Symantec wins big in UK bootleg software case

Symantec today claimed its biggest win to date in Europe in a software piracy case. The software company received £700,000 in damages and costs from Nusoft Trading Ltd, an Essex, UK distributor of counterfeit Symantec software.

Symantec sued Robert Waterman and Nusoftfor selling 35,000 bootleg copies of pcAnywhere. The court barred the defendents from dealing in counterfeit Symantec software, which considering the money they have shelled out, seems like a bit of an afterthought. But just in case, the defendants are liable for up to another £1 million, if information they supplied about their dealing is inaccurate, and if they continue to deal in bootleg Symantec software.

Armed with Nusoft's info, Symantec found several firms involved in distributing counterfeit pcAnywhere software, and a German replicator making the stuff. It has enforcement actions in place against the unnamed outfits.

Quote time from John Brigden, senior vice president, EMEA, Symantec:

This is a good example of Symantec's policy of taking robust action against people who deal in counterfeit software. While the amount of damages is certainly significant, more importantly, our goal was to put a stop to this operation's dealings in counterfeit Symantec software and to protect any unsuspecting users from using fraudulent security software.

We were also able to secure all information from this business regarding their production and distribution process, and intend to use that information to press the case against others involved. It’s very difficult for the average user to be able to tell counterfeit software from legitimate software. As a result, we encourage them to buy only from known and credible software outlets and not take any chances with counterfeit software that won’t work properly, and may disrupt their system.

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