Copyright Infringement Claim Successful By Way Of Application

In the recent decision of Microsoft Corporation v Liu1, the Federal Court granted Microsoft's application in part, finding that the respondent, Mr. Liu, had infringed Microsoft's copyright in five of its computer programs. Given the circumstances of the case, including the respondent's prior infringing activities, the Court awarded statutory damages of $10,000 per infringement and punitive damages of $50,000, for a total of $100,000.

Background

In this proceeding, Microsoft asserted that Mr. Liu had personally infringed its copyright in a number of computer programs by selling unlicensed copies to an investigator employed by Microsoft. Microsoft further asserted that Mr. Liu was also liable for infringement as he had authorized infringement by his co-worker, "Henry".

It is of note that the parties had settled prior copyright infringement disputes regarding infringement of Microsoft's programs, and that as part of an earlier settlement in 2012, an Order was granted on consent enjoining the respondent from any future infringement of Microsoft's computer programs.

Direct Copyright Infringement, But No Authorization of Infringement

Dealing first with Mr. Liu's own acts...