Africa: Nigeria to benefit after Chinese piracy raid
The recent raid on a Chinese software piracy syndicate would benefit the fight against piracy in Nigeria, according to the Licensing and Compliance Manager at Microsoft Nigeria, Mr. John Okereke. Speaking in Lagos, Mr. Okereke said, the result of what he described as the largest investigation and raid of its kind in the world,would boost the Nigerian software market.
Highway Africa News Agency
The recent raid on a Chinese software piracy syndicate would benefit the fight against piracy in Nigeria, according to the Licensing and Compliance Manager at Microsoft Nigeria, Mr. John Okereke.
Speaking in Lagos, Mr. Okereke said, the result of what he described as the largest investigation and raid of its kind in the world,would boost the Nigerian software market.
Highway Africa News Agency (HANA) recalls that fortnight ago, raids and arrests were made in southern China of the syndicate reported to be behind a $2 billion worth of counterfeit Microsoft software by a combined team of the Public Security Bureau (PSB) in China, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and hundreds of private companies and partners.
Throwing more light on the raid, Mr. Okereke noted that well-meaning entities and security had been working together to crack this major software counterfeiting syndicate.
He therefore expressed delight that it has finally come to pass, adding that Nigeria would benefit from the raid in that the level of shipment of pirated Microsoft software would drastically be reduced.
"Microsoft Nigeria appreciates the work of China's Public Security Bureau in taking such strong enforcement action with these arrests and raids in southern China," he said. He pointed out that the syndicate was allegedly responsible for distributing US$2 billion worth of counterfeit Microsoft software, to 27 countries around the world including Nigeria.
Noteworthy, he said, is the effect of piracy on resellers, stressing that apart from not enabling resellers to make legitimate revenues, "it also exposed users to the risks associated with using pirated software."
Mr. Okereke equally informed that the counterfeit goods seized in the raids comprised of 13 Microsoft's most popular products, including Windows Vista, Office 2007, Office 2003, Windows XP and Windows Server.
"This case should serve as a wake-up call to counterfeiters. Customers and other organisations around the world are turning you in, and decisive action will be taken to protect intellectual property," he urged. He underscored the fact that Microsoft software users and resellers globally played a significant role in bringing the software counterfeiters in China to book.
"Numerous customers identified counterfeit software utilising anti-piracy technologies like those used in conjunction with Windows Genuine Advantage. The software could be forensically linked to the syndicate in China," he said.
Software piracy, he said, costs the international software market in the region of US$ 40 billion every year.
"In the last 18 months, law enforcement agencies worldwide have seized almost one million units of counterfeit software and with the help and co-operation of private organisations, anti-piracy activities are intensifying," he said.
He quoted recent IDC research, saying that Nigeria?s 82 per cent piracy rate is higher than the African average and amounts to millions of dollars of losses in the region.
"Microsoft invests a lot of time and money into protecting its legitimate customers and resellers from the threat of counterfeit software," Okereke added.