Microsoft is apparently offering 50 percent discounts to certain MS Office pirates, to entice them away from cracked copies of Office

Reports indicate that users of pirated Microsoft Office copies are being offered a special "limited time" discount on Office 365 subscriptions in certain countries. Indian users have apparently received a one-time, 50 percent discount on annual Office 365 Personal and Office 365 Family subscriptions. This knocks the price of a yearly Office 365 Family subscription to INR 3,199 (less than US$50). 

It's important to note here that the offer is not valid in all countries. Testing from Armenia, a middle-income CIS state, we were presented with an "offer not valid" screen. This raises important questions: why is Microsoft offering some pirates a discount? And why doesn't this offer apply globally?

Microsoft Office is extensively pirated in certain countries. In India, for example, even government offices have been found to use pirated copies of the software. In price-sensitive developing markets, the ease of MS Office piracy can disincentivize people from getting valid, paid licenses.

By slashing the first-year subscription cost in half, while also presenting the dangers of piracy on the offer landing page, Microsoft seems to be hoping that at least some pirates will bite and pick up an official, discounted license. 

Check out Microsoft Office 365 Personal Edition here on Amazon.