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Teacher Avoids Getting Sent to Siberia For Piracy

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the off-the-hook dept.

Piracy Support Line writes "Russian principal Alexander Ponosov will not be visiting Siberia any time soon, at least not for the allegedly illegal Microsoft software that were preloaded on the computers they bought and Microsoft supported the reseller's story. Although Bill Gates rejected Mikhail Gorbachev's personal appeal for mercy on behalf of the teacher, the judge was kinder. Judge Elvira Mosheva decided to dismiss the case because 'Microsoft's financial damage is too insignificant for a criminal investigation.'"

17 of 252 comments (clear)

  1. What did you expect? by Creepy+Crawler · · Score: 4, Informative

    Lemee see....

    1: Administrator buys what he thinks is a legit copy. It isnt.
    2: Gorbachev AND Gates are tossing words around. Erm, HOLY SHIT. Big names in each corner.
    3: Russia already has warned any researcher in coming to the USA (dmitri skylarov vs adobe)
    4: Do we trust a US company or open source that anybody can review? China already supports Red Flag Linux.
    5: Putin came out in defense of the administrator. What he says, goes.

    Need we say more? The cards are stacked against MS. They back off, and then they go "soft" on copyright violations, but they are the big bullies if they do go ahead.

    --
    1. Re:What did you expect? by Max+Littlemore · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Need we say more? The cards are stacked against MS. They back off, and then they go "soft" on copyright violations, but they are the big bullies if they do go ahead.

      Microsoft didn't go soft on anyone. They weren't suing, it was a criminal matter (ie state vs. defendant) and whether or not Microsoft approved was almost irrelevant. Again. this had little if anything to do with Microsoft.

      They did miss a golden opportunity for good PR by speaking out about it, but in the end the decision came down to the judge. It wasn't Microsoft's place to go soft or hard or otherwise.

      --
      I don't therefore I'm not.
  2. Microsoft not involved by The+Bungi · · Score: 4, Informative
    http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/1700AP_APFN _Russia_Piracy_Microsoft_CORRECTIVE.html

    Nice FUD job though. Gotta get those ad impressions going.

    1. Re:Microsoft not involved by Rycross · · Score: 4, Informative
      Except according to the link, Microsoft had nothing to do with the lawsuit.

      Microsoft has had no role the charges against Ponosov and had even turned down the opportunity of joining the lawsuit, company spokeswoman Olga Dergunova said in a statement.

      "In general, we do not believe that a case of this kind warrants criminal prosecution, given the very small number of computers involved, and the fact that the computers were purchased for use by students," she said in the company's latest statement Monday.

      Even Ponosov said he does not blame Microsoft for the prosecutors' attention.
      http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/1700AP_APFN _Russia_Piracy_Microsoft_CORRECTIVE.html/

      But Olga Dergunova, chairman of Microsoft Russia, said: "This case was initiated by Russian authorities under Russian law.

      "We did have the option in this case to take up civil action, but decided last year not to do so."

      Mr Ponosov told the BBC that Russian prosecutors had brought the case against him and he was unaware of any Microsoft claim against him.
      http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6332441.stm/

      Gates couldn't lay off their lawsuit because they didn't have a lawsuit against the man.
  3. A missed PR opportunity for Microsoft by Weaselmancer · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Microsoft could have handled this differently and spun the whole thing to their advantage. This could have been a "Genuine Advantage" moment. "See? Make sure your pre-installed software comes with the original disks and software keys! We'll let you off the hook, but all you out there please learn from Mr. Ponosov's predicament and deal only with reputable certified Microsoft resellers" or some such.

    But instead they turned the other cheek, and a teacher almost was sentenced to prison in Siberia over something as simple as missing software keys. And a Russian judge showed more compassion and understanding of the matter than Bill Gates. Those are the facts, and they do not look good. This is, and rightfully should be, a PR nightmare for Microsoft.

    A shame really. The Gates Foundation gives away piles of cash for humanitarian goals, but events like this let you know where that money is really coming from. And what people behind it are really like. Business first, before anything else, always.

    --
    Weaselmancer
    rediculous.
  4. I enjoyed Putins comment by Aussie · · Score: 4, Informative

    Russian President Vladimir Putin said: "Catching someone just because he bought a computer and threatening him with prison - that's crap." Link
  5. Forgive me, but... by Wes+Janson · · Score: 5, Funny

    In soviet russia, courts treat you justly!

