Tech & Biz

Arr! Want to be a net pirate? Move to Russia, matey

by Kaitlin | February 15, 2007 at 02:21 pm

670 views | 5 Recommendations | 1 comment

Just like the Feds in the States cracking down on kids trading music in their dorms, this case--in which a shipment of computers arrived in a rural school with unregistered Windows software installed--is a piddly attempt by authorities trying to halt internet piracy. It's like sending a kid that stole a five cent candy to death row--the scale is wrong. Until they figure out how to evaluate the appropriate punishment, things like this are going to keep popping up in the news.

A Russian court has thrown out a criminal case against a rural headteacher accused of using pirated Microsoft software in his school.

The court in Perm, some 1000km (620 miles) east of Moscow, dismissed the case of Alexander Ponosov as "trivial".

The trial was seen as a response by the authorities to international pressure to crack down on piracy in Russia.

Industry experts say Russia ranks second only to China in use of illegal computer software and bootlegged music.

"We're off to drink champagne now," Mr Ponosov told the Associated Press news agency after the court ruling.

"Of course, it was trivial," he said.

Mr Ponosov earlier told the BBC that Russian prosecutors had brought the case against him and he was unaware of any Microsoft claim against him.