Microsoft’s ‘Mystery Shopper’ set to weed out fakes, counterfeits

‘(Beware) You may be part of a software counterfeiting without knowing it’ states a new ad campaign by Microsoft Sri Lanka to create awareness on fakes and counterfeits.

The ad, which has run in several newspaper over the past three weeks in all three languages, also alerts retailers of computers, laptops or hand held devices that a Microsoft ‘Mystery Shopper’ will be visiting these stores.

“Our mystery shopper will visit your store to observe whether you are doing the right thing by your customers protecting them from cyber criminals and the law,” the ad said.

The local Microsoft office when asked under what laws Microsoft would be acting if stores are found selling fake or counterfeit Microsoft products, said: “Sri Lanka has very strong laws to protect intellectual property as part of its plans to attract FDIs to the country. The applicable law overall is the Intellectual Property Act and for registered companies, The Companies Act as well where directors and senior managers become liable Microsoft will only refer observations to the relevant authorities for their investigation and action as appropriate.”

Responding to questions from the Business Times, Microsoft said in a statement that the Microsoft mystery shopper campaign is part of an ongoing initiative to educate both the dealers and the consumers about the benefits of using licensed software on their PCs and laptops.

“Part of the mystery shopper initiative is to first observe retail operations and assess the manner in which Microsoft software is sold enabling us to better educate reseller sales teams to communicate the correct information regarding Microsoft software and products. The feedback gathered from the mystery shopper exercise helps Microsoft identify possible training needs among the front line staff and also put in place reward schemes for those who have made the initiative to effectively communicate the need for genuine software,” it said.

The negative feedback is taken seriously and actioned by educating partners on the laws pertaining to pirated software and equipping them with the relevant knowledge to carry out their sales in a legal and ethical manner, the company said.

It said the campaign has been an ongoing initiative for the past decade and also allowed law enforcement officials to crack down on the unauthorised distribution of software.

The campaign is part of the South East Asia New Market Plan and was initiated by Sri Lanka.