14 DAY TRIAL // The pirated software is a continuous headache for all software developers because their profits are minimized by illegal copies of their products. As you may know, Microsoft is one of the biggest fighters against this illegality but more and more companies are joining forces to eradicate counterfeit copies of their solutions.
The latest company that claims its rights for the software solutions they provide is Symantec, a firm that decided to file multiple suits against companies that distributed illegal copies of their applications. The lawsuits filed against ANYI, SILI Inc., G.T. Micro, ASP Solutions, Mark Ma, Mike Lee, John Zhang, and many others were registered in United States District Court for the Central District of California, in Los Angeles, CA.
"Aside from the financial loss incurred by this activity, counterfeit software can also damage a user's operating system due to faulty code or cause a user's system to be wracked with security vulnerabilities. Symantec is committed to doing everything we can to protect our customers and the safety of their information, and that includes taking legal action," said Joseph Fitzgerald, vice president, Intellectual Property and deputy general counsel, Symantec.
Symantec said that these companies made illegal copies of their software, the company seeking damages of about $15 million. Symantec also started its own investigation in February 2004, when the company identified more than 100.000 illegal copies of their programs including orton AntiVirus, Norton SystemWorks, pcAnywhere, Norton Internet Security, and Backup Exec.
"ANYI, SILI and their affiliates run a global counterfeit distribution operation with a major focus in the United States and Canada. Their operations posed a tremendous threat to our customers, given the variety of outlets ANYI and SILI have developed to distribute and sell counterfeit Symantec software to unsuspecting consumers," said William Plante, senior director, Corporate Security and Brand Protection, Symantec.