US Software Firm Wins Lawsuit on InfringementThe No. One Intermediate People's Court of Shanghai Tuesday issued a ruling that the US-based Adobe Systems Incorporated has won a lawsuit for infringement of copyright by a local computer firm.The defendant was ordered to pay 150,000 yuan (US$18,072) as compensation for its infringement of the US firm's copyright on some of its software products. Last August, a local law firm was employed by the US company to investigate the defendant's illicit activities. Two lawyers from the law firm went to buy an Apple computer from the accused, and received a set of software free from the seller. Both the purchase and the technical check were afterwards notarized by notaries from the Municipal Notary Office of Shanghai. The ruling said that the plaintiff had its software registered by the copyright authorities of the United States, and the copyright is under the protection of Chinese law as both China and the United States are members of the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works. Under the protection of the Statutes on Protection of Computer Software, the period of validity has not expired for the protection of the US firm's rights concerning the software involved in the case, according to the court. The infringement has caused financial losses to the accuser, and the sum of compensation is based on the subjective errors committed by the defendant as well as the scenario and consequence of its infringement. |
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