Microsoft warns Singaporean unintentionlly purchasing piracy software

Microsoft on Tuesday warned consumers to remain vigilant against computers which are bundled with piracy softwares and sold at a lower price in Singapore.

In a press release, Microsoft said that the Intellectual Property Rights Branch (IPRB) of the Singapore Police Force on Monday raided a computer vendor's outlet which was selling devices with piracy softwares.

The company said that police also seized 43 units of Lenovo, Dell and Hewlett-Packard (HP) laptops installed with suspected piracy of Windows 7 Pro and Office Enterprise 2007 and affixed with fake Certificates of Authenticity. The estimated total commercial value is 800,000 Singapore dollars (640,000 U.S. dollars).

The electronic giant stressed that consumers should continue to "remain vigilant against pirated software, which often leads to increased security risks and threats from malware and viruses, not to mention the economic impact of software piracy to consumers and businesses in Singapore," adding that such behavior also put honest computer vendors "to a disadvantage as they are unable to compete with dealers offering counterfeit software that are often lower in cost."

This is one of the several pirate raids that Singapore authorities have conducted in recent months. Microsoft added in the press release that a 20-year-old man has been fined 20,000 Singapore dollars for selling unauthorized softwares in September. This is the highest fine for first-time offender under Singapore's Copyright Act.