Symantec: Pirating Our Software Brings Us $21 Million

Symantec, that famous security company that built so many powerful technologies, was awarded $21 million in damages after the United States District Court for the Central District of California, in Los Angeles, CA, ruled in the favor of the security company. Back in 2006, Symantec filed a complaint against ANYI, SILI, Yee Sha, and their affiliates, accusing them of trademark infringement, copyright infringement, fraud, unfair competition, and false advertising. Today, the judge ruled that the defendants must pay no less than $21 million to the security company, as a result of their illegal activities.

"Our customers are the real winners as a result of this case", said Scott Minden, director, Symantec Legal department. "A judgment like this is a crippling blow against these particular syndicates and will drive them even further underground, making it more difficult for them to sell directly to unsuspecting users. It complicates their ability to operate behind the guise as legitimate businesses."

Software piracy has always been a serious problem for the software companies from all over the world. Microsoft, the Redmond-based software giant, is one of the most affected firms with its Windows operating system being available in counterfeited flavors all over the world. But, Symantec is also one of the most affected firms, as its security products are pretty popular among the Internet consumers. For example, Norton Antivirus recorded no less than 1,301,796 downloads on Softpedia, fact that underlines the success of the application in the virtual world.

"These results reflect our overall efforts to attack software piracy on a global basis", said Minden. "In addition to our efforts in the U.S. and Asia, we routinely conduct investigations and take enforcement actions throughout Europe, which are yielding measurable results for protecting our customers against the security dangers posed by pirated software."