Microsoft sues over piracy

Microsoft announced Thursday that it has filed 17 lawsuits accusing U.S. companies of distributing illegally copied Microsoft software. The suits, filed in various U.S. District Court jurisdictions, target small PC retailers and consultants, with most of the cases concentrated in Florida, California and New Jersey.

Microsoft has become one of the most active companies fighting a growing plague of software piracy, which cost software makers almost $11 billion in lost sales last year, according to a recent study.