The Chinese IT community is abuzz with
news of the arrest of Hong Lei, distributor of the popular "Tomato
Garden" pirate version of Windows XP, which means the popular unlocked
version of the Microsoft software will no longer be available.
According to Sina.com, more than 90
percent of users they surveyed are or were users of Tomato Garden
pirate editions. And 79 percent said they were on Tomato Garden’s side.
Less than 5 percent said they supported Microsoft.
The logic is clear: when a pirated
copy of Windows software is available for 5 yuan, who would pay nearly
a month's salary for a copy of authentic software produced by a foreign
company that has already collected billions of dollars in revenue
around the world?
But Yu Weidong, director of
intellectual property at Microsoft said price comparisons between legal
and the pirated versions is meaningless because they take no account of
research and development costs.
"Overwhelming support from the public
doesn't justify Tomato Garden’s piracy. Some netizens are getting very
emotional and confusing issues such as piracy, monopoly and
intellectual property rights," said Feng Xiaoqing, professor at China
University of Political Science and Law.
Microsoft in a sensitive position
Apart from the price difference, some
netizens said that Microsoft's monopolistic intentions contributed to
their support to Hong Lei.
Critics say Microsoft's move against
Tomato Garden is an act to fend off complaints about that the company
took advantage of the pirated software to get an initial foothold in
the Chinese market and only began to file lawsuits against pirates when
software users had become "addicted" to Microsoft products.
"Microsoft is conducting harmful
trading practices in China, such as bundling products in with its
Windows operating system. This violates consumers' rights to choose
alternative products," says Dong Zhengwei, a lawyer with a Chinese law
firm who claims to have lodged a complaint against Microsoft with the
Chinese government.
"In addition, Microsoft sells its
products in China for the same price as in the United States, which is
higher than similar Chinese products; more evidence of its monopolistic
intentions," he says.
China's anti-monopoly law took effect in August, and has put Microsoft in a sensitive position.
"There is no excuse for piracy even if
the Microsoft’s behavior can be shown to be monopolistic. Monopoly and
piracy are two separate issues," Feng said.
Ni Guangnan, from the Chinese Academy
of Engineering, wrote in a recent article posted on Sina.com that
rampant software piracy has hurt domestic companies far more than
foreign companies.
"Although pirated software has reduced
the revenue of foreign companies, it has helped maintain their dominant
position in the market and squeezed domestic companies out," says Ni.
"We should continue to crack down on pirated software, not for the
benefit of foreign companies, but for our own benefit."
Source : http://www.china.org.cn/
