PROMT, a Russian software vendor, has reported about a significant success in its fight against computer pirates. On May 10, 1999, the sentence to a seller of unlicensed CD-ROMs came into effect. The man was selling CD-ROMs which had been manufactured illegally and violated intellectual property rights, and was sentenced by Vyborg district court of St.-Petersburg city to pay a penalty of 300 minimal salaries, thus constituting 25050 Russian roubles (approx. US$ 1000). The lawsuit appears to be a precedent in Russian judicial practice, since never before have such affairs been proceeded up to the court.

The suit should also fortify the negative public attitude to violation of intellectual property rights in Russia. It was initiated by three Russian vendors, PROject MT from St.-Petersburg and Bit and 1C from Moscow. It was also underscored by PROMT that the suit was not a one-time action; another ten similar lawsuits against computer pirates are currently under investigation. PROMT closely cooperates with law enforcement institutions and is steadily carrying out its program aimed at elimination of unlicensed software trading.

Source: InfoArt News Agency

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