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Microsoft Files a Copyright Infringement Lawsuit For Activating Pirated Software

Posted by samzenpus on from the official-copy-only dept.

First time accepted submitter Esra Erimez writes Microsoft has filed a complaint at a federal court in Washington accusing person(s) behind an AT&T subscription of activating various pirated copies of Windows 7 and Office 10. The account was identified by Microsoft's in-house cyberforensics team based on suspicious "activation patterns." Despite being one of the most pirated software vendors in the world, Microsoft doesn't have a long track record of cracking down on individual pirates. From the descriptions used in the complaint it seems likely that the target is not an average user, but someone who sells computers containing pirated software.

23 of 268 comments (clear)

  1. Creators wishing to control their creations... by mi · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Let's have some outrage over creators seeking to, gasp, control their creations — and be paid for their use.

    --
    In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
    1. Re:Creators wishing to control their creations... by Opportunist · · Score: 4, Informative

      Why? If you want to use Software that is not free, you're supposed to pay for it.

      The only thing that really pisses me off is that when they think you had to reinstall your copy a few too many time you become a frequent participant on their Indian call-in show...

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    2. Re:Creators wishing to control their creations... by Opportunist · · Score: 4, Insightful

      It's one thing to pay for a movie if I want to watch it. That's pretty much the way it should be, you create something, you get compensated for me using it.

      It's another thing if I pay for the movie and then have to jump through additional hoops to watch it, and I can only watch it the way the creator wants me to. If I pay for something, I expect to be able to use it. As I please. Not as its creator pleases.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    3. Re:Creators wishing to control their creations... by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 2

      The "suspicious pattern" is back-to-back activation of Windows 7 and Office 2010 from one ip, then the machines being dispersed to other ips as the customers take them whereever. Not all legit customers are going to buy/activate Office, whereas any place that sells only machines with copies of both win7 and office2010 pre-activated is suspicious.

      --
      "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
    4. Re:Creators wishing to control their creations... by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 2

      Actually, there' something called "moral rights" in copyright law that allows the copyright holder to prevent you from, for example, buying an art book with a bunch of nice pictures in it, cutting out and framing all the pictures, and reselling the framed pictures.

      --
      "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
    5. Re:Creators wishing to control their creations... by MightyMartian · · Score: 2

      Yup. I've seen more than my fair share of people with computers stuffed to the socks. "So you say this laptop loaded with Windows 7 Ultimate, MS-Office Pro and Photoshop only cost you $300. Hmmm..."

      --
      The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
    6. Re:Creators wishing to control their creations... by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 2

      We had one guy like that around the turn of the century. He'd "custom-build" computers loaded to the gills. The problem was he knew nothing about computers. All of a sudden he's complaining because "AMD CPUs are crap. None of them boot into Windows." He was booting the computer to test it before adding the CPU fan, and those Thunderbirds ran hot.

      Someone told him to ask me what was wrong, and what he could do to fix it, and I said "Concrats, you now own a very very fast 16-bit DOS machine. Enjoy DOOM".

      Kind of cheesed me off since I had heard he was pirating some custom software I had written, but whatever.

      In the end it wasn't Microsoft who did him in, but the tax man. They wanted the sales tax on everything he had sold. He went personally bankrupt.

      --
      "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
    7. Re:Creators wishing to control their creations... by NJRoadfan · · Score: 2

      OEM copies of Windows (pre-Windows 8) generally aren't activated online, they use OEM SLP or SLIC keys paired with an installed certificate and OEM BIOS marker. Unless you install with System Builder or retail media, the restore discs/recovery partition image that come with OEM machines generally come SLIC activated. That being said, the Windows 7 keys on the side of countless OEM machines have never been activated against Microsoft's systems. It could even be the source of this person's keys.

      This all changed with Windows 8 though, now OEMs have to embed a unique product key in each machine's UEFI BIOS and activate it online.

    8. Re:Creators wishing to control their creations... by Lumpy · · Score: 2

      $130? I've been getting legit OEM copies from Newegg for $99 with purchase of a mouse or keyboard. Paying $130 is insane and dumb for anyone that does not need the ability to join a domain.

      --
      Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
    9. Re:Creators wishing to control their creations... by Lumpy · · Score: 2

      crappy seat? we have reserved seats here. I get to eject the fool that is sitting in my seat.

      --
      Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
    10. Re:Creators wishing to control their creations... by Just+Some+Guy · · Score: 4, Informative

      Why not? Why should the creator not be able to impose any restrictions they damn please?

