Small Scale Piracy sparks Presidential Appeal

President4242

Mon Feb 05 17:38:45 -0800 2007

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I'm surprised this is needed, personally.  I thought the standard for the BSA was to turn all school cases directly over to the Gates Foundation, which in return would donate enough licenses for the school.

And I could easily see computers purchased in Russia as having invalid OEM licenses....

Small Scale Piracy sparks Presidential Appeal

President4242

Mon Feb 05 17:41:26 -0800 2007

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Should have RTFA'd first- this was a Ukranian Prosecutor Case, not a BSA investigation.  As such he's facing criminal charges, not just the normal civil suit.  And no civil suit either.

Small Scale Piracy sparks Presidential Appeal

Richard Young

Mon Feb 05 18:43:38 -0800 2007

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This is disgusting. 

At the very least the buck should stop with the school, not a school teacher.  If this were a company, the suit would be directed at the company due to limited liability (That's why it is called a limited company).

What if you were a Canadian national?  Would you get sent to Guantanamo Bay?

If the Russians want to make an example of someone, maybe they could start with a bigger fish.  Russia is full of large scale pirates.

Going after a school teacher is just cowardly.

Bastards.

Small Scale Piracy sparks Presidential Appeal

ssclift

Mon Feb 05 19:29:56 -0800 2007

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What if you were a Canadian national? Would you get sent to Guantanamo Bay?

Um, tell me you're not trolling, since the answer to that particular question is "yes", or worse, to Syria for more old-fashioned types of torture.

Small Scale Piracy sparks Presidential Appeal

Richard Young

Mon Feb 05 23:59:36 -0800 2007

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That travesty of justice was what I was referring to.  My aim was not to offend Canadians, but to point out the absurd potential punishment that may be dealt out to this poor guy.

The punishment is supposed to fit the crime.  In both cases it obviously doesn't and the people responsible should be the ones in court fighting charges.

I probably should have worded my first post better.  Thats what I get for writing in anger.

Small Scale Piracy sparks Presidential Appeal

zotz

Tue Feb 06 04:49:27 -0800 2007

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"The punishment is supposed to fit the crime."

Yes, except in copyright and other "special" cases. Then, the punishment is supposed to scare the population into toeing the line.

In countries that have put in criminal penalties on top of civil, it will be interesting to see if the government ever goes after people who violate the GPL or other Free licenses.

After all, if the cops learn of a crime, does it matter if the victim knows or cares?

all the best,

drew

Small Scale Piracy sparks Presidential Appeal

ssclift

Tue Feb 06 05:12:36 -0800 2007

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No worries.  It's just hard to tell how aware folks are of what's happened.  There's a brain-choking smog of propaganda south of the border, folks believe some strange things down there.  No offense taken.

Small Scale Piracy sparks Presidential Appeal

Ben Hutchings

Tue Feb 06 02:29:54 -0800 2007

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Geographical fact of the day: Russia and Ukraine are two different countries.

Small Scale Piracy sparks Presidential Appeal

President4242

Tue Feb 06 12:53:01 -0800 2007

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Which is probably why he's being sent to Siberia instead of to a jail further west.

100% Politics

Charles E Hill

Mon Feb 05 19:07:03 -0800 2007

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Didn't the U.S. just remove their objections to Russia joining the WTO?  And wasn't their #1 objection copyright enforcement, with All Of MP3 being the highest profile example?

Why do I think this is a show, for both sides of the pond, put on by the Russians?  One to show the U.S. that they are "tough" on piracy.  And one to show the Russians how the U.S. corporations are the bad guys, with the U.S. gov't demanding things like labor camps for impoverished school teachers just trying to educate the country's youth.

Gorbachev's letter makes absolutely certain the world press focuses hard on this.

Come to think of it, Bill G. was over in Romania the other day and the Romanian president said, in a public speech, that their IT industry owes its existence to pirated Microsoft products.  Bill declined to comment.

100% Politics

Altacus

Thu Feb 08 11:19:09 -0800 2007

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Funny thing is MS isn't behind the charges.  To MS's credit, MS's track record has been to not pursue cases like the above, they are quite content with auditing major corporations.  Seriously, what's 10,000 to MS?

It really is out of the hands of everyone but the Russians. 

100% Politics

Charles E Hill

Thu Feb 08 11:52:15 -0800 2007

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Are you sure?

According to After Dawn it was Microsoft representatives in Russia that made the initial accusation that spurred the investigation.

And Kommersant is reporting:

"Microsoft’s regional dealer Alexei Potapov spoke in court yesterday. He actually supported the prosecution’s demand to punish the school director. Afterwards, he vaguely explained that the supplier of school computers had already been fined for pirate software."

Now, if by "behind" you are referring to Microsoft U.S., then I'll agree -- it isn't them.  I still think it was politically motivated, with some official in Russia pointing out the piracy to MS Russia or the regional dealer.   Whether they were told "you will make a complaint" or "hey, this guy is stealing your stuff", I don't know.

Yes, Microsoft is being made a patsy here.  I just find it hard to believe this isn't a contrived incident with the poor teacher being caught in the middle of it all.

100% Politics

Altacus

Thu Feb 08 12:14:03 -0800 2007

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Interesting links, haven't read those before.  (BTW its interesting how different areas have different views on the same story).

For instance.
"A Microsoft representative speaking with CBS News did not sound bloodthirsty: "I had to attend the hearings as it is required by the law – I was summoned to the court by the investigators in order to assess the damage incurred by Microsoft," said Alexei Potapov. "I had to give a retail price of the legal versions of the Microsoft products, installed on the school computers in Sepych, which was slightly over $10,000." "

It all comes down to who you believe.
Dergunova said Microsoft learned about Ponosov's case several months ago, but declined to support any criminal or civil action against the principal at that time.

It does seem like it could be political.  But who knows?  Maybe Ponosov rubbed someone (or someone's wife) the wrong way.

100% Politics

Charles E Hill

Thu Feb 08 12:18:24 -0800 2007

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It was the public comments by Russian President Vladimir and former Soviet Premiere Mikhail Gorbechov that made me think it was political.  It may have not started that way, but I think at the least, someone smelled an opportunity and is spinning it that way.