November lawsuits announced to help protect customers and Partners against counterfeit software

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In our efforts to continue to help protect our legitimate Partners and customers from the dangers of counterfeit and illegal software, Microsoft continues to work to identify and pursue those creating, offering, and selling these items into the market. In case you had not seen the list earlier, we have posted our latest round of lawsuits that have been filed against companies across the US for these activities. For some of you in the Community, you may recognize a few of the names on the list.

In many of the latest lawsuits, you will see references made to, “Microsoft responded to a lead to Microsoft’s piracy hotline – 1-800-RU-LEGIT” as how these actions first began to take place. As always, your assistance in helping us fight these types of illegal activities is greatly appreciated and we encourage any of you who suspect this type of activity taking place to contact us regarding the organizations you suspect. All reports are anonymous, so you will not need to disclose any personal information about yourself when filing a report. You can do so today simply by calling 1-800-RU-LEGIT (1-800-785-3448).

Software Asset Management is a process that can help your clients make the most of their software investments and help them ensure proper licensing for not only their Microsoft software, but all software they utilize in their businesses. Putting a software asset management plan in place can also help them avoid the pitfalls of illegal and counterfeit software by helping them track the licenses they have and need and ensuring they are purchased through legitimate channels and through programs that offer license protection, such as Microsoft’s Volume Licensing programs. We have a section on Software Asset Management available for Partners to learn more about this practice.

Thank you and have a wonderful day,

Eric Ligman
Microsoft US Senior Manager
Small Business Community Engagement
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights