Charges dropped in Russian Microsoft piracy case
90243
(InfoWorld) - Charges have been dropped against a Russian school principal who faced up to five years in prison for software piracy, according to Russia's state news agency. Alexander Ponosov, 40, was charged with violating Russia's copyright law after police seized 12 computers from his school in the western Russian village of Vereschagino. Police say the PCs contained more than US$10,000 in pirated Microsoft Corp. software, but Ponosov claims he bought the computers with the software preinstalled and has maintained his innocence. The case drew international attention last week when former Soviet Union PresidentÂ Mikhail Gorbachev wrote Microsoft Chairman Bill GatesÂ asking him to intervene in the matter. Gorbachev wrote that while Russian law allows for the prosecution of those who unknowingly use pirated software, the case against Ponosov is unwarranted. The former leader also made an emotional appeal, writing that Ponosov dedicated his life to teaching for a modest salary, which doesn't compare to those of Microsoft employees. Gorbachev's high-level intervention has come as Microsoft pursues an aggressive legal campaign to stop piracy of its software. Microsoft has launched dozens of civil lawsuits and aided law enforcement in criminal investigations throughout Europe and the U.S. The charges were dropped Thursday for lack of evidence by a regional Russian court, according to RIA (Russian Information Agency) Novosti, a state news agency. If convicted, Ponosov would have faced a fine of up to 266,000 rubles (US$10,124) in addition to a possible prison term. State prosecutors are quoted as saying they may appeal the decision within 10 days, according to the report. Microsoft officials could not be reached immediately for comment. Â  Jeremy Kirk in London contributed to this report. Â
390586
South African authorities on Wednesday abruptly dropped criminal charges against a Pretoria man charged last week with possessing components for the construction of nuclear weapons.
485030
A Pakistani court dropped terrorism charges against a British man suspected of being a key figure in an alleged plot to blow up transatlantic airliners, his lawyer and police said.
548263
Microsoft has dropped two outstanding appeals of European antitrust rulings, following the deal struck with the European Commission at the beginning of this week, the company said in a statement Wednesday.
239374
LOS ANGELES, Jan. 6 -- A federal judge Thursday dismissed all charges against a Chinese American woman accused of using a sexual affair with an FBI agent to gain unauthorized access to classified documents.
665208
A lawsuit accusing Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's chief strategist of illegally intercepting e-mails has been withdrawn and the legal battle between him and former associates has been resolved, the parties said Wednesday.
108086
p2pnet.net News:- Four ex-Microsoft employees from the Seattle-area have been charged with stealing software worth $32.4 million from the company.
354374
The latest status report on Microsoft Corp.'s compliance with an antitrust settlement in the U.S. has cleared the company of a separate accusation of not complying with orders to disclose information to make its products more interoperable.
592345
Prosecutors on Thursday dropped their investigation of two German soldiers who posed for photos with a skull they found in Afghanistan.
319628
A Russian court on Thursday threw out a criminal case against a school principal accused of installing pirated Microsoft software in school computers, calling the prosecution's case "trivial," a court official said.
12312
Child pornography charges against a former suspect in the killing of US child beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey are dropped.
697872
A highly publicized piracy case against a schoolteacher in Russia was dismissed on Thursday, with a Russian District Court saying the case against the man was "trivial."
674453
Yukos drops the threat of legal action against five banks it had accused of involvement in the sale of its key unit.
755865
Microsoft Corp. settled legal disputes yesterday with two of its largest remaining antagonists, ensuring that its antitrust deal with the Justice Department will not be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, and removing two active proponents of a case against the company in the European Union.
755960
A child abuse case against a former US bishop is dropped, hours after he was charged.
207199
Russian authorities have brushed aside a US court ruling seeking to halt the sale of the core asset of the embattled Yukos Oil company.
555670
Microsoft is sidestepping an appeal from a former leader of the Soviet Union to intervene in a piracy case involving a school principal.