Microsoft Corp. filed federal lawsuits against two Colorado retailers Monday in an effort to thwart what it says is the piracy of its Windows and Office software programs.
Microcomp Solutions Inc. in Denver and Computers Plus USA Inc. in Grand Junction were among 26 companies sued for allegedly pirating software or installing unlicensed software on computers.
Chu H. Son, co-owner and president of Microcomp Solutions, said he did not knowingly sell false copies of Microsoft Office.
Calls to Computers Plus USA were not returned.
The piracy-related lawsuits are the most filed by the Redmond, Wash.-based computer giant in a single day. In 2005, the company filed a total of 50 piracy-related suits.
“We’ve been hearing from a number of small, honest system builders or resellers saying that they’re going out of business because they can’t compete with their competitors selling pirated software,” said Mary Jo Schrade, senior attorney for Microsoft. “Word has come through (chief executive)Steve Ballmer, and now there’s a full-court press to address the piracy problem in the U.S. Our goal is to have piracy stopped, not file as many lawsuits as we can.”
Microsoft Office 2003 Standard Edition – which includes the Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint software – cost $399.99 on CompUSA’s website Monday. Pirated editions can cost much less.
Companies found guilty of counterfeiting Windows software face a maximum fine of $150,000 for each instance of copyright infringement and a maximum fine of $1 million for each trademark infringement.
Chu said his company is focused on offering computer and network repair services to small and medium-sized businesses, not building and selling computers. He said he remembers selling one computer system to an out-of-state company in April.
“I have legitimate invoices for those I bought,” he said. “If I sold a product that was illegitimate because I bought it from an illegitimate source, then why doesn’t Microsoft go and track them down?”
Microcomp had a previous run-in with Microsoft in 2001 and reached a settlement agreement. In that case, Chu said he unknowingly purchased and resold software from a distributor selling fake copies of Microsoft software. No financial damages were paid to Microsoft, but he signed an agreement to stop selling illegal copies, Chu said.
“I’m not a big guy. … I don’t have the resources to take Microsoft to court,” he said. “We want to go out and charge customers $100 an hour to repair systems, not make money off of Microsoft. What fool would do that after we settled once?”
Schrade said the companies served Monday were first sent a cease-and-desist letter in 2003, when originally suspected of wrongdoing, along with information on how to buy and sell genuine Microsoft products. They followed up with those companies in April by secretly purchasing hardware and software from the dealers and tested them for authenticity. Those found with illegal products on machines were sued.
Chu said he never received a warning from Microsoft in 2003. He said he called Microsoft on Monday to discuss the suit but was told to go through his attorney.
Staff writer Kimberly S. Johnson can be reached at 303-820-1088 or kjohnson@denverpost.com.
How to get help
Microsoft has a website where consumers can test their software to determine if it is legitimate:
www.microsoft.com/genuine/downloads/whyValidate.aspx
Consumers can report counterfeit software to Microsoft by contacting the company:
piracy@microsoft.com or 1-800-RU-LEGIT
