A Shenzhen court sentenced 11 people in a software counterfeiting case in early January that Microsoft says involved the largest counterfeiting operation the company had ever seen. Each defendant was sentenced to between one and six-and-a-half years in prison, the longest sentences ever handed down for piracy in China.
The court also handed down fines ranging from Rmb400,000 to Rmb1.5 million (US$58,400 to US$219,000). The sentenced were convicted of making counterfeit versions of 19 different Microsoft products, including Windows XP and Office 2007, which they sold online in worldwide distribution. Microsoft said the counterfeit software, which included titles in at least 11 different languages and was found in 36 countries, was valued at more than US$2 billion, though the court said the 11 counterfeiters were responsible for fakes worth just Rmb306 million (US$45 million).
“Microsoft greatly appreciates the work of China’s PSB and the FBI in taking strong enforcement action against this global software counterfeiting syndicate,” said David Flynn, associate general counsel for worldwide anti-piracy and anti-counterfeiting work at Microsoft.
“Over the years, Microsoft has been working closely with the Chinese government to promote intellectual property rights. Thanks to the actions of the Chinese government, we have seen a significant improvement in the environment for intellectual property rights in China,” said Fengming Liu, vice president of Microsoft Greater China Region. “Moving forward, we will continue to work with the relevant authorities in China to ensure that counterfeit software does not undermine the development of China’s knowledge economy.”
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