Microsoft and Pfizer take legal action against illegal Viagra websites

Posted on Friday, February 11 2005 @ 16:17 CET by Thomas De Maesschalck

Microsoft and Pfizer have formed an alliance against websites and spammers that sell illegal versions of Pfizer's Viagra pills.

The companies said that they filed parallel lawsuits after a seven-month investigation to unveil the identity of two website owners together with those advertising the websites via huge amounts of spam mail.

Pfizer filed lawsuits against the websites, CanadianPharmacy and E-Pharmacy Direct, while Microsoft took legal auction against the spammers. The companies said that they are targeting the entire supply chain.

The pharmacy spam rings have allegedly sent hundreds of millions of e-mail messages to Microsoft's MSN Hotmail customers within the past year alone, Microsoft said.

In August, Pfizer took legal action against 30 websites claiming to sell Viagra or generic versions of the drug, even though there is no legal generic Viagra. The company said 29 of those site are no longer operating.

Source: Reuters

About the Author

Thomas De Maesschalck

Thomas has been messing with computer since early childhood and firmly believes the Internet is the best thing since sliced bread. Enjoys playing with new tech, is fascinated by science, and passionate about financial markets. When not behind a computer, he can be found with running shoes on or lifting heavy weights in the weight room.

Loading Comments

Share this story!