ALLDATA LLC recently came out the victor in its lawsuit against Leroy R. Reber of Fort Worth, Texas. ALLDATA had sued Reber for trademark infringement, unfair competition and copyright infringement.
According to the court's decision, ALLDATA was awarded the following:
* statutory damages in the amount of $150,000;
* more than $15,000 in attorney's fees and costs; and
* a permanent injunction against Reber.
"Intellectual property piracy is a common problem that hurts many companies. To be effective, we must respond decisively," says Susan Slish, manager of the company's security program.
"Due to the increasing number of piracy cases, ALLDATA is committed to take legal action against all organizations and individuals that distribute unlicensed versions of ALLDATA products and services."
ALLDATA has been aggressively pursuing civil and criminal action against all software pirates "to protect its customers and product integrity," according to the company. Earlier this year, two individuals from Business Computer Solutions in Long Beach, Calif., were charged with copyright infringement. They were sentenced to five years' felony probation, restitution (to be paid to ALLDATA over a five-year period) and 60 days of community service.
For more information, see "Pirates cost software industry $12 billion worldwide annually," Jan. 28, 2007, in our news archives.
