A Shanghai city court began hearing criminal charges recently against a gang accused of global trading in pirated software – at US$10 million-plus, the biggest case of copyright violation in Shanghai’s history.
Nine defendants were brought before the Shanghai No. 1 Intermediate People’s Court in a trial that is expected to last two days.
The two prime defendants were identified as Ma Jingyi, 50, a Sichuan Province native, and Lu Yi, 50, a Shanghai native who also holds Hong Kong residency.
Prosecutors allege that from July 2003 to February 2007, Ma instructed his employees to sell 677,000 pieces of pirated software and 15 mother discs to overseas clients. The sales netted US$10.48 million, according to authorities.
All the defendants admitted to the charge of copyright infringement, but some questioned the sales volume and the amount of proceeds.
Prosecutors said Ma once belonged to a gang selling pirated software in the United States. But he returned to China on holiday just as American police began pursuing him.
After he learned he was wanted by US authorities, Ma decided to continue his business in China and specialized in selling pirated Norton antivirus software, prosecutors said.
“My accomplices in America were caught selling pirated Microsoft products, so I thought it might be safe to sell Norton software,” Ma told the court. “Besides, the head of the American gang was given probation. That made me think the punishment would be acceptable even if I was caught.”
Ma then formed three firms in Shanghai beginning in July 2003 and hired Yu Yifan, Li Xi, Wang Xiaodong and Xia Lei to sell pirated software to overseas clients via the Internet, prosecutors said.
Each piece of pirated software was sold for US$15, less than 40 percent of the price of a real copy.
The employees, who all knew they were selling pirates, were paid based on the sales volume, Ma said.
