Partners term Microsoft anti-piracy campaign “harassing”

Amrita Tejasvi

New Delhi: In the last one week Microsoft (MS) raided five partners (where
three were charged in one single day) Kadam Marketing, Park Group, D Gold
Infotech Pvt. Ltd., Sri Pati Computer and Bhavya International in New Delhi as
part of its anti-piracy campaign, claiming that the raids were based on evidence
that the dealers were selling computers loaded with pirated software. However
channel partners feel that MS is deliberately taking action against dealers just
to harass them.

“We are not into business of pirated software and the charges that MS has
levied against us is not correct. The company is taking action against big
dealers so that their reputation in the market gets dwindled,” said Anil
Sachdeva, CEO, Kadam Marketing Ltd. Another partner felt that MS has started
playing a 'mafia' game with the dealers.

“The company has taken a wrong route to curb piracy and it seems that their
main objective is to harass dealers. We can sell only that product that is
saleable. We cannot create demand for genuine software unless the company takes
initiatives to educate customers at a grass-root level. Microsoft is outsourcing
service from a team that goes to dealers disguised as customers and asks for
pirated software. Such customers lure the sales boys to sell pirated software
and once the deal is confirmed, a lawyer from high court appears from nowhere
with a notice which is very absurd,” said one of the partners on conditions of
anonymity. The partner further said that by targeting big dealers MS is only
creating terror in the market and is damaging the reputation of exclusive
dealers in the region.

“I am not at all into software business, forget about genuine or pirated. A
boy came to my office and smartly left a bag filled with counterfeit software
and went back. Within two minutes of his departure an investigating team arrived
with a search warrant, found the bag and charged me for dealing in piracy
business. Except for that packet they could not find any other illegal object in
my office,” said Vishnu Wadhwani, CEO, D Gold Infotech.

“We will definitely take the matter up because the objective of MS may be
fair but the path it has adopted is not acceptable. PCAIT is not against the
drive but the modus operandi of the company is wrong. The way MS has raided D
Gold Infotech has left the entire association into a shock,” said Saket Kapur,
Secretary, PCAIT.

Giving his reaction, Brian Campbell, Director - Original Software Initiative,
Microsoft India, said, “Microsoft will continue to take legal action against
dealers that sell pirated software to their customers as it generates risk of
faulty code, spyware, worms or viruses.”