James Delahunty
30 Jan 2007 17:30
An unnamed software pirate has been handed a jail sentence for selling counterfeit Microsoft products. The 42 year old Turkish man was described as a "clever offender" by the court. He allegedly sold 18,555 pirated products. He sold the products with falsified licenses and was arrested in June 2006 by German police. He has been given two years and eleven months total behind bars for his crimes.
Microsoft estimates the loss of the forged licenses at €4 million, including the money paid by customers who acquired software they were unable to use. The court said the mans actions were driven by sheer greed. Microsoft is also pushing mid-sized companies for compliance with license checks.
Any company that gets flagged for inconsistency will either receive an email or phone call from Microsoft. If businesses refuse a Microsoft audit of their software, it could result in legal action from the Business Software Alliance (BSA).
Source:
The Register