In their efforts to create an effective deterrence in companies and
organization using pirated or unlicensed software, Delhi High Court has recently
fined a company Rs 10 lakh as compensatory and punitive damages to the software
copyright holders for using pirated software for commercial purposes without
adequate genuine licenses. The plaintiffs in this case were Adobe and Microsoft.
This was the first judgment taken on damages against a corporate end-user
company.
The court cited a famous judgment of Time Incorporated vs Lokesh Srivastava,
2005 (30) PTC 3 (Del).
In that case, the court had concluded, “This court has no hesitation in
saying that the time has come when the courts dealing with actions for
infringement of trademark, copyrights, patents, etc should not only grant
compensatory damages but award punitive damages also with a view to discourage
and dishearten law breakers who indulge in violations with impunity out of lust
for money so that they realize that in case they are caught, they would be
liable not only to reimburse the aggrieved party but would be liable to pay
punitive damages also, which may spell financial disaster for them.”
Keshav S Dhakad, Chairman, BSA India Committee said that the Business
Software Alliance (BSA) welcomed the decision taken by the Delhi High Court.
“The court has sent a strong message through the imposition of this kind that
piracy and counterfeiting of software not only harms the copyright owner, it
also affects the national economy as a whole and is a deterrent to indigenous
product innovation and economic growth,” he added.