Archive notice: This article was originally published on February 4, 2008. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
The counterfeit products were seized worldwide either as part of law-enforcement measures or through test purchases. The sentencing is the culmination of a series of extensive worldwide investigative measures that lasted for more than six years and led to the complete dismantling of the international criminal syndicate. Microsoft supported the investigating authorities in their efforts. The law-enforcement measures extended across five continents. In addition to the activities in Taiwan, further charges were brought against suppliers worldwide, including in Germany.
The counterfeit software was available in seven languages – English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese and Chinese. It was distributed to mostly unsuspecting dealers and consumers in more than 22 countries, including Germany, Austria and Switzerland
John Newton, responsible for intellectual-property protection and copyright infringements at Interpol, comments on the blow against organised crime: «These counterfeiting syndicates are well organised, inventive and prepared to spend a great deal of money developing and distributing counterfeit goods worldwide. Product piracy is quite simply a crime. It is therefore imperative that we coordinate our efforts worldwide to put a stop to criminal syndicates and their unlawful trade.»
Counterfeiter receives Taiwan’s longest prison sentence for a crime of this kind
Following completion of the broad investigative and criminal-prosecution measures by the Taiwanese authorities, Huang Jer-sheng was sentenced to four years in prison. The judgment is the longest prison sentence ever imposed in Taiwan for a crime of this kind. The three co-defendants were sentenced to prison terms of between 18 months and three years.
«The prison sentences imposed drastically confront all counterfeiters with the consequences of counterfeiting Microsoft products», said Dr Swantje Richters, lawyer for Microsoft Deutschland GmbH.
