It’s no mystery that I generally don’t like Microsoft or its products. On the other hand, when Microsoft does something right, I’ll say that too. By issuing a free, blanket software license to nonprofit and journalist groups in Russia and other NGOs (non-government organizations) outside the U.S., Microsoft has done the right thing.
After the New York Times reported that Microsoft lawyers have helped Russian authorities to raid advocacy groups and newspapers in the name of copyright enforcement in recent years, Microsoft slammed on the brakes on its copyright enforcement policies. Microsoft General Counsel Brad Smith wrote in his blog, “We want to be clear that we [Microsoft] unequivocally abhor any attempt to leverage intellectual property rights to stifle political advocacy or pursue improper personal gain.”
Normally, when Microsoft just talks the talk and doesn’t walk the walk, I’d be snickering at comments like that. But Smith went on to write, “Our first step is clear-cut. We must accept responsibility and assume accountability for our anti-piracy work, including the good and the bad. At this point some of the specific facts are less clear than we would like. We will retain an international law firm that has not been involved in the anti-piracy work to conduct an independent investigation, report on its conclusions, and advise us of new measures we should take.”
That’s impressive. Microsoft is willing to take the blame for what may have been done in their name in Russia.