Microsoft Counterfeiters Jailed in China

(Beijing) The Chinese Public Security Bureau (PSB) and the FBI worked together in an investigation of counterfeiters responsible for producing and distributing over $2 billion worth of fake Microsoft software. Products included Windows Vista and XP, Office 2007 and 2003, and Windows Server.

Eleven counterfeiters have been given jail sentences of between one and a half and six and a half years by a Chinese court after being found guilty of producing fake Microsoft software.

The "ringleaders of the world's largest software-counterfeiting syndicate," as Microsoft described them in a statement on Wednesday, were sentenced on New Year's Eve. According to Microsoft, theirs were the longest sentences given for this type of crime in China's history.

One has to wonder if this means that China can be relied upon to respect intellectual property rights. I'd say no, not at all, but it is a step in the right direction.