Shenzhen, China: A court ruled in favor of computer giant Microsoft on Wednesday by sentencing 11 people to spend six and a half years in prison for making counterfeited software distributed in more than 30 countries, according to Microsoft.
In a statement, the company said that these convicts were part of a large-scale counterfeiting ring which has been assessed to distribute almost two billion dollars’ worth of fake Microsoft software, adding that these people were the ringleaders of the world’s biggest software counterfeiting organization.
According to Sina.com, a popular Internet portal in the country, the court’s decision is the “stiffest punishment” on the basis of intellectual property rights carried out in China, making this a landmark event in the global effort to stop counterfeiting activities.
In July 2007, the syndicate’s leaders were arrested by China’s Public Security Bureau (PSB) after seeking the assistance of US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to collect evidences against the counterfeiters.
The US government lauded the court’s decision calling this as a milestone in law enforcement.
In a statement, Microsoft anti-piracy top-ranking official David Finn said that they “greatly appreciates” the joint effort of PSB and FBI “of taking a strong enforcement action” against the software counterfeiting group.
Meanwhile, despite stringent punishment against counterfeiters, piracy and copyright infringement activities still persist in the country which had prompted international communities to call the attention of Chinese government.
China’s assistant commerce minister Chong Quan said to US officials during a conference held in Beijing in November that developing countries like China face problems relating to copyright breaches.
According to various reports, the piracy and counterfeiting activities are rampant in the country that fake versions of fashion brands, foreign movies, and other products can easily be purchased by consumers.
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