James Delahunty
20 May 2007 18:59
Computer dealers in Gujarat, India, have reportedly staged a one-day strike in protest over recent Microsoft anti-piracy efforts. The Redmond-based software giant recently sent notices to about 6 PC dealers in Gujarat accusing them of selling pirated copies of Windows. The company demands a payment of 200,000 Rupee ($4,955) and a fine of 1,600,000 Rupee ($39,638) if the vendors continued to sell pirated copies of the OS.
Microsoft conducted its investigation by sending a dummy customer into the stores asking for a copy of Windows be installed on their PC. "We are not against piracy but against the way Microsoft is working to stop it," South Gujarat Information Technologists Association (SITA) president Bharat Randheri told itVARnews. "Moreover, if they want to do business in India then they should change their prices and policies according to the Indian market. We are the one who are promoting their products in the market and if they will behave in such a rash manner with us then we will stop business with them."
One retailer claimed that they are actually helping Microsoft by installing the software on customers PCs. "Since we are are not charging anything extra for installing the software, it means that we are actually not trading in pirated software. For us this is just a sewa (selfless act) that we are offering to our customers. Besides, the pricing of their operating systems is way too high for the Indian markets," he said.
Source:
The Register