Prison Sentences for Ringleaders of Global Software Counterfeit Syndicate

Sentencing signalings the end of Taiwan-based operation, the biggest known
manufacturer and distributer of bogus Microsoft merchandises in the human race from 1997
to 2003. REDMOND, Wash., Feb. Four /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Prison sentences
handed down to forgers by a Taipei, Taiwan, tribunal grade the end of a
string of successful prosecutions by international law enforcement
agencies, bringing a planetary software system counterfeiting ring to a concluding halt. Between 1997 and 2003, Huang Jer-sheng, proprietor of the Taipei-based
distributor Maximus Technology Inc., and his associates were responsible
for the production and statistical distribution of more than than 90 percentage of the
high-quality imitative Microsoft software system merchandises either seized by law
enforcement or test-purchased around the world. (Logo: ) The mob produced imitation versions of at least 21 Microsoft
software merchandises in seven known languages, English, French, German,
Italian, Polish, Portuguese and simplified Chinese, deserving an estimated $900
million (U.S.). These merchandises were then distributed and ultimately sold to
unwitting resellers and consumers in over 600 metropolises and at least 22 known
countries and parts across the globe: Australia, Austria, Canada, China,
Croatia, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Malaysia, Paraguay,
Philippines, Poland, Qatar, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, Trinidad
and Tobago, the United Kingdom and the United States. Following an drawn-out probe and prosecution by the Taiwanese
authorities, assisted by Microsoft Corp., Huang Jer-sheng was sentenced to
four years' imprisonment on Dec. 31, 2007, equaling the longer sentence
handed down for this type of law-breaking in Taiwan's history. Huang Jer-sheng's
three co-defendants were sentenced the same twenty-four hours to imprisonment terms
ranging from 18 calendar months to 3 years. "The prison house sentences handed down in this lawsuit in China -- and the
dozens of other criminal lawsuits brought by public prosecutors around the world
against others associated with these Taiwan-based suspects -- provide
another blunt reminder of the effects of counterfeiting Microsoft
products," said Saint David Finn, associate full general advocate for Worldwide
Anti-Piracy and Anti-Counterfeiting at Microsoft, speaking at the 4th
Global United States Congress on Combating Counterfeiting and Piracy, Dubai. "Microsoft
applauds the work of the Chinese government in taking such as strong
enforcement action against this syndicate. This lawsuit is another testament
to the strong partnership between local law enforcement government and
private companies, and shows the impact those partnerships can have got in
getting imitation software system off the marketplace and bringing criminal
counterfeiters to justice." Huang Jer-sheng and his associates worked with forgers in both
Taiwan and southern China. Two cadmium reproduction works in Taiwan, Chungtek
Hightech Enterprise Ltd. and Cinway Technology Co., were the main
production centres for imitation software system phonograph records and constituents that were
later establish throughout the world. According to Toilet Newton, director of the Intellectual Place Crime
project at INTERPOL, "The felons behind imitation mobs are
organized, resourceful and willing to pass big amounts of money to
develop and ship pirated commodity to marketplaces all over the world. Piracy is a
crime, pure and simple, and it is imperative we organize our efforts
across the Earth to halt these criminal mobs and this illicit trade." The prosecutions of this international ring of counterfeiters, led by
Huang Jer-sheng, grade the apogee of a figure of complex, global
investigations conducted over a six-year period, which resulted in the
total dismantling of this criminal counterfeiting syndicate. The
investigations and prosecutions spanned five continents and resulted in the
imposition of important prison house footing in Asia, North United States and Europe. In improver to these prosecutions in Taiwan, other noteworthy criminal cases
related to this international ring of forgers were brought against
suppliers in China, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States
between 2001 and 2007. The Microsoft Genuine Software Initiative These legal actions are portion of Microsoft's attempts to battle software
piracy through its Genuine Software Initiative. Microsoft launched the
Genuine Software Enterprise in 2006, and since then it have intensified its
efforts to protect clients and transmission channel spouses from the hazards of
counterfeit software system through an increased focusing on education, engineering
and enforcement. More information about Microsoft's Genuine Software
Initiative is available at . About Microsoft Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq: ) is the worldwide leader in
software, services and solutions that aid people and concerns realize
their full potential.