Four Taiwanese counterfeiters, responsible for over $900 million worth of skimmed Microsoft products, are behind bars following investigation and prosecution by the Taiwanese authorities, assisted by Microsoft Corp. 

Huang Jer-sheng, owner of the Taipei-based distributor Maximus Technology Inc., was the leader of a counterfeiting ring responsible for more than %90 of the "high-quality counterfeit Microsoft software products either seized by law enforcement or test-purchased around the world." His company was counterfeiting at least 21 Microsoft products and selling them to resellers in more than 22 countries.

Hung Jer-sheng was sentenced to 4 years, and his codefendants had sentences ranging from 18 months to 3 years. Jer-sheng’s sentence is the longest ever given by the Taiwanese court for this type of crime.

David Finn, associate general counsel for Worldwide Anti-Piracy and Anti-Counterfeiting at Microsoft, said while speaking at the 4th Global Congress on Combating Counterfeiting and Piracy, “The prison sentences handed down in this case in Taiwan — and the dozens of other criminal cases brought by prosecutors around the world against others associated with these Taiwan-based defendants — provide another stark reminder of the consequences of counterfeiting Microsoft products.” He goes on to applaud the work done by the Taiwanese government, and their strict rulings.

The investigation into this ring of counterfeiters took place over the last 6 years, and resulted in other prison sentences in China, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States between 2001 and 2007.

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Entry was posted on Tuesday, February 5th, 2008 at 8:31 am under Microsoft, Piracy.

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