2011 Top 10 IP Cases in China’s Software Industry:the second

Key point: compensating reasonable expenses according to the Berne Convention

Shenzhen Company Pays 1.16 Million Yuan in Compensation for Infringing upon the Copyright of Siemens PLM Software

Case summary: I-tooling Manufacturing Group (IMG), a well known Shenzhen molding company, used pirated software NX for a long time and at a large scale, and caused Siemens PLM Software huge economic loses. After several failed contacts aiming at solving the problem, the right holder filed a lawsuit with the Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court. According to the plaintiff ’s requirement, the court enforced litigation evidence preserving measures on IMG, and discovered that many computers in its Design Department were installed with pirated NX4 and NX6. The court made the first trial decision on October 27th, 2011, holding that the plaintiff was the copyright owner of the disputed software NX4 and NX6, and therefore was protected by China’s law according to the Berne Convention. The court pointed out that IMG infringed upon the plaintiff ’s copyright by copying and using the disputed software for commercial purpose without authorization, therefore demanded that the defendant cease the infringing activities immediately and compensate the plaintiff 1.16 million yuan for its economic losses.
 
Expert comments: T h i s j u d g m e n t protected the right holder’s interests sufficiently and was a breakthrough compared with the results of former similar cases. Considering that the upper limit of compensation provided in China’s current Copyright Law (half a million yuan) was not enough to recuperate the right holder’s loses, the court decided that a larger sum of reasonable expenses should be paid to the plaintiff separately. In addition, the effective work of preserving evidence, the positive meditation and the efficient judgment demonstrated China’s strong legal protection for the interests of right holders and the order of market competition.