For those outside the software industry, it can be difficult to appreciate the scope and impact of one of the industry’s biggest problems, counterfeit software. The Business Software Alliance has estimated that 35 percent of all PC software used worldwide is counterfeit or otherwise illegal, and the recent IDC Economic Impact Study asserts that if the piracy rate was lowered by 10 percentage points over the next four years, this would contribute 2.4 million new jobs and US$400 billion in economic growth to the global economy.

The negative impacts of counterfeiting and other forms of software piracy extend from the companies who wrote the software through the ecosystem of local resellers worldwide who depend on software sales, down to individual consumers. Counterfeit software can even expose consumers and businesses to spyware, viruses, faulty code and identity theft.

Microsoft is committed to protecting consumers and software resellers from counterfeit software and other forms of software piracy. The company recently announced an expanded focus on those efforts through creation of the Genuine Software Initiative (GSI).