China Software Piracy Good For Microsoft

Here is an interesting story about Piracy actually helping Microsoft that really makes sense. I don’t condone piracy, but I now understand why Microsoft really does not put the effort into battling it that they could.

Last week we looked at the software industry’s dubious claim that piracy was hurting the Chinese economy. Not only does software piracy probably not hurt their economy, it doesn’t necessarily hurt the software companies, like Microsoft. In fact, as the company has acknowledged in the past, piracy helps the company achieve a high Windows user base. Companies using Windows, legitimately or not, are more likely to buy the software in the future, buy other Microsoft products, and help hold competitors at bay. While Microsoft has talked a tough game, taking a hardline anti-piracy stance, they’ve actually been pretty good about not being too aggressive, knowing that they could drive users to rival platforms.