Ponosov ‘guilty’ in Microsoft case
p2pnet.net news:- Alexander Ponosov, the Russian teacher said to have infringed Microsoft intellectual property rights by using classroom computers with non-Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office software, has been found guilty of causing $10,000 in damages, says RIA-Novosti.
“Microsoft did not initiate the criminal prosecution of the headmaster,” the news agency has Olga Dergunova, president of Microsoft in Russia and the CIS, stating. “The case was opened by Russian authorities in line with Russian legislation.”
Asked if Microsoft “found it fair to convict people using pirated software, Dergunova responded, “We do not have the full information.”
In the latest RIA-Novosti story, “Russian officials frequently allege that foreign governments, including the U.S., are meddling in Russia’s internal affairs, and Russian media reports have portrayed the case as that of a Western corporation bringing its corporate might to bear on one man – in this case, one earning $360 a month,” says Associated Press.
A Russian court threw the case out, calling it “trivial,” and Russian president Vladimir Putin said those who make “pirate” goods should be targeted, not consumers, calling the trial “utter nonsense”. But the BBCA Russian court ordered a retrial, “after pressure from the prosecution”.
Ponosov, who’s always stated the computers came with the software already installed, says he plans to appeal.
“In April, the Bush administration put Russia, China and 10 other nations on a ‘priority watch list,’ which will subject them to extra scrutiny and could eventually lead to economic sanctions if the administration decides to bring trade cases before the World Trade Organization,” says AP, adding:
Microsoft, “hopes the sides will reconcile and, “We hope the case will be resolved and the headmaster will return to his pupils soon,” Dergunova told RIA-Novosti in February.
“The designation was made in an annual report the administration is required to provide to Congress each year that highlights the problems U.S. companies are facing around the world with copyright piracy. The report said that the United States will be closely watching to see how Russia fulfills the commitments it made to upgrading copyright protection as part of a U.S.-Russia accord reached last year which was seen as a key milestone in Russian efforts to join the WTO.”
Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev asked Microsoft boss Bill Gates to intervene in the case. Gates declined.
Ponosov now has a blog.
Also See:
news agency – Microsoft says not involved in piracy probe against headmaster, February 12, 2007
Associated Press – Russian court finds village school principal guilty of using pirated Microsoft software, May 7, 2007
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Tired of being treated like a criminal? They depend on you, not the other way around. Don’t buy their ‘product’. Do bug your local politicians. Use emails, snail-mail, phone calls, faxes, IM, stop them in the street, blog. And if you’re into organizing, organize petitions, organize demonstrations and then turn up on your local political rep’s doorstep, making sure you’ve contacted your local tv/radio station/newspaper in advance. Don’t just complain. Do something!
