Chinese lawyer sues Microsoft for installing WGA

Dong Zhengwei, a Beijing lawyer, has filed a complaint against Microsoft, because the WGA test allegedly made his PC unusable. The man calls the software giant “China’s biggest hacker”.

Microsoft has been trying for several years with the WGA test to prevent the spread of illegal XP and Vista versions. In the most recent version of the Windows Genuine Advantage tool, detecting a pirate edition almost literally turns the screen to black, but this goes too far for many Chinese.

Across the Chinese Daily informed Zhengwei that under Chinese law, a company could be charged if it knowingly disables an operating system because it could damage personal property. The lawyer, who filed his complaint with the Ministry of Public Security, argues that Microsoft should focus on detecting and catching criminal pirates, and not harass the end user. The software giant should also significantly lower the prices for Windows, so that the Chinese are less likely to grab a copied version.

Zhengwei is not alone in his WGA hatred. Even the China Software Industry Association, the only professional platform for software developers in the communist country, calls the WGA rollout “a very bad idea” and is also considering legal action. In a response to the public outcry, Microsoft says it is only protecting its intellectual property and calls the large-scale piracy in China “absolutely wrong”. However, the company has promised to better explain the ‘usefulness’ of the WGA operation to the media and the public.