Microsoft wins unlicensed software case
Yahoo | at | by Mike
A judge ordered a computer retailer to pay Microsoft the equivalent of US$4.5 million in damages for the retailer's unlicensed use of the software giant's products, according to a court judgment released Friday. High Court judge Mary Yuen sided with Microsoft in a copyright infringement lawsuit alleging that the authorized Microsoft retailer, Able System Development, had illegally pre-loaded unlicensed copies of the Office and Windows programs onto computers it sold between 1996 and 1998. Retailers in Hong Kong commonly preload a wide variety of software on computers they sell, but Able had no permission to do that with Microsoft's software.