ALLDATA LLC has been awarded $20,000 in statutory damages, plus more than $12,200 in attorney's fees in its lawsuit against Florida resident Tom Taylor.
U.S. District Court Judge William Terrell Hodges agreed with ALLDATA that Taylor illegally copied and sold ALLDATA's automotive diagnostic and repair software, in violation of copyright law.
Ruling in Ocala, Fla., Judge Hodges permanently enjoined Taylor from any future copyright infringement, and ordered him to deliver all existing copies of the counterfeit software to ALLDATA. Taylor did not contest the findings.
"Software piracy goes way beyond one person copying one program," says Jeff Lagges, ALLDATA's general manager. "In one year alone, worldwide software companies lost more than $13 billion and thousands of jobs due to piracy.
"Pirated software also hurts the user, because they receive no customer support and end up using outdated or defective products. With our customers and our employees depending on us, ALLDATA will continue to aggressively protect the products we create."
