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CD Lawsuit To Create Precedent
// Director of Lobnya factory sued for pirate Windows
Lobnya court of Moscow region began hearings of the criminal case against CD-enterprise director yesterday. Experts are waiting for the precedent to be created, saying that Viktor Zudenkov is likely to get jail sentence. It will be a show trial before Russia’s accession to the WTO which demands decisive measures in anti-piracy struggle.
Lobnya court of Moscow region began hearings of the criminal case against Viktor Zudenkov, director general of Unitekhnoplast, yesterday. He is charged with recording and selling CDs with Microsoft software (Article 146 of Russia’s Criminal Code “Violation of copyright and allied rights”, sanction – up to six years of imprisonment).
Police searched the factory on November 17, 2005, discovering 375 CDs with illegal Windows and Office. The statement of claim names the sum of damage to copyright holder done by Zudenkov personally, -- about 1.9 billion rubles. It is the first case when a producer of pirate CDs, and not distributor or buyer, is brought to justice.
Microsoft hopes that the sentence comes already in February, and that the verdict is guilty. Independent lawyers predict a severe sentence, for Russia needs to show active struggle against piracy before joining the WTO. Thus, Zudenkov case came in very handy.
Experts suggest it is not enough to punish illegal CD producers. Piracy should be made economically unprofitable. However, pirates might be actually helping companies like Microsoft by making users with limited financial opportunities get used to the software like Windows and Office.
Alexander Malakhov
All the Article in Russian as of Jan. 23, 2007
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