Microsoft Corporation, a member of the Business Software Alliance (BSA), reached an out-of-court settlement with Sun Rose Computer LLC, a Dubai-based computer importer and distributor, after authorities seized illegal software from the store following a recent raid. The raid, conducted in coordination with the UAE Government followed an official complaint by Microsoft.
“The settlement is a positive contribution to the anti-piracy initiative by Sun Rose, as the company has promised to make sure that no illegal items are in the store. As a result, Sun Rose Computers will now benefit from increased revenues and a reputation based on being a provider of high quality and reliable products,†said Juma Al Leem, Director of Censorship Department, Dubai Government.
BSA with the help of the UAE government regularly launches awareness campaigns and raids throughout the region, aimed at protecting economic revenues and raising awareness about the protection of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR).
This high level of piracy has a detrimental effect on economies by crippling local software industries, evading tax revenues and curtailing employment opportunities. A recent IDC software piracy study concluded that decreasing piracy by ten percentage points over four years would contribute more than 2.4 million new jobs and add up to US$ 70 billion in tax revenues to local governments worldwide.
Tolga Altinordu, OEM Director, Microsoft Gulf, said, “Although legal action is a last resort, Microsoft is prepared to follow this path in order to protect its customers, its partners and intellectual property. We are focused on increasing investments in the strategic areas of education and engineering to form a structured effort to curb piracy throughout the region. By using genuine Microsoft Windows Software the end user can have access to the latest features and support system to improve the productivity and expand the capabilities of your PC.â€
“By fostering creative methods of anti-piracy awareness, we are ultimately aiming to encourage our customers to use only genuine Microsoft Windows software, so that they will be assured of having all features. We are keen also in making the software features and anti-counterfeiting technologies that can alert a consumer to the presence of pirated software to ensure that the company is following the right path. This will provide them with very high security against viruses, in addition to improving the productivity and capabilities of their computers,†Altinordu added.
