• Latest
  • All
  • How To
Microsoft New Anti-Piracy Strategy: Lines Up US State Attorneys General, Throws Sue-balls at Chinese Companies

Microsoft New Anti-Piracy Strategy: Lines Up US State Attorneys General, Throws Sue-balls at Chinese Companies

March 18, 2014
Microsoft AI for Good Lab tool GIRAFFE

How Microsoft’s AI for Good Lab Is Helping Save Giraffes from Extinction

June 20, 2025
itel City 100

Gen Z Get a New Budget AI Smartphone With the itel City 100

June 20, 2025
digital-tv-standards-kenya

Kenya Sets New Rules for Digital TVs Starting Next Month

June 19, 2025
Kenya's Government Censors X for Global Image

Abductions and Arrests! Kenyan Government’s Fear and Hate of X Users Makes No Sense

June 19, 2025
DHgate Tablet Cases deals
drones-healthcare-delivery

Rural Kenya Is Turning to Drones to Speed Up Healthcare Delivery

June 18, 2025
TikTok

TikTok Could Go Dark (Again) in the U.S. This Week

June 17, 2025
whatsapp meta ads

Meta Officially Brings Ads to WhatsApp

June 17, 2025
Infinix Smart 10 HD

Infinix Launches the Smart 10 Series Lineup

June 16, 2025
Infinix Hot 60 Pro+

Infinix Wants to Fit a 5,160 mAh Battery in the Slim Hot 60 Pro+ Frame

June 16, 2025
Aigov

U.S. Plans to Launch AI Hub for Government Agencies

June 16, 2025
multichoice-dstv-showmax

Multichoice Subscriber Numbers Drop by 15% As Kenyans Cut Back on Spending

June 16, 2025
Huawei-Watch

Huawei Surpasses Apple to Lead Global Wearables Market

June 12, 2025
Techweez | Tech News, Reviews, Deals, Tips and How To
  • News
  • Entertainment
  • Reviews
  • Features
  • Editorial
No Result
View All Result
Techweez | Tech News, Reviews, Deals, Tips and How To
  • News
  • Entertainment
  • Reviews
  • Features
  • Editorial
No Result
View All Result
Techweez | Tech News, Reviews, Deals, Tips and How To
No Result
View All Result

Microsoft New Anti-Piracy Strategy: Lines Up US State Attorneys General, Throws Sue-balls at Chinese Companies

Carlos Ageng'o by Carlos Ageng'o
March 18, 2014
in News
Reading Time: 2 mins read
248
0

Towards the end of last year, Microsoft Kenya partnered with Kenya’s copyright watchdog – KECOBO in a bid to discourage the public against using counterfeit software. The software giant has enlisted the help of authorities worldwide to defend its biggest revenue source. Consequences to those implicated by the hunt for software pirates include jail time and behavior modification programs.
sopa-cartoon
In the US, Microsoft has now gotten the support of state Attorneys General as the fight for its intellectual property ensues. If foreign companies don’t comply with Microsoft’s license requirements, Attorneys General will utilize state justice mechanisms to bar them from operating in the US. A more or less similar strategy was devised by Microsoft in 2011. Then Microsoft lobbyed various state governments to pass state laws which would force overseas companies to buy genuine software in order to operate in the US. Failure to do so would place liability on buyers who dealt with these foreign companies.

TechDirt disputes the authority of Attorneys General to handle Microsoft’s claim likening this move to a shake down of foreign companies.

“In short, states Attorneys General are suing foreign companies, claiming that they’re using infringing software, and claiming that this unfairly “harms” local competitors. Often, the “local” competitors have absolutely no clue this is being done in their name, or that they’ve even been “harmed” by a competitor they’ve never heard of,” states the TechDirt post.

An estimated $63.4 billion in revenue is lost to software piracy by Microsoft. The problem hits the company hardest in the Chinese and Russian markets. According to ReadWrite, Microsoft has tried lawsuits, cheaper prices and implementing technologies that make pirating harder with negligible results.

Mobile industry analysts, Asymco fault Microsoft’s business model which “severely limited in China because what it offers is not what is valued.” Comparing Apple to Microsoft, Asymco’s Horace Dediu says, “Both on the PC or on the mobile device, what China values is the tangible. Software can be made valuable only if it can affect the purchase decision of hardware and it can do so only if it’s sold as part of an integrated product.”

This sentiments ring true in emerging markets where mobile devices are preferred over PCs for computing. Mobile adoption in developing countries has brought several economic and social impacts. As noted by Asymco analysts:

Without a mobile portfolio Microsoft is severely hampered. Of course, Microsoft is trying and has made several attempts to place its Windows Phone in the hands of Chinese users. It’s a tough sale however because Microsoft must work through partners. They need to get vendors to license the OS and the operators to range the devices and retailers to push it. Given the flood of “free” Android variants they are having trouble even starting down that long road.

