Microsoft glean US$32m from Shanghai copyright infringement case
Staff Reporter 2012-12-02 13:51
Microsoft's latest operating system Window 8 on display. (File photo/Chen Jhuo-bang)
Shanghai's Ruichuang Network made a formal apology through its website on Thursday to Microsoft for copyright infringements, agreeing to pay 36 million yuan (US$5.7 million) in compensation.
Mirosoft sued the website's president Han Meng, vice president Han Hong and another staff for illegally disseminating Microsoft's software without authorization. The link leading to the download of the software had been clicked over 32 million times and the software downloaded for more than 11.32 million times. The company was also charged for giving away 1.2 million pirated copies of the software to electronic stores across the country, according to Beijing Times.
The US technology giant originally demanded compensation of 100 million yuan (US$16 million).After mediation in Chinese court, it accepted a lower compensation under the premises that Ruichuang Network apologized and promised to respect the company's intellectual property rights.
The Shanghai company was founded in January 2006 with a registered capital of 53.92 million yuan (US$8.6 million). It is one of the major internet firms in the city, having made over 300 million yuan (US$481 million) from its browser and software downloading services and handing in 50 million yuan (US$8 million) in taxes in 2011, according to Beijing Times.
The US technology firm has stepped up its crackdown on piracy in China market in recent years. It sued Beijing-based on-demand software service providers MainOne and B2B.cn and received 3.18 million yuan (US$510,000) in compensation on Nov. 14.
