The case against a Russian schoolteacher who was accused of using unlicensed software in the classroom has been thrown out, following international attention and an intervention from former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.
On Thursday, a Russian court rejected the case against Alexander Ponosov, labelling it "trivial", according to the Associated Press. Ponosov told AP that he was "off to drink champagne" following the decision.
Ponosov was accused of using unlicensed versions of Windows operating system and Microsoft Office on 12 PCs. But he insisted that he had bought the computers with the software already installed, and had no idea there might be a problem.
Under Russia's intellectual property laws, Ponosov could have been sentenced to five years imprisonment if found guilty. The prosecution, though, had been seeking a fine of 3,000 rubles (£58.50), and claimed that Microsoft had suffered 267,000 rubles of damage.
The case was brought by Russian authorities but brought criticism against Microsoft, which is pushing for tougher action against software "pirates" globally. Microsoft has denied being involved in the case.
Emerging Markets Business Analyst Interest Rate Derivatives A leading Tier 1 Bank in Canary Wharf is looking for a Business Analyst to join their ...
Loading Video Player ....
Featured Talkback
There will be further activation issues to watch out for as Microsoft plans to offer a similar service to independent software vendors whereby they can "control" licensing through activation and other measures similar to the Software Protection Platform.
Mobile Security Expert: Your Camera Phone Got Hacked Author: Eric Everson, Founder MyMobiSafe.com Have you ever heard someone say “I’d like to be a fly on the wall in that room.”?... More
Here is an interesting article from The National Business Review, pointing out once again that you can never delete a Skype account. Never. Period. This is something I am familiar... More
The vPhone: Why Visa Should Go Mobile Author: Eric Everson, Founder MyMobiSafe.com With all of the success of Apple’s iPhone, there is a growing case to support a company like Visa... More