Officials of the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) recently raided the premises of a well-known software reseller in Ikeja, Lagos. This is following an undercover test purchase of counterfeit software by the commission. The raid however resulted in the seizure of suspected high quality counterfeit Microsoft Windows and Office software by the authorities. An investigation is currently ongoing.
“Counterfeit goods are a plague on our markets,” said Afam Ezekude, director- general of NCC. “We must put a stop to the software pirates that trick innocent consumers and small businesses into parting with their hard-earned cash for illegal and, sometimes dangerous, goods. Starting a new business on counterfeit software is like building a house on quick sand.”
In a country where the Business Software Alliance (BSA) estimates the PC software piracy rate to be 83 percent in 2009, local Nigerian businesses have had difficulty competing with counterfeiters that have priced their goods at below-market levels and are then forced to cut jobs. The BSA, in a recent report estimated that the Nigerian economy lost US$156 million to software piracy in 2009, a $24 million increase compared to 2008.
“This enforcement action helps in leveling the playing field for honest businesses and exposes unscrupulous resellers who exploit customers’ good faith by providing them with fake software” said Nnamdi Ezeji, Microsoft product manager, high performance distribution limited. Counterfeit software includes fake hologram CDs and fake Certificate of Authenticity labels that look like the real thing and which are sold as complete software packages.
Customers who make the purchases in good faith believe that what they are purchasing is genuine when the product is in fact counterfeit. “Consumers looking for a bargain should know pirates often advertise a bottom-of-the-barrel sale price,” said Kenneth Mba, Anti-Piracy manager for Microsoft Anglophone West Africa. “But the price you could pay in data loss or identity theft by using counterfeit software that is vulnerable to computer viruses, malware and hackers is much, much higher.”
Counterfeit software is often vulnerable to computer viruses, malware and hackers, leaving consumers and businesses unprotected against data loss or identity theft. Microsoft warns Nigerian consumers to avoid the threats to their privacy and security when considering buying cheap counterfeit technology.
Industry analysts say that curbing the illegal trade is big task which will begin with mass education and awareness campaign on the dangers. Also, full scale enforcement is important to curb the growth of large- scale manufacturing and distribution of counterfeit software, which in turn will help check the rise in hard disk loading activities of such software by retailers, the analysts maintained. At the same time, software manufacturers must find ways to make the software more pocket-friendlily, especially for non-profit groups such as home users or students.
Incoming search terms:
- nigerian microsoft office software sellers
- what a real microsoft certificate of authenticity looks like
Software Piracy
Software Piracy It’s Best To Avoid It At All Costs Like electronic identity theft, computer viruses, and the spread of other computer crimes, software piracy is on the rise. The problem with software piracy is that software costs make this illegal activity appealing to the end user. After all, who is it going to hurt? [...]
Microsoft: Mexican Drug Cartel is Pirating Software
If you still thought software piracy was a minor issue, consider this accusation: Microsoft late last week said that the drug cartel called La Familia was selling counterfeit copies of the software giant’s products on the streets of Mexico. The company says it has evidence that establishes a link between the piracy and organized crime [...]
‘Reduce software piracy to boost economy, create new jobs’
NEW DELHI: Against the backdrop of rising computer penetration, curbing the menace of software piracy will not only boost India’s overall economic output but also create thousands of new jobs, say experts. “Increased spending in software fuels job creation and economic growth as software generates a lot of supporting business activity such as distribution, reselling, [...]
Microsoft says La Familia drug cartel is selling bootleg Office software
La Familia drug cartel is selling not just drugs, but also counterfeit Microsoft Office computer software, according the Redmond, Wash., tech giant. Microsoft showed off unauthorized copies of its Office 2007 software in Paris today which the company said it found for sale in Mexico. The pirated copies of Office were marked with La Familia [...]
Software Lobby Calls China Piracy Pledge ‘Incremental Progress’
Among the far-ranging agreements secured during Chinese President Hu Jintao’s state visit to Washington this week was a commitment to crack down on the sale and distribution of pirated software and other intellectual property violations that U.S. firms have long pinned on China. But for one of the leading anti-piracy lobbies, the Business Software Alliance, [...]
