Microsoft has announced the filing of 52 lawsuits and the referral of 22 cases, to local law enforcement in 22 countries against resellers, who allegedly sold counterfeit Microsoft software on various online marketplaces. India is one of the countries where these lawsuits and referrals have been undertaken.

In addition, Microsoft announced the release of a new educational guide to help consumers spot and avoid counterfeit software offered on online marketplaces.

“Every day, software pirates around the world put countless consumers at risk by selling defective counterfeit software through Internet marketplaces,” said David Finn, Associate General Counsel for Worldwide Anti-Piracy and Anti-Counterfeiting at Microsoft. “As part of our ongoing effort to combat software piracy, Microsoft is committed to taking the legal action necessary to protect consumers around the world from the dangers of counterfeit software, and we encourage consumers to look to the legitimate channel - both online and offline - when seeking original Microsoft software.”

The 52 lawsuits were filed in Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Turkey, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Twenty-two criminal cases were referred to law enforcement in Argentina, Belgium, China, Dominican Republic, France, India, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Panama, Poland, Taiwan and Turkey.