The court ordered the inhabitant of Ekaterinburg 887 725 rubles for the use of pirate copies of Microsoft Windows, Office and “1C: Enterprise”. About it reported in a press-service of Sverdlovsk regional court.
In March 2016 the inhabitant of Ekaterinburg has got criminal case for copyright infringement. Not to bring the case to court, the man offered to pay a fine in the amount of 50 000 rubles, but he refused, citing a lack of money.
Then the owners of Microsoft and 1C went to court, demanding to collect from the citizen compensation for the illegal use of copyright. The court found the defendant guilty.
During the trial, the defendant objected, arguing that once he has served his sentence in a criminal case, the damages cannot be considered. However, by law, the author or rightholder is entitled to demand from the infringer compensation.
Now the inhabitant of Ekaterinburg will have to pay 887 725 rubles, which includes 291 147 rubles in favor of Microsoft and 584 720 in favour of 1S. Also, the convict will have to pay 11 958 rubles to the state.
The defendant tried to challenge the court’s decision. In his opinion, the amount of compensation the court is too high: 1 July 2011 software products were withdrawn from sale and could be sold only with the status of “franchisees” with a discount of 40-60%. However, the court of appeal rejected this argument and upheld the decision of the district court in force.
