Microsoft Gulf has filed criminal complaints that led to five anti-piracy raids on resellers in Fujairah, the company revealed yesterday.
The raids were carried out by the Fujairah branch of the Ministry of Economy, Fujairah Municipality and the National Media Council, and resulted in the confiscation of personal computers loaded with pirated copies of Microsoft software.
"In addition to the impact on economies and innovation, software piracy poses real risks to businesses and consumers," said Hassan Yousef Al Mushtaghil, Director of the Ministry of Economy in Fujairah.
"It is for this reason that protecting intellectual property rights is at the top of the agenda for the ministry where we partner with organisations such as Microsoft in the development of strategies and mechanisms that will help tackle this issue in the Arab World."
Jawad Al Redha, IPR Manager of Microsoft Gulf, said: "Every country should take steps to stop software piracy to create a stronger and secure business environment.
"We believe that consumers using counterfeit software are at high risk of data loss, security issues and identity or credit card theft. The raids by the authorities highlight their commitment to protect consumers.
"Microsoft supports the ministry's efforts in taking legal steps against those who manufacture and distribute illegal software," he said.