Piracy is a problem, spread all over the world. The more technologies develop and companies roll out new products, the more piracy is generalizing. However, the company that is the most aware of the effect of using illegal copies of Windows and Office is Microsoft. Instead of fighting this problem, Microsoft is trying a different approach.

Via PCWorld, Ghacks, reports that all users who work with the pirated versions of its popular Office software suite are receiving offers for a discount of 50% off of the legitimate version. The company is trying to direct pirates to use the online Office 365 suite. However, there are people who don’t want to deal with service subscriptions and maybe that is the reason why they want to have their own software. Also, it seems that the offer is available in certain markets, because in Australia, for example, there is no offer for the discount.

On the other side, there are many options such as Google Documents and other open-source alternatives, is it possible for Microsoft to manage to entice users?