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Microsoft To Sue Costa Rican
Firm For Piracy
The
international computer software
giant, Microsoft, announced
yesterday that it will be suing
a small Costa Rican company
located on Paseo Colón, for
selling it's Windows XP and
Office products illegally.
Microsoft says it will seek
damages in the amount of
¢7.560.000 colones (us$15.000)
for unpaid license fees.
"We are seeking not only to
influence parallel industries
and sellers of software that it
is wrong to sell illegal copies,
but also to create a fair
competition for those sellers of
licensed products", said Miguel
Muñoz, general manager of
licensing for Microsoft Caribe y
Centro América.
Microsoft will be filing a suit
for violation of copyright laws
under the "Ley de Derechos de
Autor y Derechos Conexos" which
protects creative rights.
The law applies both to persons
as well as companies, both
national and foreign.
Violation of the law can be
sanction by payment of damages
and up to three years of prison.
A recent study on "piracy" shows
that 67% of all computer
programs used in Costa Rica are
not original, which translates
to some us$16 million dollars in
losses to developers and
retailers of software in Costa
Rica.
The name of the Costa Rican firm
was not made public.
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