by Simon Quicke
17 September 2008
The Business Software Alliance (BSA) continues to keep its legal
team busy after issuing proceedings against the owner of Wolverhampton-based
RJ-Software.
Richard Clark, who ran RJ-Software from his home was
discovered to be selling counterfeit copies of a range of software including Adobe,
Autodesk, Corel and Quark.
The legal action resulted in Clark
suspending his business and agreeing to stop selling counterfeit software and
pay damages for the distribution of 24 batches of fake software discs.
In a statement Clarks aid
that being served with court proceedings made it clear he had to stop selling counterfeit
goods: “I had no idea that the BSA had been
monitoring my business with a view to shutting me down. I certainly won’t be
selling any more counterfeit software – I was lucky to keep my house.”
In response, Najeeb Khan,
Vice Chair of the BSA UK Country Committee, said that the latest case
highlighted the determination that the industry group had in eradicating counterfeit
software.
“The IT industry cannot
condone any activity which undermines companies’ intellectual property: the
bedrock of the UK
economy’s ability to deliver on innovation,” he said.
The BSA has been actively
pursuing counterfeiters and issuing court proceedings to back up campaigns that
it has run in Glasgow last year and Manchester a few months
ago.
At the start of the month it applauded the decision of Derby Crown Court to follow-up a jail term for Gary Scrimshaw for breach
of intellectual property with a demand for £15,931.
Scrimshaw was the first person convicted of piracy and faces a further eight months if he cannot find the money the court is
asking for.
Scrimshaw was caught by Trading Standards in a raid in 2006 with
11,500 CDs and DVDs including software from Adobe, Apple, Microsoft and
Symantec.