      Largely because of the first-sale doctrine, which codifies property rights sanity: if you sell me something, it is now mine, not yours. I can do whatever I want with it. Use my spatula as a screwdriver? Use a thermos bottle for a hammer? Watch scenes in a movie out of order? It's none of your business. I bought it. It is now my property, and I'm free to do with it as I please.

      (Averting pedantry: of course that doesn't involve violating copyright. Straw men will be ignored.)

      --
      Dewey, what part of this looks like authorities should be involved?
    11. Re:Creators wishing to control their creations... by radish · · Score: 2

      And I honestly don't think Microsoft are trying to control what you do with their software. At least, I've never seen anything like that. All the licensing stuff is about proving you actually did buy it, and thus proving that the first sale doctrine even applies. It's a nuisance for sure, but I'm not sure what the alternative is. That said, as a 20+ year user of their products I've had to call for a license activation precisely once and it took maybe 60 seconds. I can live with that.

      --

      ---- Den ene knappen er powerknapp, den andre er Bender voice knapp "Bite My Shiny Metal Ass"

  2. Chinese computers come this way by magarity · · Score: 4, Informative

    At any house brand computer store in China the computers come windows installed and activated but no disks. If you insist on an install disk the price for it is, amazingly, the same as buying windows retail. The whole activation system is fundamentally flawed, but the question is, how to make it 1) less of a pain for legit users and 2) harder for pirates? These two goals seem exclusive, alas.

    1. Re:Chinese computers come this way by Opportunist · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The only sensible way I can think of is adding some value to legit copies that is unavailable with the illegal ones. Which is admittedly hard for something like an OS where, say, free lessons or a printed manual aren't such great deal makers and breakers.

      Everything else we've seen in the area of copy protection usually does more to piss off the legit customer than to thwart the illegal copier.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  3. Thanks for the TorrentFreak link... by mythosaz · · Score: 2

    ...that should be easy to view at work.

    1. Re:Thanks for the TorrentFreak link... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

      TorrentFreak is a news site, and one of the few that actually does journalism on copyright issues without a blatant bias. It is not a pro-piracy site, it does not host any pirated content. I'm not sure what the problem is, other than the word 'torrent' in the url?

  4. Re:Courts should punish intentional facilitation by Opportunist · · Score: 2

    Are you high?

    What do you think will happen if everyone that makes software requires you to plug in some stupid dongle to make it work? Let's even assume they don't have any nasty quirks where they try to kick each other off or where the software identifies the wrong dongle as "its" and, due to the dongle of course giving the wrong answer, locking up. But where the hell do you think I should plug in a few dozen dongles?

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  5. Re:Courts should punish intentional facilitation by n6kuy · · Score: 2

    Yeah, We all need dozens of security dongles for all the various copyrighted software we use. And then you're outta luck when the new puppy gets ahold of one of your dongles and chews it up because it can't be bothered to play with the chew toy you spent good money on....

    --
    If you disagree with me on social issues, then it's pretty clear that you are a narrow-minded bigot.
  6. They used the wrong windows by johanw · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The windows 7 I installed was pre-activated when I downloaded it from the Pirate Bay. Much easier. I don't know if I could legally downgrade from the windows 8 the system had preinstalled but piracy was so easy that I didn't bother to find out.

  7. Re:Courts should punish intentional facilitation by rogoshen1 · · Score: 4, Funny

    That's what you get for adopting a subversive open source zealot dog. I bet you named him "stallman".

  8. Re:Courts should punish intentional facilitation by Pikoro · · Score: 3, Funny

    I think there's a 25 or 30 port USB hub up in the new Slashdot Deals section

    --
    "Freedom in the USA is not the ability to do what you want. It is the ability to stop others from doing what THEY want"
  9. They say it is "completely anonymous" by Quick+Reply · · Score: 4, Interesting

    When you activate by phone the IVR states:

    "Note: Microsoft Product Activation is completely anonymous; therefore, no personal information is collected. The entire activation process will take about 5 minutes."

  10. Re:Microsoft’s cyberforensics .. by exomondo · · Score: 2

    “As part of its cyberforensic methods, Microsoft analyzes product key activation data voluntarily provided by users when they activate Microsoft software, including the IP address from which a given product key is activated”

    In other words, Microsoft Windows is bugged and phones home ...

    And how do you suppose they are going to activate the product over the internet if you don't provide them a product key and an IP address with which to communicate with you?