A 26-year-old man was arrested last week for his suspected involvement in the distribution and sale of pirated software believed to be worth more than US$20,000 ($24,700) .

He was arrested by the Intellectual Property Rights Branch (IPRB) at Bedok Reservoir View, where 50 high-end counterfeit copies of Microsoft Windows 7 Pro and Office 2010 Pro were seized. Another 35 pieces of high-end counterfeit copies of Office Pro 2010, Windows Server 2008, Windows 7 Home Premium, Windows 7 Pro and Windows 7 Ultimate were found.

It is understood that the man had advertised the counterfeit copies through a local online store.

Microsoft in a statement on Monday said that those who commit copyright infringement may be liable to fines of up to $100,000 and/or imprisonment of up to five years.