A Shanghai court recently ruled that Microsoft should be compensated for a sum equivalent to $317,837 U.S. dollars from a Chinese insurance company for using pirated software.

The case against Dazhong Insurance Co., Ltd. was Microsoft’s first lawsuit against a large Chinese company.

The case was based on Microsoft’s discovery that Shanghai-based Dazhong Insurance was using a large amount of pirated Microsoft-brand software. The two sides reached an agreement in February 2009 for Dazhong Insurance to buy 635 sets of genuine Microsoft software, but the insurance company never followed through with the purchases. As a result, Microsoft filed suit in 2009, accusing Dazhong Insurance of using at least 450 sets of pirated software.

Judges from the Pudong New Area People’s Court in Shanghai checked 10 computers and 11 servers at Dazhong Insurance and found they were all using accused software. Dazhong staff confirmed that all of its computers used the software.

Microsoft hopes that the case will discourage other large companies from using pirated software.

This result is perhaps encouraging news for those US manufacturers that find it difficult to protect intellectual property rights in areas such as China.

SOURCE: ShanghaiDaily.com. http://www.shanghaidaily.com/sp/article/2010/201004/20100423