A Chinese court sentenced four people to prison and levied roughly $1.6 million in fines against them for various counts of software copyright infringement, in what an industry group cheered as a major victory in a market where piracy is rampant.
Hong Lei and Sun Xianzhong, founders of Chengdu Gongruan Network Technology Co., and two others within the company were sentenced Thursday to 2 to 3 1/2 years in prison and collectively fined 11 million yuan ($1.6 million) by a district court in the eastern Chinese city of Suzhou. The state-controlled Xinhua news agency called it China's biggest software copyright infringement case.
The defendants were accused of illegally distributing software, including Microsoft Corp.'s Windows operating system, which they re-created and distributed free under their own brand on Tomatolei, a Web site through which they offered free software downloads. The popular Windows clone was called Tomato Garden Windows XP.
Reached by phone, Mr. Hong's father declined to comment. The defendants' attorneys couldn't be reached.
'This is the first successful criminal case to crack down on such large-scale online software piracy in China,' said the Business Software Alliance, a Washington-based industry group. According to the BSA, which represents a number of multinational technology companies including Microsoft, Intel Corp. and Adobe Systems Inc., Tomatolei was China's largest online software piracy syndicate. The case 'marks a milestone in China's efforts to crack down on Internet piracy,' it said. Authorities moved against Tomatolei after receiving complaints from the BSA last year.
Lawyers say the verdict is important because it is often difficult to seek criminal charges against software pirates in China, where many companies complain that rampant copyright infringement hurts their business.
Yang Chunbao, an intellectual-property lawyer for Haworth & Lexon in Shanghai, said makers of pirated software are often sued in civil court for tens of millions of yuan but fined only a fraction of that. This recent sentence was 'really harsh,' he said. 'The fine amount is unusual.' It's unclear how aggressively China will continue to pursue piracy, however.
Microsoft and other copyright owners have long complained that the Chinese government's punishments for piracy have been too soft, allowing companies like Gongruan to flourish. Just this week, California Democrat Howard L. Berman, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said China's 'weak and ineffective efforts to stop intellectual property theft' cost billions of dollars a year.
In a statement, Microsoft said this new sentence would serve as a warning to counterfeiters of software products.
In China, computer users can easily pirate software for less than $2, or download software like Tomato Garden free of charge. Some software resellers would provide Tomato Garden's pirated Windows software on computer disks or would offer to preinstall the operating software on new PCs. Microsoft estimates that a significant portion of users in China unknowingly use pirated versions of Windows because it is so easy for sellers to preinstall the software and then sell the PCs at lower prices.
