Written by: Jon Gillespie-Brown, CEO Nalpeiron, Visit Website

A new counterfeiting exhibition at French Science and Industry Museum in Paris showcases Microsoft’s use of intelligence and crime forensics to help dismantle the world’s largest software counterfeiting ring.

The exhibition which opened last week at the Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie in Paris explores how piracy impacts on different industries, with Microsoft representing the software industry with an impressive case study detailing their efforts to combat software piracy.

Blandine Savrda, commissioner at the Cite des Sciences et de l’Industrie explains:

“This exhibition represents one of the largest combined efforts of government and industry coming together to speak out on the threats consumers face because of counterfeiting. If not for the collaboration of governments and private industry, the illegal trade of pirated products would continue to increase at an even higher rate.”

The dangers consumers face in using pirated software are well documented. One key study by IDC in 2006* showed that one in four Web sites offering counterfeit software attempted to install unwanted or malicious code upon downloading and recent reports indicate that this threat is increasing.

Microsoft’s part of the exhibition highlights how they use cutting-edge intelligence and forensic techniques to track down global criminal counterfeiting syndicates and support law enforcement in more than 70 countries throughout the world. What’s more, says Finn, who heads the company’s anti-piracy investigations through its worldwide Legal and Corporate Affairs department:

“We are increasingly collaborating with our own customers, who are providing critical information to help us identify software pirates, and addressing their concerns about the risks of using counterfeit software.”

Microsoft  provides a video documentary about how partnering with law enforcement across several continents led to prosecution of a Chinese criminal software piracy syndicate in what became the largest counterfeit case in history. In addition, a number of genuine and counterfeit Microsoft products will be displayed to help consumers distinguish genuine software from counterfeit. Also on display will be the company’s latest technology used to identify and track down software pirates.

It’s a fascinating study of the work Microsoft have done on unravelling the complex networks of the world of software piracy and the technology they have developed to detect counterfeit software.

It also demonstrated the huge impact that can be made on software piracy by a concerted effort from software developers, governments and consumers.

Written by: Jon Gillespie-Brown - Visit Website
In addition to his role as CEO of Software Licensing Solutions provider Nalpeiron Jon is author of "So you want to be an entrepreneur?" and is also a mentor for students at Stamford, Berkeley and the London Business School. John lives and works in the San Francisco Bay Area.

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