THE Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) has raided the premises of a local software reseller and made a seizure of 269 units of suspected high and low quality counterfeit products, ranging from computer games, music, anti-virus software, and Microsoft Windows and Office.The NCC raid was carried out in Port Harcourt at the weekend, following a tip off and complaints from Microsoft Nigeria after a consumer laid complaints about the substandard products he bought.Reacting, the Director General of NCC, Mr. Afam Ezekude, said software piracy creates an unfair market environment and in the current economic climate, every naira of revenue is crucial to help spur economic growth, support the legitimate IT ecosystem and create jobs.It will be recalled that recently, Business Software Alliance (BSA), the voice of the world's software industry, estimates the PC software piracy rate in Nigeria at 82 per cent.According to a global Microsoft survey that addresses consumer's attitudes on counterfeit software, more than 80 per cent of consumers had concerns about using counterfeit software. These concerns range from risks of identity theft, virus attacks, and the fact that counterfeit products fund criminal activities.The high quality counterfeit Microsoft software currently being distributed in Nigeria 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.According to Microsoft's Corporate Attorney for Anti-Piracy, Middle East and Africa, Dale Waterman, 'International police organisations and governments have announced there is growing evidence of organised criminal syndicates with global reach manufacturing and distributing software via sophisticated networks.'Microsoft uses a team of 75 investigators, paralegals and analysts who use forensic technology in nine crime labs around the world to track and identify illegal counterfeiting activities,' continued Waterman.In November, Microsoft will be holding the fourth yearly Consumer Action Day, a day in which Microsoft Anti-Piracy teams around the globe spotlight Microsoft's effort to fight software piracy and counterfeiting through education, engineering and enforcement.'This year's theme focuses on the creation of a level playing field 'making sure businesses compete fairly and consumers learn about the value in building a strong IP environment,' said Seye Oloruntoba, Anti-Piracy Manager for Microsoft Anglophone West Africa. 'We are committed to working with the government and enforcement agencies in educating consumers on the ills of using counterfeit software and the benefits of using genuine.
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