Police seize fake Microsoft goods in raids
View(s):Sri Lankan Police has successfully conducted several raids against distributors, re-sellers and importers of counterfeit Microsoft certificates of authenticity (‘COA’).
Based on results secured during the raid against the re-seller, the CID conducted a follow on subsequent raids against a main supplier and importer/local source of the fake COA stickers. M/s Sudath Perera Associates acted as Legal Counsel for Microsoft, according to a Microsoft media release.Mr. Perera said, “Software pirates have stepped up their game and are becoming more and more creative in disguising their illegal activities. Where in the past it was enough to just install pirated software into computers to be sold to unsuspecting consumers, software pirates today have moved up another notch by printing and/or providing a fake or counterfeit COA, giving the impression that the software is licensed and legitimate when it is the complete opposite”.
He said following a tip off to the CID and a team of Police officers successfully crippled the illegal activities of a retailer, distributor and importer of counterfeit COA stickers.
“Investigations reveal that a man, in his 40s, is the supplier of loose COAs to computers and computer accessory shops in Colombo and the importer is aged between 25-30. The operations, which lasted for about four hours on each raid, resulted in the seizure of over 500 copies of counterfeit/fake Microsoft Windows 7 COAs,” the lawyer said.
Some software manufacturers use COA stickers to help consumers identify that the product is genuine. These stickers deploy numerous security features that are usually hard to replicate but if the consumer does not pay attention, they may not realize that what they purchased was illegal. “They would have paid good money for bad software. Usually the quality of fake and genuine COA stickers is different and the counterfeiter will only be able to simulate some of the security features. It is important for consumers to do their homework by going to the software manufacturer’s website to learn how to tell a genuine and a counterfeit product,” he added.