Tags: Microsoft
SendShare146Tweet92
Carlos Ageng'o

Carlos Ageng'o

Bringing you news on information systems, business intelligence and IT innovations. Contact me on @aKhadiemik and c [dot] agengo [at] techweez [dot] com

Related Posts

Microsoft AI for Good Lab tool GIRAFFE

How Microsoft’s AI for Good Lab Is Helping Save Giraffes from Extinction

June 20, 2025
microsoft-xbox-rog-console

Microsoft Unveils Its First Handheld Xbox Gaming Console

June 10, 2025
Sora

Microsoft Brings Sora AI Video Creator to Bing App

June 5, 2025
Microsoft Recall

Signal Blocks Microsoft Recall Feature to Protect Private Chats

May 28, 2025
Microsoft

Windows 10 and 11 May Updates Trigger Major System Failure

May 20, 2025
Apple Event

Apple Becomes First Trillion Dollar Brand in New Global Ranking

May 20, 2025

Latest

Microsoft AI for Good Lab tool GIRAFFE

How Microsoft’s AI for Good Lab Is Helping Save Giraffes from Extinction

June 20, 2025
itel City 100

Gen Z Get a New Budget AI Smartphone With the itel City 100

June 20, 2025
digital-tv-standards-kenya

Kenya Sets New Rules for Digital TVs Starting Next Month

June 19, 2025
Kenya's Government Censors X for Global Image

Abductions and Arrests! Kenyan Government’s Fear and Hate of X Users Makes No Sense

June 19, 2025
drones-healthcare-delivery

Rural Kenya Is Turning to Drones to Speed Up Healthcare Delivery

June 18, 2025
TikTok

TikTok Could Go Dark (Again) in the U.S. This Week

June 17, 2025

Best devices

budget smartwatches 2025

Best Budget Smartwatches To Buy in Kenya 2025

February 13, 2025

Best Infinix Smartphones To Buy in Kenya 2024

February 13, 2025

Best Laptops for Battery Life in 2024

August 21, 2024

Best “Battery Warrior” Smartphones To Buy in 2024

August 22, 2024

How Microsoft’s AI for Good Lab Is Helping Save Giraffes from Extinction

June 20, 2025

Gen Z Get a New Budget AI Smartphone With the itel City 100

June 20, 2025

Techweez is a fast growing influential source of technology news, reviews and analysis by leading tech geeks in the industry.

Follow Us

Editorials

Abductions and Arrests! Kenyan Government’s Fear and Hate of X Users Makes No Sense

Actors and Film Crews Are Worried About Veo 3 Taking Their Jobs

Samsung QLED TVs Now Officially Certified for Real Quantum Dot Technology

Trump’s Tariffs Will Be the End of Affordable Tech

5 Ways to Prep Your Tech for Resale

The Weaponization of PDFs: How Cybercriminals Are Exploiting a Trusted Format

More News

Meta Officially Brings Ads to WhatsApp

Infinix Launches the Smart 10 Series Lineup

Infinix Wants to Fit a 5,160 mAh Battery in the Slim Hot 60 Pro+ Frame

U.S. Plans to Launch AI Hub for Government Agencies

Multichoice Subscriber Numbers Drop by 15% As Kenyans Cut Back on Spending

Huawei Surpasses Apple to Lead Global Wearables Market

  • Terms Of Use
  • Techweez Brand
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact Us

© 2024 Techweez - Palahala Media Group may earn a commission when you buy through links on our sites.
A Palahala Media Group Brand. All rights reserved.
.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

Techweez | Tech News, Reviews, Deals, Tips and How To
Crunchy Cookies 🍪 Ahead!

Hey there! Just a heads-up: we're big fans of cookies - both the digital and edible kind! 🍪 We use our cookies and some from third parties to ensure your browsing experience on our site is smooth sailing and secure.

 

But wait, there's more! We also use cookies to gather stats and insights on how you navigate our site. It's like getting a behind-the-scenes peek at your digital adventures!

 

Don't worry, you're in control. You can adjust your cookie settings anytime to suit your preferences. Feeling curious? Dive into our Privacy Policy for all the juicy details. Happy browsing! 🚀

Functional Always active
Listen, this legal stuff is about as exciting as watching paint dry. But it basically says we only use your stuff for what you asked us to do, and nobody else gets to peek!
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
It's those sneaky cookie crumbs websites leave behind to count visitors, like counting ants at a picnic! Totally harmless, just for fun facts. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
Hey there! Just letting you know we use some fancy gizmos to remember your preferences. This way, we can show you ads that are, well, not completely bananas.
Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
Make cookies
{title} {title} {title}
Techweez | Tech News, Reviews, Deals, Tips and How To
Crunchy Cookies 🍪 Ahead!
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
Listen, this legal stuff is about as exciting as watching paint dry. But it basically says we only use your stuff for what you asked us to do, and nobody else gets to peek!
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
It's those sneaky cookie crumbs websites leave behind to count visitors, like counting ants at a picnic! Totally harmless, just for fun facts. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
Hey there! Just letting you know we use some fancy gizmos to remember your preferences. This way, we can show you ads that are, well, not completely bananas.
Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
Make cookies
{title} {title} {title}
No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Features
  • Editorial
  • Automotive
  • Entertainment

© 2024 Techweez - Palahala Media Group may earn a commission when you buy through links on our sites.
A Palahala Media Group Brand. All rights reserved.
.