Microsoft takes aim at piracy

Microsoft Corp. said Thursday it had filed its first-ever breach-of-contract lawsuits against several members of a software subscription service.

The Redmond-based company alleges that nine people in California, Maryland, New York, Texas and Virginia obtained Microsoft Action Pack Subscriptions, then tried to sell the software on Internet auction sites.

Microsoft, the world's largest software maker, said the alleged abuses involved falsifying information to receive program benefits and software titles multiple times.

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The MAPS program provides partners with discounted Microsoft software for product evaluation and internal use, not for resale.

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation spotlights stringent New York state laws that have long drawn criticism

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThe debate over AI’s future rages on both coasts

FOR SUBSCRIBERSDecades-old march dispute reignites in Northern Ireland, threatening political crisis

"Our honest partners have asked us to intervene to help protect those who abide by laws and rules governing software use and distribution," Mary Jo Schrade, a senior attorney at Microsoft, said in a statement released Thursday. "We want to protect the business of honest resellers and try to ensure a level playing field for our partners."

Microsoft also sued three companies, in Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania, accusing them of pirating software.