Counterfeit Arrests a ‘Milestone’

A Microsoft lawyer who battles illegal copies of the company's software sees “a real milestone” in yesterday’s seizure of more than $500 million worth of Chinese-made counterfeits.

The FBI and Chinese authorities cooperated to seize the counterfeit Microsoft and Symantec software and arrest 25 people, the New York Times reports. Microsoft began gathering evidence about a Chinese counterfeiting syndicate in 2001 and turned its findings over to the law enforcement agencies.

“This is the biggest software counterfeiting organization we have ever seen by far,” said David Finn, Microsoft’s associate general counsel for worldwide piracy and counterfeiting issues.