By Simon Quicke and Alex Scroxton
23 September 2008
Nearly three years after Microsoft took down
Manchester-based reseller ITAC for unlawful grey trading in its software
(MicroScope 30 January 2006), Redmond
has reported more details of the February 2006 case, revealing ITAC continued
to trade illegally, flouting the terms of its settlement with Microsoft.
At the time, ITAC attempted to take Microsoft to court
itself for libel after being accused of grey trading, which for a time
threatened to blow the concept of a ‘name and shame’ policy out of the water.
Non-disclosure agreements have prevented either party from
revealing the full extent of the settlement, which ended with ITAC and its
managing director, Barry Omesuh, agreeing to pay Microsoft £1m in damages.
Microsoft said ITAC not only continued to trade illegally
despite having promised not to, breaching the terms of the settlement, but also
did not pay the £1m owed. As a result, Microsoft has announced, it has now
forced the sale of Omesuh’s assets to recover the funds.
Microsoft UK
head of anti-piracy Michala Wardell said: “Some people will be aware of the
ITAC case but won’t know the real story behind it. As long as the likes of
Omesuh and resellers such as ITAC remain in business, the profitability of
honest resellers is under threat.
“This case shows that Microsoft takes a zero tolerance
approach to anyone who undermines the level playing field,” she added. “We
caught ITAC trading illegally more than once which shows how determined we are
to protect genuine, honest businesses from being undercut.”
