Microsoft is preparing 55 legal actions worldwide against sellers on auction sites who are hawking illegal copies of the company’s software, the company said Tuesday.The actions are a mix of lawsuits and criminal complaints, said Jean-Christophe Le Toquin, a Microsoft attorney for Europe, the Middle East and Africa region. Microsoft has or will file 34 actions in Europe including Germany, France, Poland, Belgium, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.The company will seek prison terms for high-volume sellers and fines for less flagrant violations, Le Toquin said.Microsoft has stepped up its antipiracy campaign through legal suits. The company also sent out a program, Windows Genuine Advantage, to Windows computers that verifies whether the OS is a genuine, licensed copy. Microsoft said it has received tips from consumers who have been notified that their OS is not legitimate, and those customers have informed the company where they bought the software. In the United Kingdom, teams have visited software resellers to remind them of the legal consequences of piracy.The new legal measures could take one to two years to wind through courts, depending on how quickly local police cooperate, Le Toquin said. Microsoft investigators purchased most of the fraudulent software through the eBay auction site, which hosts an estimated 50,000 pieces of pirated Microsoft software a year, he said. Some fakes are of such high quality that the compact discs and packaging are sent to a special Microsoft lab in Ireland for confirmation, Le Toquin said. Sellers draw buyers with prices well below market.-Jeremy Kirk, IDG News Service (London Bureau)Related Links: Microsoft Office Antipiracy Checks to Become Mandatory Microsoft Wins Case Against German Spammer Microsoft Faces Class-Action Suit over Antipiracy ToolThis article is posted on our Microsoft Informer page. For more news on the Redmond, Wash.-based powerhouse, keep checking in.Check out our CIO News Alerts and Tech Informer pages for more updated news coverage. Related content feature Key IT initiatives reshape the CIO agenda While cloud, cybersecurity, and analytics remain top of mind for IT leaders, a shift toward delivering business value is altering how CIOs approach key priorities, pushing transformative projects to the next phase. By Mary Pratt May 30, 2023 10 mins IT Strategy IT Leadership opinion Managing IT right starts with rightsizing IT for value While there are few universals when it comes to saying unambiguously what ‘managing IT right’ looks like, knowing how to navigate the limitless possibilities of IT is surely one. By Thornton May May 30, 2023 6 mins Digital Transformation IT Strategy IT Leadership feature Red Hat embraces hybrid cloud for internal IT The maker of OpenShift has leveraged its own open container offering to migrate business-critical apps to AWS as part of a strategy to move beyond facilitating hybrid cloud for others and capitalize on the model for itself. By Paula Rooney May 29, 2023 5 mins CIO 100 Technology Industry Hybrid Cloud feature 10 most popular IT certifications for 2023 Certifications are a great way to show employers you have the right IT skills and specializations for the job. These 10 certs are the ones IT pros are most likely to pursue, according to data from Dice. By Sarah K. White May 26, 2023 8 mins Certifications Careers Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe