Microsoft sued the seller of pirated software on eBay

In an attempt to "punish" illegal software distributors, in mid-March Microsoft sued 8 people who sold fake copies of online software on eBay.

Microsoft filed lawsuits in Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New York and Washington (where defendants reside). Of the eight defendants, there are seven US citizens and one company, Great Product Deals Inc.

Microsoft said that four citizens have used eBay to distribute copies of Windows XP Professional and fake Microsoft Office components.

Two other citizens and Great Product Deals distributed fake Windows XP software components on eBay. Another citizen used eBay to distribute fake Office 2003 Student and Teacher Edition versions.

Microsoft discovered 7/8 defendants through its Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) program. The WGA program was launched by the company in July 2005, which confirmed the legitimacy of Windows versions of users before allowing them to download updates and fix bugs. In September 2005, Microsoft filed eight lawsuits against the defendants it found through the WGA program.

Microsoft also discovered several other defendants through hotlines against copyright infringement 1-800-RU-LEGIT ( 785-3448 ).

In the announcement of the upcoming Windows Vista operating system, Microsoft will announce a cheap version targeting new software markets, especially in developing countries (where most software is copyright infringement ).