Rich LaMagna, manager of worldwide investigations for Microsoft,
said:
"Perhaps most disturbing is the high quality
of the counterfeit products seized in this case. It is clear that
this is a highly organised and well-funded counterfeiting
operation. The quality of the illegal software was at a level where
consumers would have a difficult time distinguishing it from
genuine Microsoft software. This is serious, because illegal
software holds no safeguards for consumers and is created to rob
the economy of legitimate gains."
Among the products seized were 31,000 counterfeit copies of
Windows Me and Windows 2000 Professional operating systems, 93,000
counterfeit certificate of authenticity (COA) labels for Windows
Me, Windows 2000, Windows 98 and Office 2000 Professional and
25,000 counterfeit End User License Agreements (EULAs) for various
software products.
According to a 2000 software piracy study by International
Planning & Research, software piracy resulted in the loss of
118,026 jobs in the US, nearly $1.6 billion in tax revenues and
$5.6 billion in wages.
