Anti-PirAcy newsletter

Custom Seizures: Importers of counterfeit Microsoft software sued

In January 2009 Microsoft filed 2 civil cases in the Federal Magistrates Court against individuals who imported commercial quantities of counterfeit Microsoft software between December 2008 and January 2009. The shipments of counterfeit Microsoft software were seized by Australia Customs Service and were imported from China.

The respondents in these cases, Ian Fleming, Tanya Fleming and Global Research Associates and Troy Chivers were also supplying counterfeit copies of Microsoft software through eBay. Together they imported at least 210 copies of Microsoft® Office Professional 2007. The court ordered the defendants to pay Microsoft a total of $116,010 in damages and permanently restrained them from any future infringement of Microsoft’s copyright or trade mark rights.

Victorian business pays Microsoft for copyright infringement

Amexcom Pty Ltd (“Amexcom”) operates a business selling computer systems in St Albans, Werribee and Melbourne City in the state of Victoria. Its directors are Tam Tran and Binh Dien Tran.

In January 2009 Microsoft settled its Federal Magistrates Court proceedings against Amexcom and its directors (“the Respondents”). The Respondents agreed to damages in the sum of $65,464.00 in respect of past infringement of Microsoft ’s copyright. The orders made noted the Respondents’ admission that Amexcom had made infringing copies of Windows XP® Professional and Microsoft Office Professional 2003 and permanently restrain the Respondents from any future infringement of Microsoft’s copyright.

Microsoft’s Online Blitz: Ten sellers pay more than $38,000 for selling high quality counterfeit Microsoft software online

Jordan Andrews trades on eBay as “thebigcoos” and he resides in Victoria. On 7 March 2009, Mr Andrews supplied a Microsoft investigator with two (2) high quality counterfeit copies of Windows XP® Professional.

Nicholas Todd Courter trades on eBay as “hardpunter”. He has been trading on eBay from 6 January 2009 and he resides in New South Wales. On 9 March 2009, Mr Courter supplied a Microsoft investigator with high quality counterfeit software comprising a copy of Windows XP® Professional.

Rania Elbadar trades on an auction website, Oztion, as “bargain-buys4u” and resides in New South Wales. She has been trading on Oztion since 26 August 2008. On 20 January 2009, Ms Elbadar supplied a Microsoft investigator with high quality counterfeit software comprising copies of Microsoft® Office Professional 2003 and Microsoft® Office Professional 2007.

Jack Koncewicz trades on an auction site Oztion as “big-mucho” and “matts-coins”. He resides in Victoria. In December 2008 and January 2009, Mr Koncewicz supplied to Microsoft investigators high quality counterfeit software comprising copies of Windows XP® Professional and Microsoft® Office Professional 2003.

Nessreen Omar traded on eBay from 6 November 2008 until recently as “ameila007”. Ms Omar resides in Victoria. On 27 January 2009, Ms Omar supplied a Microsoft investigator with high quality counterfeit software comprising a copy of Windows XP® Professional.

Kelly Gilham traded on eBay since 7 May 2008 until recently as “Kellymgsheba”. Ms Gilham resides in South Australia. Ms Gilham supplied a Microsoft investigator with a high quality counterfeit copy of Windows XP® Professional on 27 January 2009.

Timothy Inman trades on eBay as “in.dvd” and “red.tech”. Mr Inman has been trading as “in.dvd” on eBay since 22 September 2008 and as “red.tech” since 10 February 2008. He resides in New South Wales. In January and March 2009, Mr Inman supplied to Microsoft investigators two (2) high quality counterfeit copies of Windows XP® Professional.

Matthew Stephen Anderson traded on eBay since 17 November 2008 as “quickseller1982” until recently. He resides in Victoria. In January 2009, Mr Anderson supplied to Microsoft investigators on two occasions high quality counterfeit copies of Windows Server® 2003 and Microsoft® Office Professional 2007.

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July 2009

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Nilesh Patel traded on eBay from 2 August 2005 until recently as “nileshapatel143”. Ms Patel resides in New South Wales. On 24 February 2009, Mr Patel supplied a Microsoft investigator with high quality counterfeit software comprising a copy of Windows XP® Professional.

Norizan Mohamd trades on eBay as “unistore08”. Mr Mohamd has been trading on eBay since 15 September 2008 and he resides in Victoria. On 4 March 2009, Mr Mohamad supplied a Microsoft investigator with high quality counterfeit software comprising a copy of Windows XP® Professional.

Microsoft’s outside Counsel sent a letter of demand to all the above sellers outlining its right to claim for copyright infringement. All had admitted they had infringed Microsoft’s copyright and agreed to settle the matter. All sellers agreed to pay damages in respect of past infringement and provided undertakings agreeing to refrain from future infringement of Microsoft’s copyright. Those who had counterfeit software still in their possession were asked to surrender those copies to Microsoft.

Tools and resources for OEM System BuildersKnow the facts about Windows Licensing

Visit oem.microsoft.com and select “Licensing and Anti-piracy” from the left hand side menu.

Don’t just Activate, Validate!

Make sure that the Windows software you sell is genuine by both activating and validating the software after installing it for your customers. Activation reduces piracy by linking the software’s Product Key to the PC hardware key so no one else can use the Product Key on another PC. Validation is a quick and easy-to-use online process to verify that the installed Windows software is genuine. To validate, visit www.microsoft.com/genuine and select Validate.

The Get Genuine Kit for Microsoft Windows

If you have a customer who has unknowingly purchased, downloaded or installed a pirated version of Windows XP® or Windows Vista®, you can assist them to legalise their software by selling them the Get Genuine Kit. Learn more about the Get Genuine Kit at www.microsoft.com.au/getgenuine or order the kit through your authorised Distributor.

Microsoft’s Reseller Piracy Site

Visit www.microsoft.com.au/resellerpiracy to find out if pirates have been caught in your area.

Microsoft Partner Program

Join now to become a Registered Microsoft Partner. There’s no charge and you’ll get easy access to valuable resources to help you serve customers more effectively, help your business succeed and grow your market impact. Enrol now by visiting www.microsoft.com/oem/enroll.mspx.

Buy Genuine, Buy local

To ensure that your customers experience the best from their Microsoft software, make sure you buy genuine Microsoft software from Microsoft’s local Authorised OEM Distributors:

Anti-PirAcy newsletter

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©2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Microsoft, the Microsoft logo, Windows , Windows XP and Windows Vista are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. The names of actual products and companies mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners. AP009 12/08

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