Microsoft piracy campaign scalps 12 more resellers

We have always been committed to making sure that we issue properly licenced software even if that means that we seem more expensive than other suppliers. That is not to say that we believe that software is fairly priced.
Software such as MS Office that can ship into almost every business always seems to pricey, sometimes costing almost as much as the machine it runs on.
That being said we want to be in business this year, next year and the year after that so we don't mess with shipping unlicensed software.

We came across this article by Alex Scroxton today, 28th April 2009. I think it explains why we take the attitude we do.

QUOTE
Microsoft’s voracious anti-piracy campaign has netted 12 more traders caught selling illegal software, with the bulk of the incidents in the North-West of England and Berkshire.

The resellers involved were all found to have been either selling software illegally or hard-disk loading.

Microsoft UK general manager of SMEs and partners, Scott Dodds, said that attitudes to piracy needed to change during the downturn.
“Historically, many in the channel have seen piracy as a relatively low priority, [but] at a time when the FSB claims 120 businesses a day are going bust, unfair competition puts pressure on resellers’ margins and threatens to drive them out of business,” he said.

Microsoft anti-piracy attorney Graham Arthur reiterated the vendor’s commitment to maintaining a level playing field, adding: “We will be more successful with a channel that’s 100% committed to do the same. If partners see suspicious buying patterns or too good to be true prices they should tell us.”
UNQUOTE

With the quality of open source GNU products offering alternatives to Microsoft there is never any reason to ship illegal software.