Microsoft Plagued by Software Piracy
PCWorld (US)
SAN FRANCISCO – 500,000. That’s the number of takedown requests Microsoft has submitted to Google just over the past month related to copyright infringement and software piracy. Extrapolating that for a whole year–assuming half a million takedown requests a month–that would be six million websites attempting to illegally distribute Microsoft operating systems or applications. And, those are just the ones that are identified. Who knows how many slip through the cracks or fly under the radar?
Windows is by far the dominant operating system in use around the world, and the Microsoft Office suite has a virtual monopoly on the productivity software market. A good chunk of the Windows and Office software in use is pirated, though.