The Business Software Alliance (BSA), which represents the world's commercial software industry, announced today that BSA, on behalf of its member company Autodesk, Inc. has won a $540,115 judgment in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California against two individuals and their businesses alleged to have been producing and selling counterfeit software (Case #C09-02337). The lawsuit was originally filed on behalf of plaintiff Autodesk by the BSA in May 2009.
The individual defendants named in the case are Sean Saad of Manchester, New Hampshire, and Mehran Tabatabayee of Missouri City, Texas. The corporate defendants are HS Squared International, LLC, based in Manchester, New Hampshire and BuyPCSoft.com, Inc., based in Missouri City, Texas.
The case against these individuals and companies revolved around Autodesk's flagship product AutoCAD(R) and includes allegations of copyright infringement, circumvention of copyright protection measures, and trademark infringement. The judgment from the Honorable Ronald M. Whyte, U.S. District Court Judge for the Northern District of California, follows an intensive investigation by BSA involving purchases of suspicious software by BSA investigators and reports by members of the public submitted to BSA and Autodesk. Despite the price tag of up to $3,995 per software title, in each instance counterfeit product was received.
Along with the $540,115 judgment, the defendants are permanently enjoined from committing future acts of infringement involving Autodesk software products and Autodesk trademarks. Additionally, they have been ordered to destroy immediately any and all infringing copies of such software in their possession or control.
"This action is still another reminder that the theft of intellectual property such as software will not be tolerated," said Jenny Blank, Senior Director of Legal Affairs for BSA. "Although the BSA works hard to educate and inform people about the dangers of selling or acquiring illegal software, we sometimes need to take stronger actions to stop blatantly illegal activity."
"This particular investigation began as part of BSA's overall efforts against online sales of illegal software. As part of our global Internet program, we have focused attention on Web sites and individuals who profit illegally from the sale of products which they have no right to reproduce and sell. Ultimately, such fraudsters are duping unsuspecting consumers with substandard and potentially dangerous products," said Blank.
In part to reaffirm the growing severity of the consequences involved in participating in software piracy, BSA recently released "Faces of Internet Piracy," a revealing look at the human side of software piracy. Through this campaign, BSA spotlights true stories of people affected by piracy. According to Blank, "These stories are a wake-up call for distributors and users of illegal software. "Don't take our word for it; just listen to these software pirates explain how they made money by duping thousands of people into purchasing or downloading illegal software from the Internet. Hear how their actions ended up costing them serious fines and prison sentences."
Know it Report it Reward it
In April 2008, BSA expanded its popular reward program to individuals who report the sale of illegal software over the Internet, including auction sites. Under this program, BSA offers rewards of up to $1 million for qualifying reports received via its hotline or online reporting form. Confidential reports can be made by visiting www.nopiracy.com or calling BSA's hotline at 1-888-NO-PIRACY. Reward payments are subject to eligibility requirements, the details of which are provided on the website.
Please visit BSA's Facebook page under keyword Business Software Alliance (BSA) Anti-Piracy.
About BSA
The Business Software Alliance (www.bsa.org) is the foremost organization dedicated to promoting a safe and legal digital world. BSA is the voice of the world's commercial software industry and its hardware partners before governments and in the international marketplace. Its members represent one of the fastest growing industries in the world. BSA programs foster technology innovation through education and policy initiatives that promote copyright protection, cyber security, trade and e-commerce. BSA members include Adobe, Apple, Autodesk, Bentley Systems, Corel, CyberLink, Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Corporation, Embarcadero, McAfee, Microsoft, Minitab, Quark, Quest Software, Rosetta Stone, Siemens, Sybase, Symantec, and The MathWorks.
