After running its own investigations, Microsoft has won a major copyright victory in Canada where it's been awarded $500,000, the maximum permissible damages, against Inter-Plus, a Quebec software reseller operated by Carmelo Cerrelli.

"The RCMP executed a search warrant at Inter-Plus in November, 1998, and Montreal police did the same in 2000," says The Financial Post. "Both times, CD-ROMs and other products were seized and both times the Crown prosecutor declined to press criminal charges.

"In August, 2000, Microsoft took matters into its own hands and filed a civil suit. It gained custody of the items seized by the RCMP. Microsoft had them analyzed and found 394 of the 397 CD-ROMS seized by the RCMP were counterfeit. It has been before the courts ever since."

The $500,000 is a mere drop in the bucket for Microsoft, "But in the Canadian copyright and counterfeiting universe, the award in Microsoft v. 9038-3746 Quebec Inc., 9014-5731 Quebec Inc., et al. is no drop, it's the whole bucket," says the story.

Justice Sean Harrington also awarded Bill and the Boyz another $100,000 in punitive damages from the numbered companies that own Inter-Plus, and $100,000 from Cerrelli personally, "making it the highest punitive damage award in a Canadian counterfeiting case to date".

But, "Despite investigations and seizures of counterfeit goods from Inter-Plus by the RCMP and Montreal police, no criminal charges were laid against the company or its principal, and Microsoft had to do its own investigation and defend its IP rights under civil law," says the story, pointing out the case dates back to 1997.

However, "In effect [Microsoft] is seeking an order that Inter-Plus be kept out of the grey market," The Financial Post says Harrington wrote in his decision. But, "I decline to do so."

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Also See:
The Financial Post - Black eye for black market, January 31, 2007