Microsoft sends thank you letter to Georgia’s Prime Minister

Georgia’s Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili has received a letter of thanks from Microsoft for his "courageous steps” to stamp out the illegal use of pirated Microsoft products.

In the letter, the president of Microsoft Central & Eastern Europe Don Grantham thanked Garibashvili and his team for their efforts, and said since the new Government took office in Georgia many "important legislative changes” in the country’s information technology (IT) sector had come into force.

"Microsoft recognises and appreciates your efforts that are aimed to protect intellectual property,” said Grantham in the letter.

The message also noted that following the Baltic countries, Georgia would be the fourth post-Soviet country to have legitimate and licensed Microsoft programs.

Earlier this year, Georgia signed a memorandum with the computer software giant which will see the Georgian Government purchase Microsoft’s Genuine OS Licensing and Enterprise Licensing from Microsoft in a bid to stamp out the use of illegal software in Georgia.

In previous years Georgia was one of the world’s leading countries to sell pirated Microsoft products. An international survey revealed about 130,000 personal computers were sold in Georgia annually and "almost all” were equipped with illegal versions of Microsoft programs.