Computer resellers in UAE settle with Microsoft
Part of comprehensive Microsoft-UAE Government drive to promote genuine software and eradicate piracy
Microsoft, a member of the Business Software Alliance (BSA), recently announced that it has reached out-of-court civil settlements with two computer resellers caught selling unlicensed copies of Microsoft software.
Civil settlements have been agreed between Microsoft Corporation and two computer resellers in Dubai, A4M General Trading and Al Istath Computers, after they were found to be selling non genuine software. The civil settlements followed law enforcement raids on the resellers in October 2008. Following the agreement, both A4M General Trading and Al Istath Computers have agreed not to sell any counterfeit or unlicensed Microsoft software in future and are now looking to work in partnership with Microsoft to ensure that they only supply genuine software to their customers. In turn, Microsoft will be offering their support to both resellers to enable them to develop their business and provide a positive experience to their customers.
Dale Waterman, Microsoft’s corporate attorney for anti piracy in the Middle East and Africa, said the enforcement actions by local authorities and the subsequent settlement agreements entered into with A4M General Trading and Al Istath Computers were crucial to combating piracy and counterfeiting in the UAE and driving increased awareness about the detrimental effects of piracy. “Pirated or counterfeit software has an enormous impact upon the software industry. Piracy hurts our honest channel partners who are just trying to earn a living. Partners who must compete with pirates lose more than software revenue; they lose system sales and the opportunity to service those customers over the years. Microsoft is therefore determined to protect its customer, reseller and partner ecosystem from the threat and losses associated with piracy, and to prevent unscrupulous resellers from taking advantage of innocent consumers and gaining an unfair advantage over our honest partners.”
“We confirm that we have entered into this settlement agreement with Microsoft. In many ways this agreement has been informative; it has made us realize the importance of dealing only with genuine Microsoft software and also helped us fully understand the impact of piracy on the software industry and the local economy. We now look forward to extending our total support to Microsoft in their fight against piracy,” said Aji Kumar, General Manager, A4M General Trading.
“This settlement agreement with Microsoft will mark the beginning of a new chapter for us. We have undertaken to sell only genuine Microsoft software to our customers and to actively drive awareness about the benefits of using original software. We completely support Microsoft’s efforts to reduce piracy in the UAE,” said Shiva Prasad, General Manager, Al Istath Computers.
“The BSA supports this initiative by one of our members to encourage these resellers to become productive resellers who offer only genuine software to their customers. Our concerted efforts in coordination with our members are steadily bringing in the desired results, and we look forward to continued support from the public and the software sector as we aim to reduce piracy in the UAE,” said Jawad Al Redha, BSA Co-Chairman in the Gulf region.
