German sent to prison for piracy
German sent to prison for piracy
A German man has been sentenced to five years in jail for repackaging more than 32,000 Microsoft products, reselling them at higher prices and taking all of the profits for himself.
Ralf Blasek, 38, has been accused of costing Microsoft US5.5 million in US for this case of fraud.
He bought copies of the software meant for schools and colleges and sold them through his firm, Dino-Soft.
Blasek used the money to fund his luxury lifestyle, which included him buying a Rolls Royce, Bugatti cars and about 40 properties around the world.
This sentence follows police assisting Microsoft specialists last November during raids on home and offices across West Germany, when 8 people were arrested, including Blasek, un suspicion of copyright infringements.
Microsoft was very pleased with this result. A spokesperson for the company said that it this kind of crime damages honest companies and robs the local economy of thousands of jobs and important revenue every year.
Microsoft sees this result as a sign that governments around the world are getting much tougher on software crime.
Blasek does not plan to launch an appeal against the court's decision.
Related Article: