, Amid Newer Crimes
When Microsoft cracks down on illegal copies of its products, then something has clearly gone wrong with the business model. █
“As long as they are going to steal it, we want them to steal ours.”
–Bill Gates
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Chips B. Malroy said,
December 27, 2009 at 4:14 pm
What you see with these attacks against “pirates” in India is more of the the same pattern, that has happened before in China and Russia. First there was the BSA, the front group for M$ to sue Businesses, especially in the USA. Then there was the WGA, a way to harvest the ip addresses of those using non paid M$ software, no matter what M$ says it does with the data. Interesting that you have pointed out that M$ is suing Gold Partners, which to me, means Gold Partners, is just another name to M$ to abuse.
While it may seem that M$ only goes after businesses, and sellers of counterfeit M$ software, remember the schoolteacher in Russia as an example. What I suggest is, that M$, on the way down will become just like the Hollywood media companies that use the Riaa as a front, and start to sue end users at some point, to increase the bottom line.
Roy Schestowitz Reply:
December 27th, 2009 at 4:39 pm
Like the MPAA, they also try to pass new laws to protect them (compare DMCA and 3-strike to software patents).