The race against Microsoft’s copyright infringement has reached a new “height” in Spain. Recently, a woman was sentenced to prison in Spain for stealing the copyrights of Windows and Office. According to published information, the defendant installed pirated copies of Microsoft software on two of the eight computers at her facility.
The case was first discovered in 2017. To date, there has been no information on how authorities became aware of this criminal act. Since then, this woman has appealed the court’s decision twice but has still been unable to escape the sentence. As a result, the Supreme Court of Spain sentenced her to 6 months in prison. Additionally, she will have to pay a fine of €3,600 (approximately over 100 million VND). Furthermore, she must also compensate for the amount equivalent to the royalties of the pirated software installed.
This is the first time such a sentence has been issued in Spain. Until now, such processes have only been related to cases of mass copyright infringement through file sharing. For example, involving things like movie distribution.
To make this unprecedented decision, the Supreme Court of Spain relied on the reform of the country’s criminal code. This reform was implemented in 2015 and deemed the commercial exploitation of unlicensed products and services illegal. Therefore, if you live in Spain and have any kind of business operating with illegal Windows or Microsoft software, be aware of the consequences.
Speaking of copyright infringement, it has recently been reported that Starlink customers – the satellite internet service from SpaceX – will have their signals blocked if it is determined that copyrighted content has been downloaded through the company’s network. This is a decision that could indirectly prompt other internet providers to follow suit in the future. Of course, this will depend on the specific regulatory bodies of each country.
A Reddit user, who used SpaceX’s network, shared an email he received from the company after attempting to download a pirated movie online. In the email, Starlink advised subscribers not to use the network to download illegal content. Otherwise, access may be blocked.
Starlink explained that “the copyright infringement of SpaceX or third parties, trademarks, owners, or other intellectual property rights” goes against the principles outlined in the company’s accepted usage policy.
Source: Gizchina