As mentioned in the Atlanta Journal on 9/19/06, for the third time in recent months Microsoft has filed suits against metro area firms as the company attempts to crackdown on the sale of counterfeit copies of its software, including Windows XP.

The local cases, all in U.S. District Court in Atlanta, are among 20 filed nationally by Microsoft.

The metro area filings were against Atlantatechnology and Dalsand Computers, both of Norcross, and GForce Computer Sales and Services of Douglasville.

Mary Jo Schrade, a Microsoft lawyer based in Alpharetta, is the lead attorney for the cases here and nationally.

She said she believes that all the metro areas firms were small ones.

Schrade said the lawsuits are designed to raise public awareness of counterfeit or illegal software. She said it was still too early to evaluate how effective that campaign has been.