Microsoft sues 9 more resellers

Microsoft has sued nine New Jersey and New York computer resellers and filed a motion of contempt against another for allegedly selling pirated versions of its Windows 95, Windows 98, and Office 97 Professional software.

The suits come on the heels of similar action Microsoft took earlier this week against five Missouri resellers.

The latest lawsuits allege that the companies sold computers loaded with unlicensed software on the hard drives, and in half of the cases that they sold counterfeit software.

Microsoft investigated the computer resellers after receiving a tip to its anti-piracy hot line.

According to Microsoft's suits, the defendants were contacted and asked to stop distributing the unauthorized software, but continued to disregard the software giant's request.

The suits accuse the companies of copyright violations and trademark infringement.

The five defendants in New York, 3d Pro System, Comp-U-Tech of America, DSI Computer Services, Ace Computing Solutions, and MacField Computers, were cited for allegedly selling computers with hard disks pre-loaded with pirated software. One of the New York defendants is accused of selling unlicensed software.

In New Jersey, Spectra Systems, Aspen Graphics, American Micro Professionals, and Procom America were sued for allegedly distributing the pirated software.

Microsoft filed the contempt motion against New York-based reseller Prime Computers. Microsoft says Prime violated previous settlement agreements.