The case has sparked discussions on China's Internet forums, where thousands of users admitted to using Tomato Garden.
One user from Guangdong province said that without pirated software, 'I wouldn't have the chance to use a computer. . . . I show my respect to those who could decode Microsoft's software and share it with others.'
Microsoft cut prices last year to encourage consumers to use legitimate versions of its software. In China, home and student versions of Microsoft Office cost less than $30. The software starts at about $100 in the U.S.
China, the world's second-largest personal computer market by shipments, is increasingly important to technology companies world-wide, especially as companies and consumers are spending less in the wake of the economic downturn.
(Source: The Wall Street Journal, Augest 25th, 2009)
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杨春宝一级律师简介
杨春宝一级律师，大成上海高级合伙人、资本市场部主任、国资基金研究中心主任，大成中国区私募基金专业带头人、科技与文化法律研究中心联合牵头人。执业30余年，长期从事私募基金、投融资、并购重组法律服务，尤其对对赌研究颇深且具有非常丰富的实战经验，并专注于金融机构股权投资业务。2004年起多次入选The Legal 500"私募基金"和"公司与商业"等境内外各类律师榜单，代理的中国法院首例适用外国法律审理外国公司的董事损害小股东权益纠纷案入选上海高院发布的《上海法院域外法查明典型案例》和威科先行"要案头条"。入选上海涉外法律人才库、上海市司法局鼎新法治人才库、上海国有企业改制法律顾问团，具有上市公司独立董事任职资格，系多家知名高校的兼职教授或兼职研究生导师及上海市商务委跨国经营人才培训班讲师。出版《私募股权投资基金风险防控操作实务》等16本投融资法律专著。了解更多常见法律问题
软件盗版行为在什么情况下会构成刑事犯罪？
软件盗版行为构成刑事犯罪，核心在于行为人以营利为目的，未经著作权人许可，复制发行、通过信息网络向公众传播其软件作品，且违法数额较大或者有其他严重情节。根据我国刑法及著作权相关法律原则，侵犯著作权罪的成立通常需要具备主观上的营利故意和客观上的侵权规模。司法实践中，判断是否达到刑事追诉标准，主要考虑非法经营数额、违法所得数额、复制品数量以及传播范围等因素。例如，复制品数量达到一定标准，或者违法所得数额较大，即可追究刑事责任。对于利用互联网大量传播盗版软件的行为，即使免费提供，但通过广告、流量变现等方式间接营利，同样可能被认定为以营利为目的。本案中，被告未经授权将微软Windows系统重新包装为“番茄花园”版本并通过网站免费供下载，尽管面向用户免费，但其通过网站获取流量和广告收入，且规模巨大，被认定为达到刑事犯罪程度。实务操作上，权利人可向公安机关报案，并提供权属证明、侵权链接、下载量、服务器数据等证据，推动刑事立案。风险提示方面，企业或个人复制、发行他人软件的“试用版”“精简版”或进行二次开发后传播，若未获许可，均可能面临刑事指控。常见争议焦点包括：免费下载是否属于“发行”、非法经营额如何计算、单位犯罪与个人犯罪的区分等。需要注意的是，刑法修正后提高了对侵犯著作权罪的刑罚力度，最高刑期可达十年，罚金幅度也有提升，因此盗版行为面临的法律风险日益严重。
企业或用户使用盗版软件有哪些法律风险？
企业或用户使用盗版软件可能面临民事、行政和刑事三个层面的法律风险。在民事责任方面，使用盗版软件构成对软件著作权的侵害，权利人有权要求停止使用、删除盗版软件，并赔偿损失。损失赔偿数额通常按照权利人因侵权所受实际损失或侵权人违法所得计算，若均难以确定，则适用法定赔偿规则。企业尤其是软件密集型企业，若在经营中使用盗版软件，不仅可能被起诉，还可能面临高额赔偿。在行政责任方面，著作权行政管理部门可以责令停止侵权行为，没收违法所得，没收、销毁侵权复制品，并处以罚款。对于商业性使用盗版软件，行政处罚往往较重。在刑事责任方面，若使用行为同时伴随复制、分发或传播盗版软件，或者大规模商业性使用并从中牟利，可能构成侵犯著作权罪。即使仅为内部使用，若复制安装数量巨大，也可能被认定为“复制发行”行为。实务操作指引上，企业应当建立软件资产管理制度，定期盘点正版授权许可，采购环节确保来源合法，并保留授权证书、发票等凭证。员工个人应避免私自下载、安装或传播盗版软件。风险提示方面，许多企业误以为只要不是自己制作盗版，仅仅使用就不违法，但我国著作权法规定，未经许可使用他人软件作品，除法律另有规定外，均属侵权。司法实践中，权利人常通过发送律师函、申请证据保全、提起诉讼等方式维权，近年还有通过软件“水印”技术追踪盗版来源的案例。常见争议焦点包括：未经许可的使用是否构成“合理使用”、企业能否以“不知情”免责、内部使用是否属于商业性使用等。总体而言，使用盗版软件成本巨大，企业应主动合规，防范法律风险。
本案对打击软件盗版有何意义和启示？
本案是中国首例对大规模在线软件盗版团伙追究刑事责任的案件，具有里程碑式的意义。过去，软件盗版行为多通过民事途径解决，侵权方往往只需赔偿少量金额，甚至有利可图，导致盗版行为屡禁不止。本案中，法院对四名被告人判处有期徒刑并处罚金，且罚金总额高达1100万元，体现了司法机关对严重盗版行为的严厉制裁，打破了“民事赔偿轻、刑事追诉难”的困局。其启示主要体现在以下几个方面：第一，刑事打击是遏制软件盗版的重要途径，能够形成有效威慑。盗版行为的刑事化处理，不仅追究行为人的自由刑，还通过高额罚金剥夺其非法收益，大幅提高违法成本。第二，权利人主动举报和证据收集对案件成功至关重要。本案的商业软件联盟向主管机关投诉，提供了有力证据，推动刑事立案。权利人应积极利用行政举报、刑事报案等渠道，维护自身权益。第三，网络盗版并非法外之地。通过信息网络传播盗版软件，即使免费，只要存在营利目的或情节严重，同样构成犯罪。第四，判决对正版软件推广具有积极影响，但同时也提示软件企业需要重视定价策略和市场教育，从根本上减少盗版需求。实务操作上，司法机关在办理类似案件时，应当准确把握“以营利为目的”的认定标准，对网站流量变现、广告收入、会员收费等间接营利方式予以认定。风险提示方面，从事软件下载、分享网站运营的个人与企业应加强合规审查，避免为盗版软件提供存储、链接或传播渠道。常见争议焦点包括：盗版网站的负责人与技术人员是否构成共同犯罪、非法经营数额的认定方法、主从犯的区分等。本案的成功办理为后续类似案件树立了标杆，也向全社会传递了保护知识产权、尊重创新的明确信号。
以上内容仅供参考，不构成法律意见。如需专业法律服务，请联系杨春宝一级律师：chambers.yang@dentons.cn
