The Hindu Business Line : MS readies for next anti-piracy drives

Microsoft India has said that market indicators suggest that piracy in India has come down "marginally" in the last one year, and the company now plans to take the fight against piracy to the next level by launching a new online initiative under `Windows Genuine Advantage' program.

"The level of piracy in India was measured by a BSA study to be about 74 per cent, some 18 months ago. Our information shows that the piracy has come down in the last year and it is coming down for us in a measurable way, although not as much or as quickly as in the case of China," Mr Doug Hauger, Business and Marketing Officer of Microsoft India said here today.

He said that the indications to this effect were clear as Microsoft's system builder sale of genuine software was growing more than 20 points faster than the market growth. "So we are seeing a lot of progress there," he added.

Another indication that the piracy level was inching southwards was apparent from the changing ratio between Windows PCs and PCs that come without an Operating System, or PCs loaded with Linux, he claimed.

The Microsoft official said that the two indicators showed that the channel partners were understanding the value of selling genuine software, and that even consumers were asking for legal software.

Online service

Mr Hauger said that in June this year, Microsoft would kick-off an online service that would notify users if their system was not using genuine Windows software. "The user will get a pop-up that warns that he might be a victim of counterfeit software. It will direct the user to a site, for validating the version of Windows. If the person cannot validate the software, it will give them the option to buy genuine software, or direct them to reseller," he added.