Company In Dutch Over Counterfeit Mice

Microsoft Corp. announced Monday that it reached a settlement with a Dutch distributor that sold thousands of counterfeit computer mice bearing the software giant’s logo.

The distributor, Procase, agreed to pay an undisclosed amount in compensation for selling 40,000 bogus copies of Microsoft’s 2.0 version mouse, Microsoft Europe said in a statement.

The counterfeit mice were of inferior quality and had an estimated street value of $2 million, Microsoft said.

It said it discovered the mouse trafficking in February and began an investigation, recovering and destroying many of the bogus mice. The Redmond-based company said the mice were professional copies bearing a slightly altered version of the Microsoft logo.

“Microsoft has taken this business of the counterfeit mice very seriously - not only because we have sustained a sizable loss, but because the buyer’s faith in Microsoft has suffered from the inferior quality of the illegal mice,” said John Mangelaars, manager of Microsoft’s customer unit for Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.