Submitted by: kirkland on Monday October 30th, 2006 at 09:06 PM EST

Microsoft plans to file more than 50 lawsuits worldwide against online merchants who allegedly peddle counterfeit software on popular auction sites, the software giant said Monday.

The actions include 15 lawsuits in the U.S., 10 in Germany, 10 in the Netherlands, six in France, and five in the United Kingdom, Microsoft said. Additional cases are being filed in Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Korea and Poland, the company said.

"This is a worldwide enforcement against sellers of counterfeit software on online auction sites," said Matt Lundy, a senior attorney at Microsoft. "We're finding more and more that auction sites are becoming a popular way for counterfeiters to distribute counterfeit software to consumers."

Many of the alleged infringing sellers were identified through tips submitted by consumers through Microsoft's Windows Genuine Advantage, or WGA, program, the company said. WGA requires people to validate their version of Windows as properly licensed before allowing access to additional Microsoft software downloads.

» Full story @ ZDNet