Microsoft Seeks to Cripple Small Businesses, Threatening The "U.S. Economic Recovery"

Watch this one very closely.

Microsoft is pushing state laws to pass bills that would allow it to punish businesses far and wide if they conduct business with any foreign entity that uses any type of pirated software in its business. According to the complaint, Washington State is currently reviewing a bill that would allow Microsoft AND the State Attorney General to file a lawsuit against any company that is found to be doing business with any foreign entity that uses ANY pirated software in ANY aspect of its business.

If a company overseas uses a pirated version of Excel, let's say, keeping track of how many parts it has shipped or whatever, and then sends some parts to General Motors or any large company to incorporate into the finished product, Microsoft can sue *not the overseas supplier* but General Motors, for unfair competition. So can the state's Attorney General. I kid you not. For piracy that was done by someone else, overseas. The product could be T shirts. It doesn't matter what it is, so long as it's manufactured with contributions from an overseas supplier, like in China, who didn't pay Microsoft for software that it uses somewhere in the business. It's the US company that has to pay damages, not the overseas supplier.

On Friday, several large computer-hardware corporations sent a joint letter urging legislators to vote no on the bill. Many are Microsoft's partners — Dell, IBM, Intel and Hewlett-Packard. Microsoft is attempting to get this law passed in every state, which could sound a terrifying death knell for the U.S. Economy.

There is more detailed information but this is one thing that everyone needs to read very carefully:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2014472018_btpiracy14.html
http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=2011032316585825