-------- Original Message -------- Subject: Microsoft Lauds President Bush's Signing of Anti-Counterfeiting Bill Into Law Date: Thu, 23 Dec 2004 12:58:02 -0800 From: Erin McGhee To: Declan McCullagh Good afternoon, Declan, Because of your interest in anti-counterfeiting measures, I wanted to call your attention to an important development today in the effort to address the problems associated with software piracy and counterfeiting. President Bush signed into law today the Anti-Counterfeiting Amendments Act of 2003, H.R. 3632, criminalizing the distribution of genuine authentication components that have been separated from the software they were intended to authenticate for the purpose of knowingly attempting to certify counterfeit products. This includes Certificate of Authenticity (COA) labels, licensing documents and registration cards that certify copyrights. Microsoft views today’s development as a critical step for Congress to have taken in the effort to address software counterfeiting in this country. It also has a significant impact on its ability to ensure that its honest partners are not forced to compete unfairly with dishonest actors who undercut them in the marketplace, and that consumers are receiving the genuine Microsoft products they believe they’re purchasing. As you know, on November 30, Microsoft announced the filing of eight lawsuits against system builders and resellers for trafficking in counterfeit COA labels, as part of the first phase of its COA test purchase program. Now, with this new law, Microsoft has another tool to help the channel by targeting not just those who traffic in counterfeit authentication components, but also those who distribute genuine standalone COA labels. Below, please find the statement Microsoft released today at 11:30am PDT. For additional information about how this impacts the technology industry, channel partners and Microsoft’s COA test purchase program, I can put you in contact with key stakeholders for an interview including Microsoft senior attorney Bonnie MacNaughton and resellers David June of Northwest Computer and Todd Swank of Northern Computer Technologies (Nor-Tech). Thank you for your time and your interest in this important issue. Erin McGhee (425) 638-7423 *For Immediate Release* *Dec. 23, 2004* *Statement on President Bush Signing Anti-Counterfeiting Bill Into Law* *REDMOND, Wash. — Dec. 23, 2004 —* “Microsoft is pleased that the Anti-counterfeiting Amendments Act of 2003 (H.R. 3632) was signed into law today,” said Jack Krumholtz, associate general counsel and managing director for Microsoft Corp. “We commend Chairman Lamar Smith and Sen. Joseph Biden for championing this federal legislation over the course of two sessions of Congress, and thank Chairman James Sensenbrenner, Rep. Howard Berman, Chairman Orrin Hatch and Sen. Patrick Leahy for their leadership in advancing these important reforms. “The new law will be a critical part of the overall effort to address software counterfeiting in this country. Under the law, industry and law enforcement will have the ability to pursue those who knowingly misuse genuine authentication documents to make counterfeit products appear to be legitimate. The law also will be a tool in the broader fight to protect intellectual property, which fuels innovation and stimulates economic growth. “We applaud President Bush and Congress for taking this vital step to help stem computer software and hardware counterfeiting.” *About Microsoft* Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential. /#########/ _______________________________________________ Politech mailing list Archived at http://www.politechbot.com/ Moderated by Declan McCullagh (http://www.mccullagh.org/)
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.3 : Sat Dec 25 2004 - 21:28:30 PST