Symantec awarded damages in software piracy case

Symantec has been awarded damages in cases against two counterfeit software distributors.

Security software company Symantec has been awarded millions of dollars in damages against two companies accused of distributing fake versions of its programmes in North America.

The firm filed the lawsuits earlier this year, claiming that the vendors in question had been selling counterfeit Symantec software and therefore breaking copyright and trademark laws.

A district judge in California ordered New Jersey-based V-Micro to pay the company $9.7 million (£6 million), while Connecticut-based Higher Model was forced to part with $8.9 million at a court in Los Angeles.

Symantec has now received a total of $18.6 million from both distributors and insisted the outcome of the cases is a victory for its customers.

"The size of these judgments reflects the scope of these two particular operations and the number of unsuspecting users that were put at risk for acquiring fraudulent software from these distributors," said Joy Cartun, senior director at Symantec's legal department.

"In many cases, people turn over their financial information to disreputable businesses in exchange for products that don't work and can make their computers more vulnerable to virus attacks and other online threats," she added.

And she pointed out that fake software is more likely to contain spyware, which can put individuals and businesses at risk of identity theft.

According to a report published in May by the Business Software Alliance on the intellectual property issue, pirated software accounts for 27 per cent of all software sold in the UK, up from 26 per cent in 2007.

The figures also revealed that industry losses as a result of illegal software rose to their highest level on record at £1.49 billion.