BEIJING -- Microsoft has won its first two Chinese court cases against software pirates, the China Daily Business Weekly reported Sunday.
A Chinese court ordered two domestic software companies to pay US$96,600 (800,000 yuan) in compensation to Microsoft for infringing its copyright, the newspaper said.
"The verdict in the case fully demonstrates China's efforts to strengthen protection of intellectual property rights," the newspaper quoted Microsoft attorney Tom Robertson as saying.
"The court verdict has greatly enhanced our confidence for China to wall off the pirate software in the industry," Robertson said.
One of the companies, Beijing Seastar Science and Technology Development Company, was found to have installed Microsoft's Windows 95 and Office 97 in its computer line without Microsoft's approval, the newspaper said.
The other, Beijing Min'an Investment Consulting Company, had failed to obtain Microsoft's authorization before installing Softimage animation software.
It was the first time Microsoft had pursued software piracy in a Chinese court, the newspaper said.
The Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People's Court also ordered the two companies to publicly apologize in designated newspapers and periodicals, the paper said.
The companies had failed to appeal by the court-ordered deadline, it said.
Yin Zhihe, executive chairman of the Beijing Software Industrial Association, welcomed the verdict, but said the current situation on the domestic software market was "still far from satisfactory."
"More efforts were needed to wipe out the pirates," Yin was quoted as saying.
