Microsoft sues COA pirates
p2pnet.net News:- Microsoft has launched eight copyright and trademark infringement actions against resellers it says bought and sold fake and used COA (Certificate of Authenticity) labels.
The lawsuits resulted from a Microsoft test-purchase program conducted throughout the year, the company says, going on:
Lawsuits were filed against Monarch Technology, of San Clemente, California; Kenneth Xu, of Union City, California; Era, of Lake Zurich, Illinois; Micro Info Tech (USA), of Edison, New Jersey; Affordable Computer Warehouse, of Clinton, New York; Warp Systems/Computers, of Raleigh, North Carolina; Master Computer, of State College, Pennsylvania; and Software Provisions, of Vancouver, Washington.
Counterfeit labels are sometimes sold as valid software licenses by online businesses.
“Stand-alone COA labels are often purchased by computer manufacturers that copy unlicensed Microsoft software onto computer systems and attempt to authenticate it with the invalid labels in a practice commonly known as hard-disk loading,” says Microsoft.
“Another abuse of COA labels involves software resellers pairing the separated labels with unlicensed or counterfeit software. Such companies unfairly compete in the marketplace with the thousands of legitimate Microsoft partners that deliver honest value to their customers.”
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See:-
fake and used – Company Announces Campaign to Identify Abuse of Invalid Labels, Microsoft, November 30, 2004
December 1st, 2004 at 3:14 pm
“Microsoft partners that deliver honest value to their customers.”
The words “Microsoft” and “honest value” should never be used in the same sentence.
December 1st, 2004 at 10:51 pm
I worked for a company that installed MS Windows in a not-by-the-book-way on all its computers. It’s a lot easier to install the OS on one computer and then image it on multiple computers on the network. Doing it this way, IT had a lot of spare (unopened) CDs that were left lying around. (Maybe they didn’t know about the volume license)
They could have sold them, and they would have been genuine licensed copies, though illegal.
December 2nd, 2004 at 3:43 am
“Such companies unfairly compete in the marketplace with the thousands of legitimate Microsoft partners that deliver honest value to their customers.”
Aha! very funny.
So those breaking M$ imposed monopoly “unfairly compete in the marketplace”?
What about M$ being paid for allowing “partners” exclusive right to participate in it’s little monopoly?
Would that perhaps be a way to “unfairly compete in the marketplace” as well?
Aren’t monopolies illegal anyway?
Kind of like the pot calling the kettle black.
December 21st, 2004 at 8:53 pm
Does anyone know whether it is legal for a company, based in the UK, to sell genuine COA stickers (only), without a CD or EULA?
The reason I ask is that I have been made aware that some companies within the UK, having received Microsoft ‘cease and desist’ letters for selling this product, are now being ‘threatened’ with litigation for continuing to sell this product.
Microsoft are apparently claiming that the seller is infringing their TradeMark and Copyright.
Does this mean that there is no LEGAL second-hand market in this product within the UK?