Armenian companies pay $18,000 to Microsoft in 2010 to compensate damage

YEREVAN, March 29. /ARKA/. Armenian companies paid $18,000 to Microsoft in 2010 to compensate the damage they inflicted to the corporation by using unlicensed software, Narine Mkrtchyan, an expert at Business Software Alliance (BSA) and a representative of Microsoft, said Tuesday in Novosti International Press Center.

“The BSA sent 18 complaints to the police in 2010 alone for launching criminal cases against those who have infringed the corporation’s intellectual rights,” she said. “Legal proceedings were instituted on three of these cases, while the remaining matters were settled amicably, and 18,000 dollars were paid as compensations.”

Mkrtchyan said that 4,000 dollars were paid on five similar cases in 2009.

She said economic examination by experts is a big problem in Armenia – as a rule, experts either can’t gauge damage or drag out examination.

In her opinion, up-to-date methods and technologies should be used in Armenia for gauging damages inflicted to large corporations.

According to Business Software Alliance’s figures, computer piracy was gradually lessening over five years – its rate was 95 to 96 percent five years ago, while now it subsided to 90%.

Nevertheless, Armenia is still among those countries where piracy is widespread.

Damage inflicted by usage of unlicensed software in Armenia in 2009 was estimated at $17 million.-0---

Read the news first and discuss them in our Telegram

03:04 03/30/2011