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[Johannesburg, 12 January 2005] -
The Pretoria Commercial Crime Court has sentenced local counterfeiter Craig Marnoch to the maximum term of three years' imprisonment in terms of the Counterfeit Goods Act, a first in South African legal history, say lawyers.Marnoch was found guilty of selling counterfeit Microsoft products and infringing the company's copyright. Piracy and counterfeiting is fairly rampant in the country, although that is not surprising, given SA's recent political history, says IT lawyer Lisa Thornton.“Piracy seems to be fairly widespread. SA has only enjoyed 10 years of economic freedom, so we are seeing a lot of people looking to make a quick buck, and that includes counterfeiters.”Jan S Devilliers IT lawyer Pravesh Singh says the case indicates the business community's dedication to stamping out piracy. “It's a good move forward. We haven't had such a big company do this before, and they clearly invested a lot of time and money into succeeding in this case.“For Microsoft, I suppose it sends out a message about piracy and counterfeiting.”Protecting intellectual propertyMicrosoft South Africa welcomes the ruling, as it as emphasises the value of protecting intellectual property rights, says partner development and marketing group manager Mark Reynolds.“Intellectual property is an essential element of modern business development. The protection of intellectual property fosters local innovation and spurs economic growth in the IT industry. [Microsoft] would like to thank the police, prosecutors, the reseller channel and members of the public for their assistance in successfully concluding this case.”While the ruling does set a precedent for prosecution concerning counterfeit goods, we are unlikely to see a slew of similar verdicts in the near future, says Thornton. “From a government perspective, I think there are bigger problems to deal with, so I don't think they will be putting too much focus there.“It is more likely a scare tactic, in my opinion.”Paying the priceMicrosoft reseller channel members provided evidence for two years in order to build a case against Marnoch.If a counterfeiting case is brought before a criminal court, offenders face a fine of up to R5 000 per counterfeit copy, or up to three years in jail, says Singh. For a second offence, a fine of up to R10 000 or a maximum of five years in jail can be imposed.Marnoch was arrested in late October 2004 and pleaded guilty to the first two counts.
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