Twenty-Five Percent of Russian Software Outlets Sell Counterfeit Microsoft Programs

Over the last few months, Microsoft conducted an inspection of 2,500 computer and software retailers in 53 Russian cities and discovered that 25 percent sold counterfeit programs, while 11 percent offered to install illegal software.

According to the survey results that Microsoft published on February 8, 2010, Central Siberia and the Russian Far East are top offenders, with up to 71 percent of outlets in those regions selling unlicensed software. According to RIA Novosti, high piracy rates were also recorded in Sverdlovsk (41 percent), Chelyabinsk (30 percent) and Moscow regions (27 percent).

The evidence that Microsoft provided to the Russian authorities led to nearly 1,000 prosecutions related to the illegal use of software in 2009.

That said, the piracy rate of Microsoft software in Russia is in decline, stated Denis Guz, responsible for Microsoft’s department promoting the sale of licensed software.
“A few years ago most computer stores in Russia offered some form of pirate software. Now, as we can see, there are fewer sales points of that kind,” Guz stated.

For more information, please contact Jelena Jankovic in our Balkan Regional Office.

Source: The Sydney Morning Herald