Microsoft appears to be stepping up the fight to curb piracy of its software products, announcing that it has sued Gome Electrical Appliances Holding, a large Chinese electronics distributor, for allegedly infringing copyrights of its Windows and Microsoft Office software.
The software giant said it filed the lawsuits against Gome Electrical Appliances and Buynow last week in separate courts located in Beijing and Shanghai.
A Gome store in Shanghai had sold PCs with unlicensed versions of Windows and Office, according to Microsoft. In Beijing, two vendors at a PC market operated by Buynow had also sold PCs installed with pirated products, the company alleged.
Microsoft did not specify how much it is seeking in damages. It is demanding in the lawsuits that both Gome and Buynow compensate Microsoft's losses and cease selling PCs with the pirated products.
The software giant says that the counterfeit CDs were sold to customers that bought Windows-equipped PCs and laptops from the retailer and it is accusing Comet of acting unfairly towards customers.
Whilst it fights a legal battle in the UK, Microsoft’s focus will be on China, where software piracy is rife. Reuters reports that the International Intellectual Property Alliance estimates that US companies lost more than $15 billion in 2009 due to international copyright theft.
It is believed that China accounts for around a quarter of losses, with copyright theft estimated to cost $3.5 billion.
