Microsoft is preparing 55 legal actions worldwide against sellers on auction sites who are hawking illegal copies of the company"s software, the company said Tuesday.
The actions are a mix of lawsuits and criminal complaints, said Jean-Christophe Le Toquin, a Microsoft attorney for Europe, the Middle East and Africa region. Microsoft has or will file 34 actions in Europe including Germany, France, Poland, Belgium, the U.K. and the Netherlands.
The company will seek prison terms for high-volume sellers and fines for less flagrant violations, Le Toquin said.
Microsoft has stepped up its anti-piracy campaign through legal suits. The company also sent out a program, Windows Genuine Advantage, to Windows computers that verifies whether the OS is a genuine, licensed copy.