Is This A Good Verdict?

A Russian judge convicted a provincial school headmaster on Thursday of pirating Microsoft software in school computers, but then declined to impose any penalty, saying that Microsoft's loss from the single act of piracy was "insignificant," compared with the company's overall earnings.

The verdict was broadcast on Russian state television in a case closely watched as a test of how intellectual property rights law will be enforced in Russia as the country moves toward membership in the World Trade Organization.

Vera Barakina, a judge in a regional court in Vereshagino, about 1,040 kilometers, or 650 miles, east of Moscow, ruled that the principal was guilty of installing 12 pirated software suites on computers used by his students, and that the action had cost Microsoft about $9,700. But then, reading from a prepared statement, Barakina called the sum "insignificant" compared with Microsoft's worldwide income.

The principal, Aleksandr Ponosov, who could have been sentenced to five years in prison, celebrated by uncorking a bottle of Champagne in the snow outside the courthouse.

The twists in Ponosov's case resonated widely here, touching on themes of capriciousness in the criminal justice system that Russians in business and other walks of life understand all too well. With Ponosov, prosecutors had plucked one user of pirated software from among millions and threatened him with prison.

The prosecutor, Aleksandr Troyanov, said during a telephone interview Thursday that he would appeal the verdict and criticized the judge's logic. Troyanov said the size of the damage relative to Microsoft's earnings had no bearing on the case under Russian criminal law.

While Russia grows rich from windfall oil profits, cheap, pirated software remains ubiquitous in the country. The government has undertaken to legalize the software market under the terms of entry to the World Trade Organization, but any crackdown is bound to prove unpopular, as has the case against Ponosov.

The bearded principal, who is also a history teacher, has become something of a folk hero among Russian academics and teachers who get by on small salaries.

The case drew the attention of President Vladimir Putin, who called the case "utter nonsense." Putin compared the case to prosecuting a drug user, rather than pursuing the dealers in or producers of narcotics. The former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, wrote a letter to Microsoft's founder, Bill Gates, asking the company to drop the charges.

Microsoft's Russian office, which operates research branches to tap Russian programming talent, has tried to distance itself from the case.

The company responded to Gorbachev's letter that Microsoft had no role in the criminal prosecution, had declined any civil action and generally opposed prosecuting teachers for software piracy. "Our interest is not in prosecuting schools or teachers, it is in helping students develop the technology skills they need in the 21st century," Microsoft said Thursday.

Speaking after the verdict, Ponosov, suggested that it would be misguided to blame Microsoft, which is based in Redmond, Washington, for the threat of a long prison sentence. "Bill Gates was answered right," he said. "It is our country, and we should cope with this by ourselves."

Prosecutors had accused Ponosov of installing pirated Windows operating systems on 12 computers used by his students in the village of Sepych. Ponosov argued in his defense that the software had come pre-installed and that he had not known that it was pirated. Prosecutors argued that the software had been installed after the computers were purchased. Ponosov maintains his innocence and said he might appeal to clear his name.

Along with software, pirated movies and music are sold openly in Russia for about $4 per item. More surreptitiously, trademark protections are also widely violated and counterfeit cigarettes, pharmaceuticals and other consumer goods are common.

Tom Thomson, the executive director of the Coalition for Intellectual Property Rights in Washington, suggested that the judge's rationale for leniency — that Microsoft is a wealthy corporation — is often used to justify piracy. "Obviously, it should not determine how laws should be enforced," he said. (IHT)

***** Just because Microsoft is a multi-billion dollar enterprise, does it mean that any intellectual property violation against it is permissible or should be condoned? If the rationale behind this verdict catches on, our pasar malam pirates would be the happiest petty crooks in the world. After all their income from peddling pirated discs and tapes is 'insignificant' when compared to the huge profits made by giant corporations in the US and Europe. What do you think? Is this Russian verdict a reasonable and good one?
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