Microsoft Corp said today it is preparing 55 legal actions worldwide against sellers on auction sites who are hawking illegal copies of the company’s software.
The actions are a mix of lawsuits and criminal complaints, said Jean-Christophe Le Toquin, a Microsoft attorney for Europe, the Middle East and Africa region. Microsoft has or will file 34 actions in Europe, including Germany, France, Poland, Belgium, the U.K. and the Netherlands.
The company will seek prison terms for high-volume sellers and fines for less flagrant violations, Le Toquin said.
Microsoft has stepped up its anti-piracy campaign through lawsuits. The company also sent out a program, Windows Genuine Advantage, to Windows computers that verifies whether the OS is a licensed copy.
Microsoft said it has received tips from consumers who have been notified that their OS is not legitimate, and those customers have informed the company where they bought the software. In the U.K., teams have visited software resellers to remind them of the legal consequences of piracy.
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