????接近微軟的戰略專家表示，這個問題之所以變復雜了，就是因為牽涉到了微軟的參與。羅杰?薩拉扎是微軟支持的一個游說團體的負責人，他說：“在我看來，反對這個法案的人是想在法案里找出一個現在根本不存在的妖怪。如果這是一種妄想癥也就罷了；但如果他們反對的原因只是因為支持這個法案的人是他們最大的競爭對手，那就根本是另一回事。”

????反對該法案的游說者則斥之為一派胡言。他們認為微軟采取的政策過于高壓，表明微軟對自己的義務看得過重了。“這很可悲，就好像好萊塢《冰河世紀》里的那個松鼠一樣，總是追著最后一顆堅果不放。”

????微軟在自己的老家華盛頓州已經取得了不小的勝利。華盛頓州去年頒布了一項法律，規定如果有制造業企業使用盜版軟件，一經查實，將被禁止在該州銷售產品。而且大型零售商如果銷售這些產品也會被追究責任。前年，路易斯安那州也通過了一個類似的法案。

????微軟去年在美國國會花了734萬美元的游說資金，這個數字在科技領域僅次于谷歌。微軟希望能取得監管機構的支持，讓他們幫助自己打擊盜版。就在上個月月初，參議院的小企業委員會（the Senate Small Business Committee）除了三名成員之外，聯名向聯邦貿易委員會（the Federal Trade Commission）寄了一封信，要求后者使“采取一切可以動用的手段，打擊盜版和非法盜用美國制造業信息技術的行為。”這封信表示，要想阻止美國制造業的繼續衰退，打擊盜版勢在必行。不過信中并沒有提到微軟。

????譯者：樸成奎

????Strategists close to Microsoft suggest the simple fact of the company's involvement is generating the tsuris. "It seems to me the opponents are trying to find bogeymen in the bill where none currently exists," says Roger Salazar, who's heading a Microsoft-backed coalition supporting the measure. "If it's paranoia, that's one thing; but if they're doing it because the proponent is one of their biggest competitors, that's another thing altogether."

????Lobbyists for the opposition call that nonsense. Instead, they argue Microsoft is taking an overly heavy-handed approach, a reflection on its misguided reliance on its own incumbency. "It's a sad state," says one, "almost like the Hollywood studios trying to hold on to that last nut as long as they can."

????The Redmond, Wash.-based company already has scored a significant win in its own backyard. Washington state last year adopted a law banning manufacturers found to be using pirated software from selling their products in the state -- and it opened big retailers peddling those goods up to liability, as well. Louisiana approved a similar bill the year before.

????And in Washington, DC -- where Microsoft spent $7.34 million lobbying last year, second only to Google in the tech sector -- the company is hoping to enlist regulators to act as its cops on the beat. Early last month, all but three members of the Senate Small Business Committee sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission asking the agency to use "all the tools at [its] disposal to fight the theft and use of stolen American manufacturing information technology." The letter framed the request as an imperative to stop the decline of American manufacturing. It didn't mention Microsoft.