Although Linux lovers will rightly say that an anti-piracy initiative isn’t necessary in the FOSS world, free and open source software has overtaken the world yet, and the piracy of commercial software is still a crime that Microsoft is most definitely investigating, chasing and prosecuting.

Ars Technica's Ken Fisher suggested in his article, WGA failure highlights major flaw in Microsoft's anti-piracy strategy, that Microsoft needs a new "anti-piracy" strategy. I not only agree that they need a new strategy, I'll even go so far as to help them craft it.

« Yesterday, Microsoft announced something they called "Global Anti-Piracy Day".

Your computer screen’s menus and icons disappear, slipping beneath a wall of funereal black. The computer still works, but it will not work for you.

In the Middle East, Microsoft has started a heavy campaign against software piracy which is forcing companies to use only its genuine software, but the opposite is also happening as many others are switching to Free Software.

A jury in Rhode Island found Microsoft guilty of patent infringement, ordering it to pay US$388 million to Uniloc, the patent holder.

Software piracy statistics scream for attention every May when the Business Software Alliance (BSA) releases its piracy report. Its angst is understandable when it rues that almost half of the estimated one billion personal computers (PCs) have pirated/unlicensed software, resulting in losses of $48 billion — an increase of six times over the 2007 figures.

The US software giant has launched a new set of products aimed at standardising the provision of online services to citizens by public administrations. But while Microsoft says the move will help address the fragmentation of Internet services offered by local authorities, competitors argue it may pose a threat to the development of alternative software.

An appeals court on Friday rejected Microsoft Corp.'s challenge to a $142 million trial loss over patents on a way to prevent software piracy. "Substantial evidence supports the jury's verdict" that Microsoft infringed two valid patents owned by closely held z4 Technologies Inc., the appeals court in Washington, D.C., ruled.