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End of China’s Largest Online Software Piracy Syndicate Marks a Milestone in the Fight against Internet Piracy
The Suzhou Huqiu District Court today delivered the verdicts on the copyright infringement case of tomatolei.com. Chengdu Gongruan Network Technology Co., Ltd., which runs the tomatolei.com Web site, together with the four defendants Sun Xianzhong, Hong Lei, Zhang Tianping and Liang Zhuoyong were convicted for criminal liability of copyright infringement associated with unauthorized reproduction and distribution of PC software:
This is the first successful criminal case to crack down on such large-scale online software piracy in China.
Established on May 11, 2004, tomatolei.com is a popular Web site offering free downloads of illegal software. It offers pirated products developed by both domestic and overseas independent software vendors (ISV), including those of BSA’s member companies, causing significant losses for these rights holders. In June 2008, when the National Copyright Administration (NCA) and the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) launched a Special Enforcement Campaign against Online Piracy, BSA filed a complaint against tomatolei.com to NCA and MPS on behalf of its member companies. NCA and MPS made this case one of the priorities of the 2008 Special Enforcement Campaign against Online Piracy.
In August and December 2009, police arrested Sun Xianzhong, Hong Lei and two other suspects on charges of copyright infringement. After several months of investigation, Chendu Gongruan Network Technology Co., Ltd, Sun Xiangzhong, Hong Lei, Zhang Tianping and Liang Zhuoyong were officially indicted. The Suzhou Huqiu District Court came to the aforementioned verdict after two months of public trials. The defendants have received the punishment, and the legitimate interests of the ISVs have been protected.
The verdict of this case represents the end of China’s largest online software piracy syndicate and marks a milestone in China’s efforts to crack down on Internet piracy. It also demonstrates the joint and active efforts and achievements of the government, enforcement agencies and the software industry to fight large-scale Internet piracy.
Victor Zhang, Director and Chief Representative of BSA China, commended the efforts of the government and the judicial agency throughout the investigation, prosecution and trial of this case. BSA will continue to work closely with government agencies to educate PC users to enhance their awareness of copyright protection and cyber security in an effort to further promote the protection of intellectual property rights, encourage innovation and help users to benefit from legal software.
Business Software Alliance (www.bsa.org) is the foremost organization dedicated to promoting a safe and legal digital world. BSA is the voice of the world's software industry and its hardware partners before governments and in the international marketplace. Its members represent one of the fastest growing industries in the world. BSA programs foster technology innovation through education and policy initiatives that promote copyright protection, cyber security, trade and e-commerce. BSA worldwide members include Adobe, Apple, Autodesk, Bentley Systems, Corel, CyberLink, Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Corporation, Embarcadero, McAfee, Microsoft, Minitab, Quark, Quest Software, Rosetta Stone, Siemens, Sybase, Symantec and The MathWorks. BSA regional members in Asia include Agilent Technologies, Altium, Frontline PCB Solutions - An Orbotech Valor Company, Mindjet, NedGraphics, PTC, Scalable Software and Tekla.
Lars Anderson media@bsa.org +1.202.346.8811
United States
