Microsoft threatens sales escalation to close down pirated internet cafes

After the smooth passage of the court to the Shanghai Volkswagen Insurance company to claim 2.17 million yuan, recently, Microsoft China will be anti-piracy targeted at the domestic huge Internet café system, and as Microsoft China "tackling" one of the key, Microsoft will be the first dynamic Network Communications Co., Ltd. (Dongguan dynamic Network) to sue the court, And the claim costs from the original 600,000 yuan to 1.58 million yuan. "If every computer requires the installation of a genuine operating system, it will undoubtedly be a heavy blow to the Internet café industry, which is now operating on a small profit margins." "Last week, Microsoft v. Dongguan Dynamic Network in the Internet Café industry caused a great stir, the Internet café owners have complained to reporters, and urged the relevant industry leaders can actively take antitrust measures."

Xingdong, a prominent Internet critic, points out that if Microsoft does not set reasonable prices according to normal market practices, it will rely on coercive legal threats to promote sales or bring more negative effects to the already restless anti-piracy industry.

Microsoft aims to claim "gold mine" in internet café industry

Last week, Microsoft China sued a mobile network in Dongguan because of the additional amounts claimed by Microsoft to 1.58 million yuan, the scheduled court time of May 12 will have to be postponed. According to the data provided by the Dongguan Internet Service Industry Association, Dongguan currently has 1056 Internet cafes, a total of about 200,000 computers. Once Microsoft wins, some industry insiders estimate that the entire Dongguan Internet café industry will pay more than 100 million yuan for the cost of the claim.

According to the Dongguan Dynamic Network legal representative Huang Jihong, Microsoft's first claim standard is 980 yuan/set, and then dropped to 580/set. Even according to this standard, a 200 computer internet cafes, at least a cost of about 120,000 yuan, and this is only the operating system costs, such as Office software, anti-virus software and other costs are not included therein.

In fact, Microsoft China's focus on the Dongguan Internet Café is also traced back to last April, when the industry has "Microsoft will be to Dongguan Internet cafes," rumors. At that time, Dongguan Internet Service Industry Association and Microsoft (China) jointly released a "Dongguan Internet café Industry Microsoft products, the Unified procurement plan." The program requires the Dongguan Internet Café Unified Procurement of Windows volume version of the Software XP Professional version of the server and office softwares. According to the price of Microsoft, a medium-sized Internet café with 200 computers, if the purchase of these three kinds of Microsoft products, a total of nearly 870,000 yuan capital. Many Internet café shopkeepers say Microsoft is asking too much and is suspected of monopolization. The two sides have conducted 3 rounds of negotiations on the amount of compensation, but failed to reach a consensus that eventually led to a dynamic network being sued by the court.

"If the Microsoft China win, not only Dongguan, the national Internet cafes industry will undergo severe challenges." "Dongguan South China Patent and Trademark Office Huang Rendong Lawyer told reporters, its assertion, once Microsoft is determined through litigation means large-scale crackdown on domestic internet cafes industry, then, the Internet café industry will inevitably lead to a round of failure tide. According to Sun Jiandong, general manager of the Microsoft Greater China Market Strategy Department, Microsoft will reduce the damage and damage caused by pirated software from the three aspects of user education, upgrading anti-piracy technology and joint enforcement.

Industry insiders said, in fact, in recent years, with the promotion of intellectual property rights awareness of domestic netizens, China's computer software piracy rate is also significantly reduced, Microsoft, if the eyes only stare at the "accounts", then, the end may directly lead to the common bar industry boycott. From the State Intellectual Property Office commissioned by the Internet laboratory published in the "2009 China Software industry Piracy rate Survey report," according to the installation of the computer software installed in the same year, the piracy rate from 2008 to 47% decline to 2009 years of 45%, Compared to the overall output value of the software industry, the piracy rate decreased from 15% in 2008 to 12%.

Huge claims or triggered a wave of internet café closures

In the face of Microsoft China's fierce internet cafes against piracy stick move, recently, reporters visited more than a dozen internet cafes in Guangzhou, the head of the Internet café to reporters pain, said that due to the increase in operating costs and other related aspects of the impact, many internet cafes are now in the margin of loss.

"Dongguan Internet Café Today, perhaps other Internet cafes tomorrow." "Guangzhou Zhongshan one Interchange Guang and road 56th," the "favored railcom and" Internet cafes related to the head sigh, there are insiders said, when Microsoft's anti-piracy "sticks" point to Internet cafes, whether it is to pay a large amount of claims or buy a genuine Windows system, Some of the Internet cafes will be closed down because of the high pressure claims.

Reporter survey found that the current Guangzhou city of Internet cafes in most of the net fee is concentrated in 3 yuan/hour to 5 yuan/hour, only a few internet cafes need 6 yuan/hour between the packet. Among them, in order to attract customers, almost all Internet cafes have opened a member service, members of the Internet minimum can be 2 yuan/hour. But even so, most internet cafes are rarely fully booked. To "new forces" as an example, the reporter came to the internet café on the 13th 9:30 A.M., but found that less than 25% of the attendance, the huge room only less than 40 guests.

"To want to hair, the era of Internet cafes has long passed." If Microsoft's anti-piracy stick continues to expand, Guangzhou's entire Internet Café system will also face paralysis. "In Guangzhou Dongfeng East Road No. 728," New forces "Internet cafes, said Mr. Zhang bluntly, he explained, to the current operating conditions of most internet cafes, most of the inability to bear such a high level of genuine system costs. "In addition to store rents, utilities, cable fiber costs, but also to pay the staff's wages, the computer upgrades the cost is a large number of pens." A wide range of fees has already made most internet cafes unbearable. ”

Not only that, in the industry, the high cost of genuine operating system has also made many Internet café operators look timid, from Microsoft China's official information shows that Microsoft last October, the WINDOWS7 operating system launched a minimum of 399 yuan, but the real test for commercial use of the professional version of the price is as high as 1399 yuan. In other words, if a 150-PC Internet café will upgrade all of its computers to Windows7, the simple operating system of the expenditure will be close to 210,000 yuan, which does not include the upgrading of computer hardware systems and other Office software and other equipment.

No. 215 Huangpu Road West, Guangzhou, "net in the margin" of the Internet café Chen, said the boss frankly, at present, Internet cafes this industry has been quite fragile, if forced to test the genuine system of high fees, it is tantamount to worse, "so it seems that, in addition to a small number of very profitable internet cafes, most of the internet cafes are facing the fate of ' closed '." ”