Microsoft wins China piracy lawsuit

But the U.S. -based software giant won a skirmish this month, when a Beijing court ruled against a major custom PC dealer accused of pre-installing pirated Microsoft Windows and Office software.

On July 2, Beijing No 1 Intermediate People's Court, in a preliminary ruling, sided with Microsoft against Beijing Strongwell Technology & Development Co, one of the larger custom PC dealers in Beijing.

The court said the Beijing company infringed on Microsoft's Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), and ordered Strongwell to pay Microsoft 461,409 yuan (US$67,546) in compensation.

The ruling follows a year-long effort by Microsoft to focus more on battling piracy among smaller customer PC dealers and individual consumers suspected of using pirated software.

During the past few years, Microsoft has persuaded major PC makers, large companies and government organizations in China to use legitimate software.

But the use of pirated software reportedly still is prevalent among individual Chinese consumers.

“The enforcement of IPR protection is vital to innovation,” Yu Weidong, Microsoft China's senior director on IPR issues, said in a statement issued to China Business Weekly following the court's ruling.

“We will continue to work with the government to promote the use of legitimate software in China,” Yu said.

Established in 1994, Strongwell is the largest custom PC dealer in Beijing, with eight Do-It-Yourself PC stores in the city.

Microsoft sued the company after purchasing 12 computers pre-loaded with pirated Microsoft software, according to Microsoft's lawsuit. Microsoft sought 500,000 yuan in damages.

Strongwell's response was that the pirated software was installed at the request of individuals hired by Microsoft, and that the company only sells computer accessories — not computers.

Strongwell has not reported whether the company will appeal the ruling.

Although Microsoft was successful in promoting the use of legitimate software by corporations and government agencies, piracy reportedly is widespread in Do-It-Yourself markets, according to industry observers.

1|2|Next Page>>

PrintEmail

Write a Comment

Terms

Enter your comments - 3000 characters max

Type in image code

Submit

 Receive China Post promos
 Respond to this email