Symantec Awarded $21 Million in Judgments Against Counterfeit Software Piracy Rings

Symantec Corp. was awarded $21 million in damages against a large network of distributors selling counterfeit Symantec software.

The judgments were handed down by the United States District Court for the Central District of California in Los Angeles, CA in favor of Symantec against ANYI, SILI Inc., Mark Ma, Mike Lee, John Zhang, Yee Sha, and related defendants.

In civil cases filed in November 2006, Symantec included claims alleging that ANYI, SILI, Yee Sha, and their affiliates engaged in trademark infringement, copyright infringement, fraud, unfair competition, and false advertising. Symantec's investigations into these piracy rings coincided with and supported other investigations initiated by various law enforcement agencies such as the FBI and the Chinese Ministry of Public Security, ultimately leading to the arrest of Mark Ma in Shenzhen by Chinese authorities in July 2007.

Website: http://www.symantec.com/