  6. Shouldnt they be doing this with RIAA cases in US? by plasmacutter · · Score: 5, Insightful

    seriously.. we have to go to a former communist nation to get rulings the US should have?

    --
    VLC FOR MAC IS DYING! IF YOU DEVELOP, PLEASE SAVE IT!!
  7. No, but a teacher faces jail time due to malware. by Kris_J · · Score: 5, Informative

    "The Connecticut substitute school teacher who exposed 11 and 12-year-old students to porn in the classroom -- unintentionally, she says, because of malware on an infected PC -- may now go to jail. If her claims are true, she'll be the first American ever jailed for having had the misfortune of being forced to use a buggy school computer, with incompetent or nonexistent tech support from that school's administration despite repeated requests for help." -- Teacher faces jail time over "accidental porn" in classroom.
  8. Piracy? In school? by Anne_Nonymous · · Score: 5, Funny

    >> Teacher Avoids Getting Sent to Siberia For Piracy

    Clearly they are not teaching the three "Arrrrr!"s in school these days.

  9. Re:it is not "odd", but basic law by kfg · · Score: 5, Funny

    The way Microsoft has turned the government against the people is a good example of how rotten the company is . . .

    Once again Microsoft fails to be the actual innovator; they're just ripping off Disney.

    KFG

  10. Re:Thief got away... by aussie_a · · Score: 5, Funny

    They pirated it.

  11. Re:Odd... by kfg · · Score: 5, Informative

    That's a rather strange reason to dismiss a case, as it violates the letter of the law.

    If this were a theft you would be correct. It is not. It's a copyright violation; where intent to distribute/a dollar threshold determines whether the case is criminal or merely a civil matter.

    What the judge is saying is that based on the evidence it is unlikely that a crime has actually been commited by the accused and thus it is not worth putting the governement to the time and expense of an investigation to support a criminal proceeding.

    Bear in mind that the prosecution had, at the time of the hearing, dropped the accusation that he had himself "pirated" the software and instead he was merely accused of using it for a week.

    Making this sort of judgement is part of the job of judge; and why we call them "judges."

    KFG

  12. ramifications by badriram · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Sure I know it is "haha" since Microsoft in the recieving end, but take the context put linux and gpl on one end, and you will realize that a court could rule that since no one is placed in a financial disadvantage people can abuse the gpl. When Microsoft gets screwed over by something it is just a matter of time before someone applies to opensource stuff.

    From what I had read, the teacher was warned once, and he still continued using pirated software. Frankly he did break the law, he deserves a punishment, maybe not prison, but atleast slap on the wrist. People should be encouraged to follow licenses be in Sony's music license, microsoft's eula, or FSF's gpl.

    1. Re:ramifications by the_womble · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The judge ruled that there was no criminal case.

      This still means that a civil prosecution would be possible.

      I have never heard of a criminal prosecution anywhere in the world for a GPL violation, have you? I do not think the authorities bother with criminal prosecutions on behalf of this commie open source stuff.

      So the ruling makes it harder for proprietary software companies to sue, but makes no difference in enforcing open source licences.

      Of course, MS is not likely to want to enforce its licences in Russia, any more than it does in most of Asia, so piracy is now OK. I would not be surprised if MS has been leaning on the Russian authorities to ensure that the teacher got off - which would explain why the serious charges were dropped by the prosecution. They can not openly say they are in favour of piracy, but the last thing they want is people switching to Linux to save money.

    2. Re:ramifications by coastwalker · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Yeah - we have to keep these peasants in their place, personally I dont know why we dont hang them for stealing software - after all we used to hang them for stealing sheep. On the other hand I just cant understand why london is full of teenagers shooting each other at the momment, I guess its because its not a criminal offence punishable by prison to carry a gun under age. Yup I think we have our priorities just about right - Siberia or worse for being in recipt of stolen software and a pat on the head for walking around the streets with a loaded illegal handgun.

      Trade infringement is a problem that should be addressed but it is obviously being taken far more seriously by the criminal justice system than threats of injury to individuals because of the economic power of large companies. The law is falling into disrepute.

      --
      Facts are history now plebs have politics for religion on social media.
  13. Re:Thief got away... by indifferent+children · · Score: 4, Insightful
    What is America Justice?. My Rights are stronger than yours?

    Only if you have more money than I do.

    --
    Censorship is telling a man he can't have a steak just because a baby can't chew it. --Mark Twain