Russian court throws out Microsoft "piracy" case

Guy Faulconbridge

MOSCOW: A Russian court threw out a case on Thursday against a headmaster accused of using pirated Microsoft software in his school after President Vladimir Putin and ex-Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev criticised the trial.

Many in Russia attacked the prosecution as a lopsided attempt to show Moscow was cracking down on software piracy ahead of its expected accession to the World Trade Organisation.

Russian prosecutors said Alexander Ponosov had violated Microsoft's property rights by allowing pupils to use 12 computers with unlicensed copies of Microsoft Windows and Office software.

Ponosov, 40, said he did not know the computers contained fake licenses when they were delivered by a sub-contractor.

"The court ruled to close the criminal case against Alexander Ponosov," said Alexander Bobrovsky, his lawyer. The case was thrown out because the loss to Microsoft was deemed to be insignificant, he added.

Prosecutors brought the case against Ponosov under a clause in the criminal code for major copyright violations which carries a maximum penalty of five years in jail. They said he had brought losses of 266,596.63 roubles ($10,130) on Microsoft.

Television reports portrayed Ponosov, a headmaster in a remote school in the Perm region of the Ural mountains, as a hero in a David-and-Goliath battle against the legal system.

But Ponosov told Reuters he was not happy.

"The victory is not complete as the court did not rule that I was innocent -- they just ended the case," he said by telephone. "I intend to appeal against the decision though of course it is some sort of result".

Putin described the case was "utter nonsense" and Gorbachev asked Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates to intercede on the teacher's behalf.

Microsoft, the world's biggest software maker, said in a statement it was the Russian authorities who started the proceedings. "Our interest is not in prosecuting schools or teachers," the company said.

Pirated music, films and software are on sale across Russia. An illegal copy of Windows operating system was on sale at a Moscow market on Thursday for about 200 roubles ($7.58).

© Reuters