Kerala High Court: ED Can Investigate Without FIR in Scheduled Offence Cases (CMRL Matter)  ||  Delhi High Court Upholds TRAI Rule Capping TV Advertisements at 12 Minutes Per Hour  ||  Supreme Court Directs High Courts to Deliver Judgments in 3 Months and Bail Orders in One Day  ||  Supreme Court: Successful Resolution Applicant Cannot Negotiate Further After CoC Approval  ||  Supreme Court: Succession Law Applies, Not Primogeniture, to Ex-Royal’s Private Estate Inheritance  ||  Supreme Court: Writ Jurisdiction Cannot Challenge Arbitrator’s Section 16 Decision  ||  Supreme Court: Sanyasi Status Cannot Be Ground to Reject Land Compensation Claim  ||  Supreme Court: Section 33(1)(a) of Arbitration Act Cannot Alter Nature of Interest in Award  ||  Supreme Court: Society Office Bearers Not Liable for Cheque Dishonour Without Active Business Role  ||  Supreme Court: Asking a Woman to Adjust in Marriage Does Not Amount to Cruelty By In-Laws    

Microsoft Corporation and Ors. v. Susheel Kumar and Ors. - (23 Sep 2015)

Cheaper to pirate than purchase?

MANU/DE/3014/2015

Intellectual Property Rights

In a case against large pirating of Microsoft software (yes, makers of the little known ‘Windows’, ‘Office’ and ‘Bing’), the Delhi High Court laid heady damages of Rs. 5 lakhs against a most prolific Blackbeard of unpaid-for software. Given that Karle Group, with a dedicated IT Department no less, was running nearly 300 computers with Microsoft software on which over 200 unlicensed pieces of Microsoft software were found installed, the ‘punitive’ damages are more flea-ting than they first seem. Especially since 55 computers were erased of illicit software(s) during the conduct of search. Microsoft had estimated the damage suffered to over Rs. 17 lakhs.

Relevant : Without the dreaded ‘takedown’ notices of the United States, and disconnection of habitual illegal software and media sharers in the European Union, India, an enormous potential market for Western software firms, is nascent in its anti-piracy measures. Figures by BSA, a global consortium of software developers, estimated that in 2013 India was home to over $2.9 billion worth of unlicensed software. Cue growth in broadband uptake and greater internet penetration with over 15 million wired broadband subscribers and over 78 million wireless internet subscribers (showing a whopping 16 per cent monthly growth, according to TRAI Telecom Data on 31st January 2015), Western software firms emboldened by government overtures, and the need to distance from China’s example (Copy? Right!), it is only a matter of time before that tug of war begins.

Tags : SOFTWARE   PIRATE   UNLICENSED   MICROSOFT   PUNITIVE  

Share :        

Disclaimer | Copyright 2026 - All Rights Reserved